Epictetus the Life Coach:
e problem with optimism is that it's blatantly incorrect: we aren't all above average in everything, things do not always get better, and we can't always get what we want. The problem with realism is that by itself it is depressing, a demotivator that does not elevate. As an altnernative to the Charbydis of Realism and the Scylla of Optimism, I present Stoicism, via Marcus Aurelius (Meditations, Book II, part 1): Say to yourself in the early morning: I…
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Maybe a referendum isn’t the best way to decide on a “fat tax”:
cording to Rasmussen, over 60% of Americans oppose proposals to charge overweight people more for their health insurance. In an related story, the CDC reports that over 60% of Americans are overweight. via inductivist.blogspot.com Join over 320,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: New Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior…
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Why does cable television cost more than broadband? – bijansabet.com:
r family pays about $50/month for FIOS broadband service. We get 20/5 Mbps. It’s a beautiful thing and is only going to get faster. We pay about $140/month for television which includes 3 HD DVRs. What’s wrong with that picture? Yes, CableTV is almost 3x the price But there are other big differences. -Hardware. cabletv has a closed set top box. The internet allows me to plug in any hardware I want. -Software. cabletv comes with a UI that is broken…
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Does having a baby-face help you in a court of law?
browith and McDonald (pdf) looked at 506 cases in Massachusetts small claims court to determine the effect of the defendant's facial structure on the judge's decision. One variable they examined was the "baby-facedness" of each defendant, rated on a seven point scale by two independent judges, with 7 representing the most baby-faced defendants (i.e., large eyes, thin/high eyebrows, large forehead, small chin, and curved instead of angular face). The results of the correlation for situations in which the defendant played…
1 min read
Bob Sutton – 85 years of research tells us the best way to evaluate potential employees:
tp://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/10/selecting-talent-the-upshot-fr... Join over 320,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: New Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert
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What’s the best time to do anything?
bsp; Via Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon: A Guide to the Best Time to Buy This, Do That and Go There": Best time to have surgery: Morning (4x less likely to have complications in the morning than between 3-4PM) Best time to get a human being on the phone when calling a company's customer service line: As early as possible (lowest call volume) Best day of the week to eat dinner out: Tuesday (freshest food, no crowds)…
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Choosing Who Survives in a Flu Epidemic:
a nytimes.com Who should get a chance to survive when the number of severely ill people far exceeds the resources needed to treat them all? The draft plans vary. In some states, patients with Do Not Resuscitate orders, the elderly, those requiring dialysis, or those with severe neurological impairment would be refused ventilators, or admission to hospitals. Utah divides epidemics into phases. Initially, hospitals would apply triage rules to residents of mental institutions, nursing homes, prisons and facilities for the “handicapped.”…
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How to flip a coin
ris Blattman reports: Using a high-speed camera that photographed people flipping coins, the three researchers determined that a coin is more likely to land facing the same side on which it started. If tails is facing up when the coin is perched on your thumb, it is more likely to land tails up. How much more likely? At least 51 percent of the time, the researchers claim, and possibly as much as 55 percent to 60 percent — depending on…
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