Taking My Brain off the Couch-Part 2: Chris Brennan

After conquering my fear of interesting books not written by Carrot Top, I decided to pursue the other changes I would need to make in order for my brain to begin its path from couch potato to fitness.

Since I spend close to 15 hours a week commuting to and from work, I felt it natural to confront my radio listening first. My normal routine had consisted mostly of music radio, such as KROQ, 98.7, and an old-school hip-hop station whenever I wanted to feel kinship with my Long Beach brothers Snoop Dogg, Warren G. and the late great Nate Dogg. (Whenever I tell people I live in Long Beach, home of Snoop Dogg, they politely remind me that I live in Belmont Shore, and very few Snoop Dogg tunes reference “Stroll and Savor” or “Haute Dog Parades”.) Music stations, along with political talk radio, which only confirmed for me what I had already felt, were my main forms of entertainment on those long drives to work.

To expand my mind through radio, I felt it necessary to finally come face to face (or ear to ear) with a radio network and stations I have avoided all my life: NPR.  I have known a few people who were avid listeners of NPR, and yes, they seemed like smart people. But I had always felt such stations catered towards the “boring old person” demographic, and had little use for someone like me. (No one needs to know that I usually fall asleep by 8:45 p.m. on Friday nights….)

Although my thinking was that one should not operate heavy machinery whilst listening to NPR, I committed myself to making it my one and only radio station for an entire week of commuting. To me, this was akin to eating my vegetables…I knew it was probably good for me, but I was sure to hate it.

Low and behold…I liked it! I found the scope of topics far more varied and the coverage far more in depth than anything else on the radio. No one was calling Obama a crazy socialist; no one was calling Boehner a crying fool, there was just people talking in conversational tones. (This can easily be confused with “monotone”, especially if your ear is attuned to Ryan Seacrest in the morning). Although this radio was still putting Karen to sleep, I found that this was having its intended effect on me: I was thinking more. (Also, I was starting to become a huge fan as well as do a lethal impression of KPCC’s Robert Siegel!)

My next foray into “smartening up” my brain was unexpectedly more difficult. You see, because I wasn’t much of a “book guy,” I became a “magazine guy,” and on any given week could be expected to be thumbing through a Newsweek or Sports Illustrated, or even the occasional US Weekly. if I was ever curious if stars were “just like us.” (It turns out they are not, they are mostly morons.)

When I received my first New Yorker in the mail, I was thrilled! I couldn’t wait to dive into all these wonderfully written articles that will open my mind in ways I’ve never imagined. Oh great! There’s even poetry in here! Wow, what a well rounded magazine…I will soon be brilliant! Alas, after several months of having a subscription, I am hopelessly behind in this weekly magazine. Yes, the articles are well written and thoughtful, but I seriously don’t know how to find the time to finish them, just as I seriously don’t know how you can get an 11-page story out of a guy and his pharmacy. Although I keep trying, I am finding that my ambitions have their limits.

So, as I start to reflect on my year long “smart project,” I have begun to conclude the following:

• There is no “magic smart wand”: Perhaps it was unrealistic, but I had thoughts that if I had read enough books, listened to enough cogent, thoughtful analysis on NPR, that I would wake up one day and be that guy you meet at parties who says obnoxious things like “you know, Cicero said something funny about society.…” This hasn’t happened…and I have become fairly sure that I would not even like to be at a party like that.
• It’s okay to push yourself, but listen to your brain: Somewhere along the line, I found myself working very, very hard to finish an article in the New Yorker about some up and coming fashion designer, when it dawned on me.…that I didn’t care. Obtaining knowledge should be exciting and fun, and certainly not so much hard work.
• You can’t absorb smart people’s brain cells: Having spent several work lunches at nearby Cal Tech, I can tell you that sadly, this doesn’t work.

In the end, I found that this project has indeed taken my brain off the couch and into the world. I feel more energized, more alert, and most importantly, more curious about life, and that I found was ultimately the missing ingredient that started this whole journey.

 I’m glad I took it.

I keep six honest serving-men,
They taught me all I knew;
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
-Rudyard Kipling