More Is Not Necessarily Better
Is choice good for us? When I was a kid crisps (chips if you are outside the UK), came in one variety, ready-salted. Now we have thirty-six varieties and counting. Having many options is not necessarily better for us, in fact it can distract and limit us. Some say that limiting choice could actually make our lives better.
Symptoms and Signals
Things are not always as they seem, we know. Yet we continue to react to the 'seeming', rather than investigating the thing. It's as if we have learned to by-pass thinking, and it can can lead to problems.
Not Until You Leave Home
It's a paradox of parenting that we want our kids to develop into free-thinkers who will make their mark, but we also expect them to do as they are told. It's obvious that this can produce a clash of ideals, but we generally don't realise that until it's too late.
Accusations of Workplace Bullying May Be Wrong
Nobody wins when accusations of bullying are based on a misunderstanding of what the term means. Knee-jerk reactions based on misuse of the term do harm and conceal genuine cases of bullying.
Tweet for Spring
Spring is here and the birds have started up, so this seems the right time for me to begin tweeting. I experimented with Twitter some time back and now I'm starting to use it. Proper business people would probably call this delay an 'extended evaluation period', but the truth is that I just couldn't make up my mind. For one thing I have been struck by the mind-numbing banality of so much that I read on Twitter. Are people really interested that Stephen Fry is about to take a shower, ...
It’s Easy to Complain, But…
Anyone can complain, but to paraphrase Aristotle, the trick is to complain to "the right person, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way", otherwise it's just moaning, and nobody like a moaner (except other moaners, that is). If you have a complaint it's best to deal with it. Either you accept the situation as it is, or you don't. If you are unable or unwilling to accept it, ask yourself who you need to speak to, and what outcome you want. From then on, ...
What Thinking Won’t Help You Learn
In order to be good at something, you have to practice it. In fact, some things can only be learned through practice. Intellectualising and theory help you understand WHY you do something, but they can't tell you much about HOW to do it.
Whatever They Say, It’s Just Information
Thinking that we have supernatural powers can cause difficulties. Take mind reading for example. There is only one way to be sure that you have understood another person correctly. However well you know them, you can't read their mind, so check before acting. The problem is compounded when your relationship is long-standing; your partner invariably thinks they know what you mean, and vice-versa. It's not the exchange of information that is the problem, it's that we believe we know what it means.
What If…
Assumptions and foregone conclusions are all very well, but what if they made us poorer and less able? You'll never know what you could see if you only ever look in one direction.
