The reading collection
Psychology, geopolitics, philosophy—and everything in between.
373 readings · 169–180
Cognitive Psychology: Mind and Brain* by Kosslyn and Smith is a textbook used in cognitive psychology. It covers the topics of perception, attention, language, memory and thinking. The book does a good job of…
The Arab Spring was the move towards democratisation, away from authoritarianism. Since 2011, uprisings have occurred across the entire region, but the results have been mixed. While there have been some changes…
Law 21: Play a Sucker To Catch a Sucker—Seem Dumber Than Your Mark You should always appear dumber than you are. Make others feel smarter than you, and they will never suspect that you have hidden motives. We find…
‘David’ by Michelangelo Greene tells us that unless you want to mislead or distract someone, it is better not to argue. It is more effective to display with actions the point you intend to make. Human beings are…
The Polarity Strategy It is difficult to know who your enemies are – people are evasive and subtle. But to win in life, you must become great at spotting your enemies, by looking out for signs that show their…
Law 13 – When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-interest, Never to their Mercy or Gratitude Castruccio Castracani* People are generally motivated by their self-interest – and that is what you must appeal to if…
Jack La Lanne was born in 1914. “Jumping Jacks” are named after him, and he invented the first cable-fastened pulleys, and first leg-machines, and even the first weight selectors – all necessities of the modern gym.…
If you want to be in control, you have to make your opponent come to you. Lure your opponents with what they helplessly desire. In 1814, the major European powers gathered to divide up the remains of Napoleon’s…
Law 30: Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless To become a master at anything, you need to invest considerable time and effort. But don’t tell others about your tricks, and how hard you had to toil – create an air…
The Naive Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin loved reading and writing. In newspapers, he found the perfect outlet to improve his skills, and he did. At a young age, he wanted to display his talent. It so happened…
The more you are needed by people, the more freedom and independence you have. In the Middle Ages, a mercenary soldier (condottiere) save the Italian town Siena from a foreign enemy. The citizens of Siena wanted to…
There are three types of gender differences: genetic, neuroanatomical and behavioural. A small snippet (SRY), in the middle of the Y chromosome is all that is needed to create a male.