Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (courtesy of Freakonomics Facebook page)
Conventional wisdom can be a bitch. While there may be occasional wisdom in crowds, the truth is that fools seldom differ.
If going with the flow could land us in hot soup, how then should we solve the many problems in our world?
Don’t let your eyes fool you (courtesy of Tech Whiz)
We’re living in an age of illusions. One where lives are built and destroyed by that perpetually glowing screen in front of us.
Love it or loathe it, the social web is here to stay. We spend so much time online that our entire socio-cultural landscape has shifted in immense and incredible ways. For some, being unplugged for even two hours can be unfathomably torturous.
Sandy Pentland of MIT (courtesy of MIT)
Why do ideas spread from person to person? How do we marry the worlds of social influence, big data, and behavioural economics?
Enter Social Physics, a concept coined by MIT Professor Alex “Sandy” Pentland. Director of the Human Dynamics Laboratory, Pentland’s book Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread – The Lessons from New Science proposes a new theory of human social interaction.
Courtesy of Fearless Men
You woke up late. As you rushed to get ready for breakfast, you stubbed your toe against a table.
“Ouch! #%*@&!”
FREE. Its a powerful word. Everybody loves freebies.
Besides its a great way to attract customers right?
Russian psychologist/psychiatrist Bluma Zeigarnik (source of image)
What do video gamers, book worms and waiters taking multiple orders have in common?
Well, they usually remember what they have not completed until the task is done. And then, it literally gets wiped out of their system.
Pink prisons aren’t just fashionable – they work! (source: The Cairns Post)
Have you wondered why seeing red makes you mad? Or why Apple products are so popular with creative types?
Thanks to a fascinating podcast on Social Triggers Insider, I discovered the answers from social psychologist Adam Alter, author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave.
Why do underdogs triumph over mightier enemies? How does one turn a weakness into a strength?
In yet another entertaining trip of the intellect, Malcolm Gladwell’s latest volume David and Goliath tackles perennial paradoxes with much aplomb. Written in his usual captivating prose, Gladwell’s book – subtitled Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants – provides one with much food for thought while challenging conventional wisdom.
Courtesy of Life Hacker
Decisions, decisions, decisions. If only you can make better ones in the course of your work and life.
Thanks to a recent podcast on Derek Halpern’s Social Triggers Insider featuring Dan Heath, co-author of Decisive, I uncovered a couple of secrets to making good decisions.
Courtesy of Healthland.Time
Have you heard of the “marshmallow test” for kids?
First conducted by American psychologist Walter Mischel in the 1960s, the experiment involved putting four-year olds in a room with a marshmallow on a plate, and testing how long they could endure before popping that sweet morsel into their mouths.