Top 10 Common Faults In Human Thought Humans The human mind is a wonderful thing. Cognition, the act or process of thinking, enables us to process vast amounts of information quickly. For example, every time your eyes are open, you brain is constantly being bombarded with stimuli. You may be consciously thinking about one specific thing, but you brain is processing thousands of subconscious ideas. Unfortunately, our cognition is not perfect, and there are certain judgment errors that we are prone to making, known in the field of psychology as cognitive biases. The Gambler’s fallacy is the tendency to think that future probabilities are altered by past events, when in reality, they are not. Reactivity is the tendency of people to act or appear differently when they know that they are being observed. Pareidolia is when random images or sounds are perceived as significant. Interesting Fact: the Rorschach Inkblot test was developed to use pareidolia to tap into people’s mental states. Self-fulfilling Prophecy
& New York Times 50 Most Challenging Words (defined and used) -... The New York Times recently published a list of 50 fancy words that most frequently stump their readership. They are able to measure this data thanks to a nifty in-page lookup mechanism, which you can try here. Try double-clicking the word “epicenter”. Since the NYT didn’t include definitions of these words, I decided to post a job to MediaPiston to produce an article defining and using each word in the list. Voila! Just a few hours later, here it is. The New York Times 50 Fancy Words (defined and used) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
Asia-Pacific | Ageing 'threatens China economy&# China's position as the world's major supplier of low-cost labour could be eroded by an ageing population, the authorities have warned. There are six workers for each retiree in China, but that could narrow to two-to-one between 2030 and 2050, the National Committee on Ageing says. Officials say the economy will suffer as there will be fewer people working and more older people to support. China's low-cost labour has provided the base for its economic growth. Improved living standards and strict family planning laws have contributed to the demographic change. "We might encounter the heaviest burden especially after 2030, when the demographic dividend is set to end," Yan Qingchun, deputy director of the office of the ageing committee, told China Daily. "With fewer people of working age and more pressure in supporting the elderly, the economy will suffer if productivity sees no major progress," he added. 'Not prepared' That would mean two workers to support every retiree.
NetBanker Ten games that make you think about life At the start of this year, we decided to come up with a list of Flash casual games with a philosophical bent. To be honest, we struggled. After days of research, we could only find a handful of games that had the thought-provoking depth we were looking for. Our list (which you can view by clicking here) was therefore only five games long. Fast forward to now, and it is remarkable how much difference a few months can make. In a wonderful twist, it seems it is the Flash gaming space - until now known more for the throwaway nature of its games rather than depth - that is leading the way in this exciting new area of gaming, as we hope the following games prove. One you have finished playing these games, check out our follow-up lists: Ten More Games That Make You Think About Life and Another 20 Games That Make You Think About Life. 1Immortall The game starts with you crash landing on a planet. 2Loved 3I Can Hold My Breath Forever 4The Company of Myself 5Coma 6Loondon 7I Wish I Were the Moon
Nearly 1 in 4 people worldwide is Muslim, report says The Über-Connected Organization: A Mandate for 2010 - The Conver by Jeanne C Meister and Karie Willyerd | 8:54 AM November 11, 2009 Think about your organization and ask yourself these two questions: Are external social media sites restricted or blocked while at work?Is the use of social media in the workplace inhibited or frowned upon? If you answered yes, then your organization is one of the majority of firms with over 100 employees that have yet to embrace the use of social media in the workplace for the average worker. In a study conducted by Robert Half Technology entitled “Whistle But Don’t Tweet At Work,” many organizations are struggling with how to integrate social media into the workplace. However, there are a growing number of firms such as IBM, Toshiba, and Cerner Corporation that are becoming über-connected workplaces. Recent research provides evidence that there are business benefits to becoming an über-connected organization: Access to social media improves productivity. What business benefits are you trying to solve?
mental_floss Blog & The Quick 10: 10 Things You Probably Didn't... With Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince coming out in the U.S. later this week, it's time to out myself as a Slytherin Supporter. Maybe you already knew that. Nothing against Gryffindors - I'm no Voldemort or anything - but I always tend to like the villains a little more than the do-gooders. To celebrate Harry and Co.' 1. It has a sour tone to it, doesn't it? 3. 4. 5. 7. 8. 9. There's obviously a ridiculous amount of Harry Potter trivia out there, and since Harry Potter fever is about to sweep the world again, we might as well share it. State of World Population 2009 How do population dynamics affect greenhouse gases and climate change? Will urbanization and an ageing population help or hinder efforts to adapt to a warming world? And could better reproductive health care and improved relations between women and men make a difference in the fight against climate change? Find the answers in the State of World Population 2009. The whole world has been talking about carbon credits, carbon trading and emissions targets. The climate-change debate needs to be reframed, putting people at the centre. + Previous Years' Reports
FeedMeCoolShit.com Lateral Thinking Brain Teasers - Fact Lateral thinking problems that are based on fact. 1. A man walks into a bar and asks for a drink of water. The bartender gives the man a drink of water, but the man says the water is no good. The bartender thinks for a minute, pulls out a gun and points it at him. The man says, "Thank you," and walks out. Hint: Please do not try this at home. Solution: The man has hiccups; the bartender scares them away by pulling a gun. A Colombian man accidentally shot his nephew to death while trying to cure his hiccups by pointing a revolver at him to scare him, police in the Caribbean port city of Barranquilla said on Tuesday, the 24th of January 2006. After shooting 21-year-old university student David Galvan in the neck, his uncle, Rafael Vargas, 35, was so distraught he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide, police said. The incident took place on Sunday night while the two were having drinks with neighbors. "They were drinking but they were aware of what was going on," one witness said. 2.