6 Random Things (Other Than Drugs) That Reduce Pain Your nearest drugstore is full of completely fake pain remedies, from shoe magnets to magical ground-up shark bones. But while these new age medicines are little more than placebos, science has found a whole lot of unexpected -- and downright weird -- ways you can control pain without ever swallowing a pill. Things like ... There is more to life than money. "Seriously Rick, stop tracking that shit into my house." Not exactly. A stack of Franklins does more than any sled. That is, the people who got to hold money right before shoving their hands into hot water found the temperature more bearable than those who held regular paper. Based on these results, the researchers think money might also help lessen emotional pain, making things like breakups easier to deal with. "You keep right on banging my brother, Shelly!" In our ever-expanding society, "comfort eating" has become a pretty familiar concept. Such as the Gingerdead Man. But that's just because we're a gluttonous culture, right?
How To Train Yourself To Be In The Mood You Want Dec 27, 2010 When you have major changes going on in your life, or you’re just frustrated about where you are, it’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of depression, bad moods and frustration. I know, I’ve been there … and when I’m not careful, I still get there more than I want to. But when I’ve had a particularly hard time, I hit these moments where I’m in a foul mood, or I’m just feeling paralyzed, and I’m just stuck. Sometimes I just stew in that and stay there, but sometimes I actually get intelligent and pull my way out of it. I’m going to outline the framework that I’ve been using successfully to really get myself resourceful and motivated (and in a better mood) when I’m feeling stuck. First Up: Using A Framework to Escape From Paralyzing Emotions When we feel bad, it’s hard to “feel good” again. The reason for this is that steps take the emotion out of our situation and give us direction to simply act. A: AGREE With Yourself That You Don’t Want To Be In This Mood Right Now. Dave
We Perform Best When No One Tells Us What To Do How can companies get the best possible performance out of their employees? Let them do whatever they want! And furthermore, don't offer incentives. Sound counter-intuitive? Not if you look at what research has shown regarding the economics of motivation. According to Dan Pink (lawyer, speech writer, author, and career analyst), the way to get the best original ideas out of people is to cut back on restrictions and rules regarding output, and stop offering incentives for work produced. "There is a disconnect between what science knows and what business does." He goes on to say, "Traditional notions of management work great if you want compliance, but if you want engagement, self-direction works best." So does this mean we should cut back on bonuses and perks for good performance? The whole idea of this experiment was to show the importance of using creativity problem-solving to come up with functional solutions.
Home Page This wiki is a collaborative environment for exploring ways to become a better thinker. Topics that can be explored here include MemoryTechniques, MentalMath, CriticalThinking, BrainStorming, ShorthandSystems, NotebookSystems, and SmartDrugs. Other relevant topics are also welcome. SiteNews Wiki Topics Mindhacker: The support page for the 2011 book by RonHaleEvans and MartyHaleEvans. MindPerformanceHacks: The support page for the 2006 book of the same name by RonHaleEvans. Easily memorize complex information - MemoryTechnique Do hard math in your head - MentalMath Improve your intelligence Think better Other pages What is a Wiki? A wiki is a web site built collaboratively by a community of users. Feel free to add your own content to this wiki. The Mentat Wiki is powered by Oddmuse, and hosted by the Center for Ludic Synergy.
Mental Heuristics Page A heuristic is a "rule-of-thumb", advice that helps an AI program or human think and act more efficiently by directing thinking in an useful direction. Some of these heuristics are age-old wisdom, bordering on cliche, but most are actually helpful. If you want something done, do it yourself Comment: Obviously true, and doing it is usually very good for your self esteem. Never procrastinate anything you can do right now Comment: Very powerful. When you have several things you could be doing and don't know which to do: Just do any one of them! Comments: If you cannot decide between two or more possibilities, then there is a good chance that the differences don't matter. Always assume that you will succeed Comments: If you don't expect to succeed in an endeavor, then you will not do your best and will not notice possible solutions, while if you feel that you will eventually succeed you will concentrate all your power at the problem. If you can't find a solution, change the rules.
