Pretty Women Make Simple Men Scholars, moralists, and writers have warned men to steer clear of beautiful women since antiquity. Homer's Odysseus tied himself to his ship's mast to avoid being lured to his death by the mythic Sirens. (Their voices were beautiful, but scholars disagree about whether they were also physically appealing.) The Sirens aren't alone--they have similarly dangerous counterparts in Lilith, Delilah, Salome, and Cleopatra, all of whom seduced men to grave ends. A spate of recent studies suggests that beautiful women can indeed provoke dangerous outcomes unintentionally, because they induce men to take risks, make mistakes, gamble more freely, and generally behave impulsively. Perhaps skaters are risk-taking by nature , so it's not surprising that they can be coaxed to behave like extreme versions of themselves. Although they differ along many dimensions, male skateboarders and chess players are united by their biological maleness. The prescription for beauty-induced myopia isn't obvious.
Why Apologies Are Important Once I requested a sixteen year old to apologize for hurtful remarks he made towards his math teacher. He looked me square in the eyes and said "no." When I asked why, given that we had both agreed his words were inappropriate and hurtful, his response was that he really didn't feel sorry for his actions, and so therefore his apology would be (in his words,) "fake". In a 2006 research study conducted on the human brain with a focus on congruency between language and actions, Aziz-Zadeh and her fellow researchers, discovered through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging, that there was a clear congruence in the premotor cortex of the left hemisphere between visually presented actions and actions described by language. So what does this mean? It means that in the event an unapologetic adolescent is made to apologize for unfavorable actions towards others, it brings him a step closer towards his feelings matching with his actions.
Procrastination: Ten Things To Know There are many ways to avoid success in life, but the most sure-fire just might be procrastination . Procrastinators sabotage themselves. They put obstacles in their own path. They actually choose paths that hurt their performance. Why would people do that? I talked to two of the world's leading experts on procrastination: Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at De Paul University in Chicago, and Timothy Pychyl, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Twenty percent of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. Tags: anxiety , associate professor , carleton university , christmas eve , christmas shopping , chronic depression , chronic procrastinators , delay , gift certificates , grandmother , income tax returns , milieu , ottawa canada , pay bills , personality , procrastinator , t pay , time , timothy pychyl , university in ottawa , weekly planner , work
The Thick Skinned Here's an important rule for life: It's not all about you. To develop a thick skin you must first remember that you are not the center of the universe. Yes, sorry to say, you are not the fixed point around which the universe turns. Say someone isn't paying you enough attention. You brood and brood. "Is she mad at me?" Yet there may be a good reason for her inattention. If this is how your mind works, you may indeed be overly thin skinned. Here are a few tips to developing a thick skin: Don't take things personally. Tags: bad behavior , brood , center of the universe , deep breathing , foul mood , frustrated , good reason , inattention , jerk , new solution , proposals , provocations , self-confidence , success , thick skin , time out , upset
The Key to Understanding Body Language Since writing “ What Every Body is Saying ,” the question I am most often asked is, “What nonverbal behaviors should I be looking for and are they different at home, at work, or in relationships?” Perhaps this will help to clarify the matter. Somewhere in our hominid past, as with most animals, we developed the ability to communicate nonverbally and that still remains our primary method of communication, especially when it comes to emotions. The governance of homeostasis, procreation, emotion, spotting and reacting to threats, as well as assuring our survival, are all heavy responsibilities of the limbic system. Our needs, feelings, thoughts, and intentions are processed by the limbic brain and expressed in our body language. Someone gives us bad news and our lips compress, the bus leaves without us and we are clenching our jaws, rubbing our necks. When there is conflict between what is said verbally and what is transmitted nonverbally, the body almost always holds sway. ——— (1991).
When you communicate – are you memorable? Richard Pryor: A Brilliant Communicator One of the habits I have developed in the last few years is watching speeches of TEDsters and Authors@Google . I find it is one of the quickest ways to be exposed to great ideas without having to travel to another city or state. In 2008, I watched a rather eye-opening video of Dan Roam. He was at the headquarters of Google, in Mountain View, California, to discuss his ideas about using pictures to communicate and to solve problems. Roam's book is titled, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures . As a professor, I learned early that my courses should be as interactive as possible and to make learning a by-product of that interaction. Fast Forward to 2008 By the time I came across the ideas of Dan Roam my classes were already a highly interactive experience. However, there was one thing that I continued to do that gave me trouble and that was the use of the dry Power-point presentations. You Can't Forget What I Write
Body Language of the Hands “Among all species, our human hands are unique -- not only in what they can accomplish, but also in how they communicate. Human hands can paint the Sistine Chapel, pluck a guitar, maneuver surgical instruments, chisel a David, forge steel, and write poetry. They can grasp, scratch, poke, punch, feel, sense, evaluate, hold and mold the world around us. Our hands are extremely expressive; they can sign for the deaf, help tell a story, or reveal our innermost thoughts.” (“ What Every Body is Saying , ” Harper Collins) No other species has appendages with such a remarkable range of capabilities. And yet if you asked most people about the nonverbals ( body language ) of the hands, they would be hard pressed to tell you all the things the hands reveal. It is interesting that our brain gives a disproportionate amount of attention to the fingers, and hands, as compared to the rest of the body. Our human need to see hands is so important you can try a simple experiment. .
Real-Life Role-Playing Game master Rio Greeley (in cap at left) leads an after-school game of ‘Star Wars Miniatures,’ with special house rules. When Max Delaney came to rural Maine 13 years ago, his itinerant family moved from town to town, school to school. With few social connections, he felt isolated. Like an outsider. "It was hard for me to find people," says Mr. Delaney, now 21. Then, the year his family arrived in Belfast, a coastal town of some 6,300 on Penobscot Bay, he discovered The Game Loft and finally found his tribe. Similar to other youth-development organizations such as Outward Bound or Scouting, The Game Loft also fosters risk-taking, leadership, and camarad erie. Via table-top role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Game Loft members play characters armed not with football padding and hockey sticks but chain mail, broadswords, light sabers, and magic spells. "I took to [role-playing] immediately," Delaney says. Hands shot up, offering solutions. "Hold it, everyone!
Why We Procrastinate There are many ways to avoid success in life, but the most sure-fire just might be procrastination . Procrastinators sabotage themselves. They put obstacles in their own path. Why would people do that? 10 . 9 . 8 . 7 . 6 . 5 . 4 . 3 . Arousal types, or thrill-seekers, who wait to the last minute for the euphoric rush. 2 . 1 . Tags: associate professor , authoritarian parenting style , carleton university , christmas eve , christmas shopping , chronic depression , chronic procrastinators , gift certificates , grandmother , income tax returns , ottawa canada , pay bills , procrastination , procrastinator , self-regulation , self-sabotage , t pay , time management , timothy pychyl , university in ottawa , weekly planner
16 Things I Wish They Had Taught Me in School I am 28 now. I don’t think about the past or regret things much these days. But sometimes I wish that I had known some of things I have learned over the last few years a bit earlier. Because some of these 16 things in this article a teacher probably spoke about in class. Some of it would probably not have stuck in my mind anyway. But I still think that taking a few hours from all those German language classes and use them for some personal development classes would have been a good idea. So here are 16 things I wish they had taught me in school (or I just would like to have known about earlier). 1. This is one of the best ways to make better use of your time. So a lot of what you do is probably not as useful or even necessary to do as you may think. You can just drop – or vastly decrease the time you spend on – a whole bunch of things. And if you do that you will have more time and energy to spend on those things that really brings your value, happiness, fulfilment and so on. 2. 3. 4. 5.