The Crayon Box Time Machine
One of the hardest things about growing up is striking the right balance between conformity and nonconformity. Every person who’s ever lived has an innate desire to fit in. We are, after all, social...
Tagged: psychology
The Tyranny of the Should
I started seeing a therapist for depression recently. (I’m loath to admit such a thing publicly, but I think it’s important that we tackle the stigma against mental illness.) Last week, I mentioned that...
Reinvent Yourself Often
On the day of my college graduation, my parents gave me a greeting card. I don’t recall what the card said. I don’t even recall all the words may parents wrote. But three words...
Experience vs Memory
I saw an interesting TED Talk about the psychology of experience vs memory. In the talk, psychologist Daniel Kahneman talks about two competing parts of our conscious mind: the experiencing self and the remembering...
There Are No Grown-Ups
I read an interesting article by Pamela Druckerman, in which she states, “There are no grown-ups. We suspect this when we are younger, but can confirm it only once we are the ones writing...
Facebook’s News Feed Algorithms
Facebook is at it again, violating users’ privacy in new and bizarre ways. This time it’s a psychological experiment, performed on some. 700,000 users, to see if positive statuses can invoke negative feelings and...
The Problem with Self-Help Books
I used to love self-help books. Throughout high school and college, I would go to the bookstore and peruse the self-help section. (I read other genres as well, but self-help books were my favorite...
The Eighth Deadly Sin
I’ve always liked the concept of the Seven Deadly Sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. What makes this list so amazing is that you don’t have to believe in God or...
Progress and Science Deniers
A couple of months ago, Bill Nye the Science Guy had a debate with the proprietor of the Creation Museum. Meanwhile, Neil deGrasse Tyson was busy filming a reboot of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos which...
Conspiracy Theorists and the Meaning of Life
You may think of conspiracy theorists as pessimistic shut-ins, wearing tinfoil hats and wallowing in paranoia. This isn’t always true, but it’s the stereotype that people have in their heads. In general, non-conspiracy theorists...
