8 Comments
Sep 17, 2022·edited Sep 18, 2022Liked by CognitiveCarbon

Great article. I'm 66 yrs old. I've done a number of things in life, both from a vocation perspective, as well as an avocation perspective. And I've experience the flow state in a number of activities. I first experienced it in sports, where most guys call it, being in the zone, so that's what I've always called it. I played a game called broomball, it's basically ice hockey, played with special made brooms, a small inflated rubber ball, and in special made shoes. I played many positions but most often as goalie. When I'd manage to get in the zone, or flow state, I'd always have a shutout. It was a weird feeling, a state of hyper focus, but also of calm and relaxation. Later I experienced the same thing playing indoor soccer. And when I took up racing cars I found this state to be essential both for safety as well as performance. At one point I owned my own speed shop and I would sometimes get into the zone when working on cars as a mechanic (I once worked 36 hours straight on a friends racecar and I was stunned when I was finished and found out how long I'd been working), or designing racing parts for cars. I worked as a technical editor for a number of automotive magazines over the years and when working on an article, I could loose 10 hours easily, sitting at that computer researching and writing. And I have always enjoyed building computers, which is another area where I can get in the zone and just loose myself for hours. My wife hates it when I get in the zone because I will work for hours on something, sometimes days and I am often oblivious to everything but the work. She was a 911 dispatcher/call taker for 23 years. That's a heavily multitasking job, which she was great at (she was selected to work the Winter Olympics just after 9/11). She has always had a hard time with me when I am in the zone, because I am pretty much the exact opposite of multitasking, being hyper focused on just the one thing I am doing. I've never talked much about this, but reading your article helped bring the concept into focus for me.

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I am a free subscriber and this is the second article that I just happened to stumble across. I got no e-mail notification on either. I tried subscribing again in case something happened but it just tells me I'm already subscribed. PS: We lived for 20 years in Mooresville IN. Race days at our house sounded like giant bees humming even though we were probably more than 10 miles away. I worked for a company that was loosely affiliated with Roger Penske and we had many functions at the track.

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What a great story. Although, I have never been, I feel closer now than ever. I would like to say that I was not suprised to realize that you might be the only other person on Earth who understands fully the second definintion of ARTIST: a person whose work shows exceptional creative ability or skill... and certainly lives it! Your story does more than introduce the amazing world of the Indianapollis 500 it also inspires people to elevate their everyday lives through dedication and hard work to maybe someday get into that flow zone. I applaud your work ethic and your ability to tell a great story and what you are doing for this movement. You are an ARTIST. I see it, not just as an engineer but as a writer, and a PATRIOT. Thank you.

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May 28, 2022·edited May 28, 2022Liked by CognitiveCarbon

As a NE side Indy native (also 30 years old in 1997, btw) I can attest to your description of this race. I’ve been once and it was spectacular, but strangely, I really missed the pomp and circumstance of the radio broadcast. For those not from here, the race is not broadcast live so the radio was your only connection to the live action. One of my favorite yard work days of the year is Race Day when the adrenaline of listening amps my productivity on that single day at least 2x. Btw, Race Day is a proper noun in Indy. It’s one of those IYKYK things. I still live in the area and admittedly, things seem different than when I was a kid, but it’s still a tremendous event that even the mildest motor sports fan should experience at least once in their life. Thanks for a great read. C.Syrus, Fishers, IN

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