Tag Archives: Brain

Death of the Hobby

Posted on June 27, 2012 by AJ Kessler

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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Ordinary People

Posted on March 6, 2012 by AJ Kessler

You asked me if an ordinary person, by studing hard, could get to be able to imagine things like I imagine things.  Of course.  I was an ordinary person who studied hard.  There’s no miracle people.  It just happens they … Continue reading →

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Productive Procrastination

Posted on January 25, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Everyone needs a mental break at some point during the day.  It’s biological: mammals are programmed to experience two intensely sleepy periods during the day, the first between 2 and 4 am, and the second between 1 and 3 pm. … Continue reading →

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Your Horsepower Is Irrelevant

Posted on September 6, 2011 by AJ Kessler

An engine can only produce so much horsepower.  If you’ve got a 300 horsepower engine, it’ll produce 300 horsepower.  Sure, you can expend a lot of effort, bore those cylinders out and up the horsepower 10%, but you’re still in … Continue reading →

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Fake It ‘Til You Make It: Physiologically Sound

Posted on August 27, 2011 by AJ Kessler

From Psychology Today: The great surrealist artist Salvador Dali was described by his fellow students at the Madrid art academy as “morbidly” shy according to his biographer Ian Gibson.  He had a great fear of blushing and his shame about … Continue reading →

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Don’t Judge Me, Bro

Posted on August 12, 2011 by AJ Kessler

Judgment is a basic animal process.  A dog’s brain instantly processes hundreds of data points of sounds, smells, visual cues and behavioral phenomena to determine which animals are friendly and which are not.  The reactions are so quick because these … Continue reading →

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Obvious To You, Amazing To Others

Posted on August 2, 2011 by AJ Kessler

I love this old video from Derek Sivers.  It’s always easy to forget:

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Relax

Posted on June 21, 2011 by AJ Kessler

On a mini vacation in Palm Springs.  It was 115 degrees today.  What do you do in Palm Springs, in the summer, when it’s 115 degrees?  Well, the sane half of the area’s residents leave town: many shops and restaurants … Continue reading →

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Free Will Doesn’t Exist?

Posted on June 19, 2011 by AJ Kessler

I would guess most people in the U.S. believe in free will.  It’s nice to think that we actually have control over our thoughts, decisions, actions, and ultimately, our lives.  But do we? This piece in the Atlantic seems to … Continue reading →

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Barely Hanging On? Count Backwards to Success

Posted on June 8, 2011 by AJ Kessler

The explosion came from out of nowhere. Flames surround me. I couldn’t see through the glowing white light of burning magnesium. That’s how the “second half” of Dan Ariely’s life began.  After sustaining third degree burns to over 70% of … Continue reading →

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There Is Always An Excuse

Posted on June 6, 2011 by AJ Kessler

“I had a bad day, I deserve this.” “I had a great day, I deserve this.” “Well, I’ve already done X.  Y won’t hurt.” “Well, I haven’t done X yet, so I can do Y.” Your mind is disturbingly capable … Continue reading →

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Want To Live Longer? Move

Posted on June 1, 2011 by AJ Kessler

Steven Johnson, successful, middle-aged author and thinker, is moving from New York to San Francisco.  His main reason for moving is to slow down time: Another old friend — my oldest, in fact — wrote an email to me after … Continue reading →

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Games > Music

Posted on May 23, 2011 by AJ Kessler

In Delivering Happiness, Zappo’s CEO Tony Hsieh recounts how he, and every other Asian kid he knew, was forced to practice multiple instruments, often for hours each day.  No TV, no playtime, no games, until homework was finished and music … Continue reading →

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How To Get Smarter

Posted on May 18, 2011 by AJ Kessler

For years, people thought intelligence was genetic.  It was thought that your intelligence potential was more or less fixed at birth, that at best, you could make yourself dumber by huffing paint or drinking booze.  This was actually confirmed by … Continue reading →

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