Category Archives: Food For Thought

Changing Tides

Digital delivery and consumption has completely changed the publishing industry.  For thousands of years, reading was something you did by yourself.  Unless you announced it, nobody knew if you even opened a book you bought, let alone finished it.  Now, … Continue reading

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Lazy, Weak and Dumb

People overwhelmingly think they’re smarter, stronger, more industrious and better looking than they really are.  To some extent, this is healthy.  If most of us realized how ugly and dumb we really were, we’d have trouble leaving the house, landing … Continue reading

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Compared to What

It’s easy to convince yourself that you’re doing well if you compare yourself to your peers who are doing worse than you.  Unfortunately, this is a recipe for mediocracy.  Eventually, your self-induced laziness lets your peers catch up and then … Continue reading

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Scammer’s Logic

Why do “Nigerian” scammers say they’re from Nigeria?  After all, if you were running a widely known scam, wouldn’t you vary the details so you had a better chance of fooling a wider audience? Probably not.  In an interesting paper … Continue reading

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Death of the Hobby

Hobbies used to exist as a way to entertain ourselves.  If you had some extra time, you collected stamps, or watched birds, or built ships in a bottle.  You sought out activities to stimulate your mind.  Hobbies were an essential … Continue reading

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Hard Work Is Never Wasted

In school, a lot of kids ask “When will I ever need to know this?”  Why do I need to know how to solve for x?  Who cares whether Amenhotep or Ramesses ruled Egypt first?  When will I ever need … Continue reading

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Freedom, Responsibility, and Child Rearing

The New Yorker asks why American kids lack the responsibility so evident in children of (some) other cultures.  The article concludes that an adolescence of parental fixing, making sure everything is perfect and the kid never fails, results in a … Continue reading

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Magic Bullets

From an ESPN piece on Ryan Lochte, who is looking to spoil Michael Phelps’ final Olympics next month: “I’m not the most talented swimmer,” Lochte adds. “So I try to outwork everyone else.” It’s Sunday. A day of rest. The … Continue reading

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On Character

In Britain, it’s a crime to display a sign that is “threatening or abusive or insulting” with the intent to provoke “distress”, even if that sign is displayed in your own window.  The local constabulary explained that citizens, “in the … Continue reading

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Freedom

The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he … Continue reading

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The $144,146,165 Button

Tiny changes can have massive results. Need proof?  Three buttons in a cab can increase tips 220%.

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Perspective

It’s always important to remember that not everyone sees things the same way you do.  If they disagree, or understand, or don’t believe you, it’s not necessarily because they think you’re an idiot. Wish I knew who to give credit … Continue reading

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Creating An Ownership Experience

Apple stores are a paradox.  People love them, even though the service is awful.  Yes, the service is better than Best Buy and other big retailers, but it’s still awful.  So why are Apple stores far and away the highest … Continue reading

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Sell Before You Build

Derek Sivers describes a marketing genius’ approach to writing: Marketing guru Jay Abraham, in the pre-internet days, would run classified ads in newspapers and magazines. If he wanted to write a book about something, he’d run a classified ad, taking … Continue reading

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Attitude

Attitudes are infectious. It’s why the happy, gregarious guy is always the life of the party and the center of attention.  Everyone wants some of that happiness.  It’s also why everyone avoids the depressed, quiet guy.  It’s actually easier to … Continue reading

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