In my early twenty's in 1977, I was doing GREAT in College, double majoring in Mathematics and Electrical Electronic Engineering and in the top 1% of my class when I started having problems with a deep dark depression. That deep dark depression would come and go as it pleased. Then in contrast I started having manic episodes, also. During one of manic episodes I have had very little sleep, I probably slept about five hours during a period of about a week. During that time I thought I was a god with all kinds of supernatural powers and didn't need to sleep. Being a god I felt I needed to find a solution to the world's nuclear war problem. I didn't solve anything, but I got myself thrown in jail and after jail I went to a Behavioral Heath Unit (Psych. Hospital). While in contrast to being manic, I have been so depressed that I had taken to my bed for weeks. While at other times my mood has swung violently and raptly during the course of a signal day. I also have been paranoid, thinking that I was being hunted down to be killed by the senior pastor of a local mega-church because he did not want an affair with my wife to go public, (I believe now, that none of this were ever true.) Also I have had religious delusions at lest that is what others call it, but I didn't see it as a delusion at the time. I believed I was the anti-Christ who's number is 666 in the book of Revelation in the Bible, and at other times I believed I was a god. (I no longer believe either) At times I have had strong thoughts that I don't feel were mine own. I have gone through all of this without ever taking any street drugs or alcohol.
A little more about myself; when I am not suffering with my symptoms of mental illness, I enjoy working with my robot, studying and doing math, writing books (I have published five books), writing computer programs, and thinking about God stuff.
I am trying to worship God. I not saying that I am always successful at this, but I am trying. I believe in the power of love, compassion, endurance, patience, mercy, grace, justice, righteousness, charity, tenderness, wisdom, and everything that causes good to happen. I have no religious agenda, other than to say "I am not God." I also believe in Hell, if for no other reason than my suffering in this life has been so great, that this must be what Hell is like or at lease as close to Hell as I ever want to get. I believe in God for no other reason than I want there to be a God. But the God that I believe in, is not like us, He is more like Spirit of all truth, knowledge, all the laws that govern all things, love, compassion, and caring force behind all that is good. The way I see God is that He is Spirit and not a being, like Santa Clause can be viewed as the spirit of giving gifts at Christmas time and not an actual being.
There are two major positive things that I have learned in life and they are: (1.) To keep the main thing, the main thing, which is to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind. (2.) To love others as I would have them love me.
A little bit about my robot. My robot learns by associating what cause it blood sugar level to increase (this is actually a digital signal that is generated after it has eaten good food), but the robot is not told what will generate this signal. It has to try different food (different stimulus from a sensor on the bottom of the robot.) The sensor on the bottom of the robot detects different color dots (white, red, blue, yellow.) The robot then see, (if for example; it eats a white dot, and its blood sugar level increases,) then the robot remember this. Once the robot has this memory it eat only those color dots which in turn reinforces it learning. I have been success of doing this with the white dots, but not with the red dots.
I was awarded the VEX ROBOTICS COMPETITION Volunteer of the Year Award for 2012 - 2013.
To read more of my life buy my book: Autobiography by Edward G. Fleming on amazon.com.
To learn more about the math behind my robot's learning ability buy my book: The INTELLIGENCE Factor by Edward G. Fleming on amazon.com.
