Category Archives: Rationality

Skill Rot, or Why You Shouldn’t Learn That

It’s not like riding a bike: you can’t hop right back on and it doesn’t come back easily, even though you still might end up getting your groin impaled by the contraption you’re trying to control. Skill rot is what … Continue reading

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Focus On Your Core Principle to Make Decisions And Beat Procrastination

I finished reading Made To Stick last week, which is fantastic and highly recommended for anyone who does anything creative, anything that requires communication, or anything related to sales (so… pretty much everyone).  One of the biggest things that’s stuck … Continue reading

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The Small Change in Perception That Can Change Your Life

Who has a higher tolerance for pain: those who experience an acute injury, lots of pain at one time, or those who constantly suffer from pain?  The answer is counter-intuitive, and the potential reason is fascinating. Dan Ariely has found … Continue reading

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How To Get Anyone To Help You Do Anything

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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How To Meet Your Heroes and Win Mentors

Have you noticed that little kids can do just about anything they want?  There’s a mountain of stories about young kids getting an audience with some business or government leader simply because they wrote a letter.  Successful people, and people … Continue reading

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Quit

Stephen Dubner, author of Freakonomics, also runs podcast by the same name.  He recently put out an episode titled “The Upside of Quitting” that was full of interesting thoughts.  Full transcript here, and my favorite quote below. “A quitter never … Continue reading

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A 10 Second Guide To Mastering Capitalism

Capitalism is the ability to accumulate capital, which can then be deployed at will. The key to accumulating capital is delaying gratification.

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Why Do We Do It This Way, Again?

Two newlyweds were spending their first Christmas together.  Wanting to celebrate properly, the new wife asked her mother for the famous Christmas Ham recipe.  The husband was excited. He watched as the wife prepared to dutifully follow the recipe.  Curiously … Continue reading

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Stop: You Don’t Know His Motivation Until You Ask

A friend of mine once bought a house for roughly half of what it was worth.  The market was still booming.  The seller certainly could have gotten more.  Why would anyone make such a terrible deal? John G. emailed to … Continue reading

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The Secret To Success Is Failure

Dominic Randolph is the headmaster at an elite New York prep school.  His clientele is made up of offspring of New York’s elite, a group of rich and powerful people who fork over $38,500 for pre-kindergarten.  These kids, you might … Continue reading

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Selling Out Your Dream For $140 A Week

You’ve got two job offers: Option 1 is a job at a fantastic company, with great people, doing something you want to be doing. Option 2 is a job at a good company, with good people, doing ok work.  But, … Continue reading

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Test Your Way To A Raise

Testing is fundamentally important to increase your odds of success.  Yes, you may have been born an athletic freak.  You may write a screenplay that strikes the right tone at the right time and is wildly successful.  You may come … Continue reading

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Identifying Bias: It’s Not Just Bribes That Motivate

I was reading the comments on this CNN article, titled “Experts Caution Against Stem Cell Treatments Abroad.”  They’re pretty typical of CNN comments: CorrDNEqCaus All I’m reading here is, “Don’t trust these treatments until we’re able to provide them and … Continue reading

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The Scary Truth About Happiness

Unfortunately, you can’t buy happiness, because happiness doesn’t come from doing things that make you feel good.  Happiness doesn’t come from laying on the beach, or vacationing in Europe, or shopping, or eating, or drinking, or partying, or fucking.  Happiness … Continue reading

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My Attorney Will Be In Contact With You

A guy in a suit knocks on your door.  He flashes a badge and wants to ask you a few questions about your involvement at your company.  Or with your stock broker.  Or with your neighbor. What do you say? … Continue reading

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