Which came first?
There are many “chicken or the egg” scenarios when it comes to examining human behaviour. One that is of particular interest to many is the happiness/success correlation. Which came first, or more to the point, which caused which? One might think that it doesn’t really matter which one causes which considering happiness and success are both wonderful things to have. So, who cares which one you get first if they ultimately lead to both? Well, simply...
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Any crime thriller or detective show enthusiast knows that there are two main kinds of detective: the methodical one who processes and puzzles over information, connecting dots and formulating opinions from there, and the insightful one who has the sudden moments of revelation. A classic example of the former is Sherlock Holmes: “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” Holmes’ methods are exhaustive and focuse...
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I once watched a man give a talk on learning new languages, a task famously hard for English first-language speakers. He surprised me with a simple question: “Why do some people never learn the language of a country, even when they have moved there years before?” It was a question that surprised me simply because I used to believe that moving to a country was the best way to learn the language. The answer he proposed to his rhetorical question was this: “Because a dro...
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Do you ever feel like going for a run? I don’t mean you felt guilty about that fourth doughnut and now you think a jog might absolve you. I mean you actually felt like running would be a fun idea. For the few people who have had that feeling, you will know two things about it: one, it’s quite rare; two it’s short-lived. Even if running seemed like a great idea when you started, and the first kilometre flew by in what felt like a celebration of athleticism, your feelin...
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It’s getting hot, uncomfortably hot, and as the temperature rises, you might find your temperament changing with it. Chances are, you’re probably feeling a bit more on edge, a little more agitated, perhaps even a little aggressive. Of course, so is everyone else. After all, they’re baking in the same nationwide sauna as you are; a sauna which is only set to get worse as summer marches on and climate change fuels it on. Of course, it might not be the heat that is short...
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