How to Detect Lies - body language, reactions, speech patterns Interesting Info -> Lying Index -> How to Detect Lies Become a Human Lie Detector (Part 1) Warning: sometimes ignorance is bliss. After gaining this knowledge, you may be hurt when it is obvious that someone is lying to you. The following deception detection techniques are used by police, forensic psychologists, security experts and other investigators. Introduction to Detecting Lies: This knowledge is also useful for managers, employers, and for anyone to use in everyday situations where telling the truth from a lie can help prevent you from being a victim of fraud/scams and other deceptions. This is just a basic run down of physical (body language) gestures and verbal cues that may indicate someone is being untruthful. If you got here from somewhere else, be sure to check out our Lie Detection index page for more info including new research in the field of forensic psychology. Signs of Deception: Body Language of Lies: • A person who is lying to you will avoid making eye contact. Bored?
Thinking the Way Animals Do By Temple Grandin, Ph.D. Department of Animal Science Colorado State University Western Horseman, Nov. 1997, pp.140-145 (Updated January 2015) Temple Grandin is an assistant professor of animal science at Colorado State University. As a person with autism, it is easy for me to understand how animals think because my thinking processes are like an animal's. I have no language-based thoughts at all. Most people use a combination of both verbal and visual skills. A radio station person I talked to once said that she had no pictures at all in her mind. Associative Thinking A horse trainer once said to me, "Animals don't think, they just make associations." Animals also tend to make place-specific associations. Years ago a scientist named N. Fear Is the Main Emotion Fear is the main emotion in autism and it is also the main emotion in prey animals such as horses and cattle. Both animals and people with autism are also fearful of high-pitched noises. Fear-based behaviors are complex. References
Color Survey Results « xkcd Who in the rainbow can draw the line where the violet tint ends and the orange tint begins? Distinctly we see the difference of the colors, but where exactly does the one first blendingly enter into the other? So with sanity and insanity. —Herman Melville, Billy Budd Orange, red? I WILL EAT YOUR HEART WITH A FUCKING SPOON IF YOU AKS ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT COLORS —Anonymous, Color Survey Thank you so much for all the help on the color survey. First, a few basic discoveries: If you ask people to name colors long enough, they go totally crazy. Overall, the results were really cool and a lot of fun to analyze. Sex By a strange coincidence, the same night I first made the color survey public, the webcomic Doghouse Diaries put up this comic (which I altered slightly to fit in this blog, click for original): Basically, women were slightly more liberal with the modifiers, but otherwise they generally agreed (and some of the differences may be sampling noise). Okay, pretty flowery, certainly. Map
Perception puzzles, Visual Perception, Optical illusions and Paradoxes This page illustrates that our visual perception cannot always be trusted. The components of an object can distort the perception of the complete object. Our mind is the final arbiter of truth. The Parthenon Optical illusions have been studied for millenia. Perpetually ascending staircase. The red squares are the same color in the upper part and in the lower part of the "X" The diagonal lines are parallel. There are no gray spots at the corners of the squares. Stairway between corners of a flat square. You can go from corner A to corner B by climbing the stairs or by going around a level plane. The rows of black and white squares are all parallel. Children's Activity Project Color the elephant with crayons or colored pencils making sure to stay within the lines. Click the image to display it in a new page for printing. Impossible triangle. The radiating lines influence our perception of the parallel lines. The center circles are both the same size. The Vertical lines are both the same length.
First Person Plural - Magazine An evolving approach to the science of pleasure suggests that each of us contains multiple selves—all with different desires, and all fighting for control. If this is right, the pursuit of happiness becomes even trickier. Can one self "bind" another self if the two want different things? Are you always better off when a Good Self wins? Imagine a long, terrible dental procedure. There is a good argument for saying “Yes. Also see: Interview: "Song of My Selves" Psychologist Paul Bloom reflects on happiness, desire, memory, and the chaotic community that lives inside every human mind. The psychologist and recent Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman conducted a series of studies on the memory of painful events, such as colonoscopies. Such contradictions arise all the time. The question “What makes people happy?” But what’s more exciting, I think, is the emergence of a different perspective on happiness itself. But there is no consensus about the broader implications of this scientific approach.