OTBT | MM | TT | WW

AREOMAGAZINE.COM -- The kinds of political polarization we are seeing today have been detrimental to us all. Too often we assume our opponents have nothing to teach us, and we have thereby remained deaf to their wisdom. I don't believe we all need to agree. Political polarization can be useful, provided it encourages us to critically reflect upon our own assumptions, and produce persuasive and powerful counterarguments. It is therefore time we began listening to one another, if only to strengthen our own arguments. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

ISI.ORG -- INTERCOLLEGIATE REVIEW -- In 2009 [philosopher Thomas Nagel, a professor of long standing at New York University and the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate from Oxford University, fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities] selected "Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design" as a book of the year for the Times Literary Supplement.... After being denounced by one scientist for praising Meyer's book, Nagel dryly recommended that the scientist should "hold his nose and have a look at the book" before dismissing it. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- MEDIUM.COM -- SRINIVAS RAO -- The Illusion of Productivity. "Whenever you recognize a task or project as completed, your brain releases a load of dopamine [that] makes you feel good but also motivates you to ... extend that pleasant feeling," says Francisco Saez. "The same process occurs when you use social media, even though you're not getting anything done." ... Satisfaction that Doesn't Last. Attention, instant applause, and the satisfaction they provide is always temporary. The only way to sustain it is to seek more. Post another selfie, compose another clever tweet ... Satisfaction is an insatiable beast that you have to keep feeding. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- UNMISTAKABLECREATIVE.COM -- You can make something or criticize the people who do. Creators shape reality. Critics resign themselves to it. It's easier to be a critic because you don't have to put anything on the line. You don't have to risk rejection, criticism, and doubt. It's better to be the person who writes the book than the one who reads it. The path of least resistance is to be a critic. But the path of most reward is to be a creator. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

HIGHLYSENSITIVEREFUGE.COM -- Known as highly sensitive people (HSPs), these individuals are the 15% to 20% of the population who feel and experience things deeply. This comes with tremendous advantages, but it also means HSPs can get overstimulated and worn out very easily.... 1. "Sensitive" is about our nervous system (not just our feelings). Highly sensitive people are born with the gift of a high-performing nervous system.... 6. Don't tell an HSP to "toughen up." ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

PSYCHOLOGYJUNKIE.COM -- Some misconceptions are relatively harmless. Other misconceptions have become so pronounced that we formulate ideas about people simply based on their I/E preference that are completely false and potentially damaging. In the past the US tended to have an "extrovert bias". Introverts were seen as lacking in social skills or shy. It hasn't been until recently that introversion has been celebrated. However, I believe the pendulum is now swinging too far to the other extreme. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

OZANVAROL.COM -- AngelList CEO Naval Ravikant had it right: "Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want."... When we switch to a process-focused mindset, we condition ourselves to derive intrinsic value out of the activity. The process becomes its own reward. We get into a state of flow as the hypnotic power of process draws us in.... The amateur focuses on outcomes and expects immediate results. The professional plays the long game and prioritizes the process ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

MEDIUM.COM -- The human will is undeniably powerful.... Merging a strong will with purpose creates a purposeful vision, clothed with honourable intentions. Many pioneers have achieved enormous success in spite of prevailing external circumstances. For example, Albert Einstein once stated: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Vision is the foresight to envisage an outcome without external proof. It is the ability to venture into the unknown -- an inner knowing beyond the call of reason.... Those with a strong will and undeniable purpose rise to reframe failure. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

QUILLETTE.COM -- "Actually Studies Show..." Chances are you've found yourself in a heated conversation among a group of friends, family, or colleagues when someone throws down the gauntlet: "Actually, studies show..." Some nod in silent agreement, others check their text messages, and finally someone changes the subject. It's hard to know what to say when people cite scientific studies to prove their point. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

FIRSTTHINGS.COM -- There's an ­unspoken rule in the pharmaceutical industry that half of all academic biomedical research will ultimately prove false, and in 2011 a group of researchers at Bayer decided to test it. Looking at sixty-seven recent drug discovery projects based on preclinical cancer biology research, they found that in more than 75 percent of cases the published data did not match up with their in-house attempts to replicate. These were not studies published in fly-by-night oncology journals, but blockbuster research featured in Science, Nature, Cell, and the like. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

MAYOOSHIN.COM -- After 20 years of collecting and studying 82,361 forecasts from experts, Tetlock came to a comical conclusion: the average expert ... "is not much better at predicting the future than a dart-throwing chimpanzee." ... Experts who had the most knowledge in this study were on average, the least reliable. Even after reviewing the results, they struggled to admit they were wrong. They were overconfident and held to their beliefs, regardless of any contradictory valid evidence.... Fortunately, there were a few experts who made good predictions. These experts had a different approach to decision-making, thinking and solving problems. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

OZANVAROL.COM -- Brilliant scientists -- on a regular basis -- fool themselves. We tend to think that we're above cognitive biases and subjective distortion.... As Tali Sharot explains in The Influential Mind summarizing the relevant research, "[t]he greater your cognitive capacity, the greater your ability to rationalize and interpret information at will, and to creatively twist data to fit your opinions." ... No one comes equipped with a critical-thinking chip that diminishes the human tendency to let personal beliefs distort the facts. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

TIME.COM -- Shyness and introversion are not the same thing. Shy people fear negative judgment, while introverts simply prefer less stimulation; shyness is inherently painful, and introversion is not. But in a society that prizes the bold and the outspoken, both are perceived as disadvantages.... According to the psychologist Elaine Aron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person, 70% of children with a careful temperament grow up to be introverts, meaning they prefer minimally stimulating environments. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

INTROVERTDEAR.COM -- You're confused by your kid. She's hesitant and reserved. Instead of diving in to play, she'd rather stand back and watch the other kids. She spends a lot of time alone in her bedroom. Her teachers say they wish she'd participate more in class. Her social life is limited to two people. Even weirder, she seems totally okay with that. Congratulations: You've got an introvert. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- TED.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: 54 million views and essential viewing for all."] ARTICLE: Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.... "Kids will take a chance. If they don't know, they'll have a go. They're not frightened of being wrong.... If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.... And by the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity. They have become frightened of being wrong.... We stigmatize mistakes." ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- THECONTEMPORARYHOMESCHOOLER.COM -- More and more of Boston's smartest families are opting out of the education system to homeschool their children. Is this the new model for creating elite kids? ... Education expert Dr. Susan Berry states, "The high achievement level of homeschoolers is readily recognized by recruiters from some of the best colleges in the nation. Schools such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford, and Duke University all actively recruit homeschoolers." ... In India, a homeschooled girl's entry into MIT has sparked great interest in homeschooling among education circles in the South Asian giant. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- STANFORDMAG.ORG -- STANFORD UNIVERSITY -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Though written in 2000, Stanford's focus on homeschoolers as expanded to most top tier universities.] ARTICLE: Among the nation's elite universities, Stanford has been one of the most eager to embrace homeschoolers.... So why is the University interested? Admission officers sum it up in two words: intellectual vitality.... Homeschoolers is one way to get more of those special minds, the admission office has discovered. "The distinguishing factor is intellectual vitality," says Reider [Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Admission]. "These kids have it, and everything they do is responding to it." ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

THEPOLYMATHPROJECT.COM -- In his book "The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload" NYT bestselling author and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin argues that multitasking is even worse for us (cognitively... I don't know about socially) than smoking pot ... "Asking the brain to shift attention from one activity to another causes the prefrontal cortex and striatum to burn up oxygenated glucose, the same fuel they need to stay on task." ...

Click to view ❯❯❯