ΑΝΕΞΑΡΤΗΤΟΙ ΠΑΝΑΘΗΝΑΙΚΟΙ
Το blog απευθύνεται αυστηρώςPublished on: 24.04.2012
Steven Pinker - A Brief History of Violence
08 February 2012 13:20:00
If you're one of those people who loves to mope around about the innocent and pure indigenous cultures then this is a must watch for you.
DIY Horoscope Kit
07 February 2012 10:36:00
I'm going to use my powers to telepathically determine your astrological sign and give you the most accurate and practical advice from the stars for tomorrow.
There is a special project close to your heart that you weren't able to get off the ground until now. Today is a one of a kind day - the stars have aligned to spur your essence into positive motion. If you put yourself out there and take action your efforts will be greatly rewarded. You may face some challenges throughout the day, but being such a resourceful sign you will find ways to deal with them quickly and effectively. There is great power within each of us, and the key to unlocking it lies in your hands.
Now I'll give you the tools so you can write your own:
1. Refer to some universal bit of human experience that we all share.
"There is a special project close to your heart that you weren't able to get off the ground until now."
We all have a "special project" that we just can't start making progress on.
"You may face some challenges throughout the day"
Everyone's day will have some things that could be interpreted as challenges.
2. Go on a rant about abstract concepts that can neither be verified or disproved.
"Today is a one of a kind day - the stars have aligned to spur your essence into positive motion."
This has no meaning and no verifiable or actionable items. But it sounds clever and new-agey.
3. Make a prediction conditional upon following my advice.
"If you put yourself out there and take action your efforts will be greatly rewarded."
You don't need a horoscope to tell you that taking action and making an effort is likely to be rewarding.
But whatever happens, I've got my ass covered. If you didn't put yourself out there and hadn't taken action you're an idiot who didn't follow my advice and missed the golden ticket. If you put yourself out there and nothing happened, you weren't putting yourself out there enough, and with sufficient effort - better luck next time. If you did take action and got some nice rewards you should write me a thank you note.
4. Tell them something everyone wants to hear.
"You may face some challenges throughout the day, but being such a resourceful sign you will find ways to deal with them quickly and effectively."
Who doesn't want to be called "resourceful"? You'll swallow this hook, line, and sinker. Even if your challenge of the day was jumping over a puddle on the way to the supermarket.
5. Offer up some clichéd bit of wisdom.
"There is great power within each of us, and the key to unlocking it lies in your hands."
And finally go out with a bang and give them some smartass sounding quote.
Now you can print this out and start your own astrology reading business. The stars have all conspired to make your success an absolute certainty. But being such an intuitive sign I'm sure you already know that.
Dan Gilbert - Psychology of Happiness
06 February 2012 13:13:00
Dan Gilbert has done some great research on the psychology of what makes us happy. The two videos below give an outline his ideas. He also has a book called Stumbling On Happiness. I like his speeches more though. He's a better speaker than writer.
The only issue I have is with him using the term "Synthetic Happiness", and the whole talk about real and synthetic happiness (first video 4:20). I can understand the concept he's trying to describe but this bit is bound to be misquoted and misused by popular media and the dumb masses in all kinds of wacky ways.
I think it was included intentionally to get more publicity and was a bad move. Dan Gilbert is a pretty legit guy and it will be sad to see his work quoted in the same articles with the clowns who "synthesise" positive intentions, parallel universes, and energy force fields.
Best quote:
"If it happened over 3 months ago (with only a few exceptions) it has no impact whatsoever on your happiness."
If you're like me and wondering what the exceptions are, the data on the topic is conflicting (I wish he would have included his own take on them in the video). I've read that changes in your level of physical attractiveness (experimental data was gathered by questioning people undergoing cosmetic surgery) and your social status do have more lasting effects. So the shallow people were right - if you want to be happy, become hot and popular.
Maybe it got disproved or they found something else - it's a hot topic of research at the moment. My guess is that you adapt to anything over a long enough period.
How to Spot a Liar
05 February 2012 11:07:00
A great talk on lying an body language. This one is actually based on modern research and not pop-psychology garbage.
She published a book called Liespotting but I can't comment on how good it is because I haven't read it yet.
The Paradox of Choice
05 February 2012 07:32:00
The best take of psychology on the pitfalls of modern consumer culture by Barry Schwartz. He also published a book with the same name that goes into it in more detail.
"The secret to happiness is... Low expectations!" Hehe, nice one.
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