Conditioning... check.

So once upon a time, I was a little (well, six foot tall but younger) freshman taking Foundations of Mathematics, a course that teaches a bit of linear algebra and all the proof techniques you need to go on to higher math. Proof class. Approximately three hours of homework every day for four months. A LOT of homework. Tons of proofs.

For years, I've had a habit of watching movies while doing my homework. It's a way of putting something innocuous in the background that I can mostly ignore, that helps me to focus-- it cuts down on other distractions. (Probably mostly because I don't surf the internet while watching movies...)

When I was taking Foundations, I began a semester-long James Bond marathon, where I watched every James Bond movie, in chronological order. And then, since they were all blurred in my memory and mixed with mathematical theorems, I watched them all again. It became kind of a tradition: watch a James Bond movie, work on my proofs, etc.

Then towards the end of the semester, I realized that I could remove nervousness before Foundations tests by watching fifteen minutes of a James Bond movie before heading over. They put me in the right frame of mind. I decided that I'd somehow conditioned myself to do proofs best while watching action movies, and continued watching James Bond up until the exam... which I aced.

Fast forward.

This semester, I'm taking Logic. It's more informal logic than I'd done before, but last week we started doing proofs... right around when my current insatiable craving for James Bond movies began. Coincidence? I THINK NOT. I've found myself putting off my logic homework until I can go to the library and get more movies. I honestly do proofs better, understand logic better, and work more efficiently when I have a James Bond movie on in the background. It's kind of ridiculous. Conditioning at its finest.

Unusual input: currently watching Iron Man and Enchanted, depending on what homework I'm working on, and reading Colonel Sun in addition to Russian Harry Potter.