I wasn’t looking for this book. But it kept looking at me. Quietly, consistently peeking out from the display case in the hall of Edwin R. Guthrie Hall, home of UW’s psychology department. I walk past it every day. Sometimes two or three times a day. It’s sitting there on a shelf among various artifacts, photos, correspondence, props, devices, tools, gadgets, remnants and psychological detritus. This book is the most current artifact in this collection representing UW psychology history.
“The scientific study of the mind and behavior” leaves some space for interpretation and improvisation. Science. But not so hard. It’s closer to social science and includes quite a variety of research and variations on the theme: clinical, cognitive, developmental, social… …biological, behavioral, psychodynamic.
One day I paused in the hallway and took a closer look at the book. Then I read a bit about the author. Finally, I found a used copy on eBay, to have and to hold as my very own. If this is my train-commute book du jour it will be sans dust jacket. Within 5 minutes of receiving my copy of the book, I removed the dust jacket and screen printed a gold derailleur onto the purple cover. Bow down to Washington… …mighty are the ones who wear the Purple and the Gold.
Written by Nicole McNichols, the world’s #1 Sex Professor and member of the UW Psych department. Her Diversity of Human Sexuality course is the most popular class in the history of the University of Washington, with over 4000 students enrolled each academic year.
The readers in my neighborhood tend to load up the little free library with self-help books. Sometimes there are so many I have to extract a donation pile and schlepp it to a thrift store, just to organize the shelves. I’m not a big fan of self-help books.
This book is different. It’s an atlas, an encyclopedia, a cookbook, a repair manual, a dictionary, a thesaurus, a revelation, it’s the lyrics to that song on the soundtrack of that movie you like, a dot-to-dot coloring book, a trivia game, a never-have-I-ever game, a would-you-rather game, a matching game, it’s the antidote to all the stupid shit you heard in junior high, it’s debunking all the misinformation that’s stuck in your head.
What are you reading under there?
underwear
I Y K Y K
It’s a book. It’s a book. It’s a motherfucking book.
It’s in my electric ass bathtub as we speak. I read it on the train this morning. I’ll read it on the train this afternoon.
I cannot string together these three words: could be better, without thinking of Guided by Voices…
“Her Psychology Today”
–guided by voices
yeah, you know things could get much worse
you know things could get much worse
could be better, yeah
her psychology today is to play the crying game
to elicit a response to determine every gain
and I'm wanting to attain something in this turnabout
