Category: ideas

In Tennessee, 10,000 storytellers turn off their phones and head into the story tents.

“Great designers can stretch us towards the limits of our comfort, and then create a new comfortable place where we didn’t expect to find one. Often, however, design breakthroughs are achieved in a less revolutionary sort of way. Great design can be about refining, or ‘perfecting.'”

“We tend to think of technological evolution as an exponential curve that starts out more-or-less flat in the early Stone Age and accelerates towards the present. But the idea that we are becoming ever more inventive may be an illusion. … In fact, over the whole of human history, we have probably lost more innovations than we now possess.”

“This is the central question in quantum mechanics, and has spawned a plethora of proposals, or interpretations. The most popular is the Copenhagen interpretation, which says nothing is real until it is observed, or measured.”

Researchers say “listening to Mozart can help us cope with cognitive dissonance–that intense feeling of discomfort that arises when we realize two of our core beliefs are at odds.”

“By studying the archaeological record as well as modern-day hunter-gatherers, evolutionary scientists have been constructing a record of how our early human ancestors made this journey” – i.e., from “bonobo-like bipeds” to integrated, complex societies. “It is clear that John Galt was not present in our ancestral family tree.”

“If you didn’t win one this year, never mind. Here’s how to improve your chances down the line.”

“In a world where people are more connected than ever through technology, where the internet has created an information democracy, giving people access to ideas from around the world, including the most accomplished, untouchable experts and leaders, there is still a booming business for in-person conferences where the high-powered come in search of inspiration.”

“As we learn more about the human genome, scientists are finding evidence that while depression seems incredibly maladaptive, it was actually adaptive (helpful) to our ancestors” – by, of all things, enhancing immune response.

It’s not just the safety of no face-to-face contact. “Most of us present an enhanced image of ourselves on Facebook. This positive image – and the encouragement we get, in the form of ‘likes’ – boosts our self-esteem. And when we have an inflated sense of self, we tend to exhibit poor self-control.”