My thoughts on anything related to psychology.
George Carlin once said (roughly): “People who read self-help books should be killed. Life is simple, you wake up, go to work, eat 3 meals, shit, and sleep. You don’t need a book for it. And why is it called Self-Help? You’re reading someone else’s advice. It should be called “Help.”” But really, why should anyone … Read more
In the story of Cain and Abel, God asks Cain why he killed his brother. Cain tells him that he was angry because he had been cursed by God. This short story in the Bible talks about two brothers, Cain and Abel – Cain was the older brother. Cain worked the soil, while Abel kept … Read more
Many thinkers including Kierkegaard, C.J Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Rogers, and Plato have all written about the discovery of the self. To Kierkegaard, there was only one greater tragedy than failing to become oneself – it was succeeding in becoming something you were not. Or as Kurt Cobain famously and cogently said, “I’d rather … Read more
There are many ways of categorizing people according to their personalities, but a simple and effective one is into doers vs thinkers. Here, I define the thinker as someone who’s main profession is to think about matters abstractly, this can be the professor, novelist, or artist. The doer is defined as someone who is reacting … Read more
Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias and while it is not considered a logical fallacy, it is considered irrational. But this is not necessarily true. Intuitively, one would imagine that rational behavior is the same as scientific behavior in that it excludes bias. That is, if you wanted to act rationally, you should … Read more
If our time is a commodity that we exchange for biochemical impulses that we have as much chance resisting as a drug addict his cocaine, or an alcoholic his whiskey, then we need to think again about the real constraints that being imposed on us by technology. It’s not that the Buddhist appreciates his time … Read more
An Actor’s Life for Me All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts – William Shakespeare In Disney’s Pinocchio, the song “An actor’s life for me” is sung by the fox, luring Pinocchio into … Read more
Barry came up with the brilliant idea to create flavors that matched a lot of different people’s tastes. He created forty-five varieties of tomato sauce and visited several cities to test them out. Campbell Soup was astonished by the results – a third of Americans were craving a flavor that no one on the market … Read more
The Ultimate Time Management Myth Here are some common reasons you’ll read about for why you procrastinate… Either we don’t have a proper schedule or system. We’re too self-confident – we believe in our abilities more than we should. We have too much anxiety that results from fearing failure. We have a warped sense of … Read more
“Are people a means to an end or are they an end in themselves?” Other than being momentarily intellectually stimulating, the question – posed by a professor in a course about ethics – wasn’t very meaningful. But I find myself thinking about this question more often as time passes. I was reminded of that question … Read more