What makes something funny? Can humor improve our lives?
er notice that we take our comedians seriously and we think our politicians are liars? Is something wrong there? Chris Rock, Louis C.K., and Patton Oswalt not only make you laugh but they usually have you nodding your head thinking, "Yeah, life is like that." Meanwhile, you take everything an elected official says with a grain of salt. Research is finally starting to catch up to what you've known for a long time. Why do you find things funny? Humor…
4 minutes
Can you really change yourself for the better?
bsp; I shouldn't be up this late. It's well after midnight, I'm drinking coffee and eating crap food. I've always been a night owl and that's only one of the bad habits I'm prone to. Sometimes it feels like I'll never change. A mentor of mine, Howard Suber, made a distinction between destiny and fate. Fate is what controls you, that thing you cannot avoid. Like genetics. Destiny is what you seek and make. Nurture, not nature. Great stories come…
5 minutes
Can you really predict what will make you happy?
re's what most people think will make them happy, in order of importance: Via The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain: A survey of more than 2,015 people conducted by the British research company Ipsos MORI revealed that people believe the following five factors are most likely to enhance happiness (they are listed in order of importance). 1) More time with family 2) Earning double what I do now 3) Better health 4) More time with friends…
3 minutes
Traffic Jam!
the migration is complete but... It turns out the new provider can't handle all my traffic. Well, I guess these are the best kind of problems to have, huh? I'm going to have to get yet another new hosting company -- but I'd like to thank all of you for making me so popular. :) In the mean time, sign up for the weekly mailing list to make sure you don't miss anything and to get exclusive content. Join…
1 min read
How much happiness does it take to make up for the sadness in life?
to 1. Via Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain: How to Retrain Your Brain to Overcome Pessimism and Achieve a More Positive Outlook: Psychologist Barbara Frederickson is an expert on flourishing and has been an advocate of finding ways to bring more positive emotions into our lives. In her research she discovered a critical 3 to 1 ratio, indicating that we need to have three positive emotions for every negative one in order to thrive. And: Frederickson has found out that…
3 minutes
What does it take to save over 100 lives when the plane you’re flying loses control?
bsp; On July 19, 1989 United Airlines Flight 232 was on its way from Denver to Chicago when the controls stopped working. All three hydraulic systems had given out. When this happens, the engines keep running but you cannot steer. The chances of all three hydraulic systems failing is so astronomical (literally, 1 in a billion) that there isn't a page in the emergency manual detailing what to do. But everyone knows what you do next. You crash. Denny Fitch…
2 minutes
Help, please.
in 25K+ readers. No spam, ever. Enter your email here: Dear readers, Posterous, the platform that hosts my blog, has been an utter nightmare. Ever since being acquired by Twitter, service has been horrendous and support nonexistent. I'm trying to switch platforms and it's been a master class in grief. I'd like to focus on posting great content, not dealing with service outages or trying to become an IT expert. If you enjoy the blog and can help me…
1 min read
What does the most comprehensive study of geniuses tell us about creativity?
r his book Creativity, noted professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi did interviews with 91 groundbreaking individuals across a number of disciplines, including 14 Nobel Prize winners. In 50 Psychology Classics Tom Butler-Bowdon sums up many of Csikszentmihalyi's findings. Here are some highlights: The idea of the tortured creative person is largely a myth. Most of his respondents were very happy with their lives and their creative output. Successful creative people tend to have two things in abundance, curiosity and drive. They are…
2 minutes
