Six Keys to Making Good Decisions
"On my first day in a class called 'Decision Analysis' at Stanford, I was shocked when Prof. Ron Howard said that you couldn't judge a decision from the outcome. I walked up to him after class and said, 'Professor, this is what I have read in spiritual texts - that we are only competent in the action, and the outcome is not in our hands. Your principle is ancient.' Prof. Howard replied, 'It may be... posted on Jun 22 2010, 15,167 reads

How to Be Lucky
Why do some people seem to always encounter good fortune while others are constantly bombarded with a slew of bad days? Decades ago, psychologist Richard Wiseman set out to investigate luck. He found that although unlucky people have almost no insight into the real causes of their good and bad luck, their thoughts and behavior are responsible for much of their fortune. What differentiates the luck... posted on Jun 14 2010, 8,838 reads

Longevity in Relationships: 10 Tips
What's the secret to a successful, long-lasting relationship? After the initial 'Honeymoon Phase,' why is it that we might find ourselves increasingly impatient, resentful, jealous, or annoyed by our once blissful relationship? Upon ending her 17-year marriage, New York Times Well Blog columnist Tara Parker-Pope seeks out the answers in her book, "For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage". Subtl... posted on Jun 03 2010, 19,900 reads

Money Giveth, Money Taketh Away
The idea that money does not buy happiness has been around for centuries, but now scientists have shown for the first time that even the thought of money reduces satisfaction in the simple pleasures of life. In two experiments, conducted by scientists at the University of Liege in Belgium, the subject's "savoring" ability -- the feeling of positive emotions such as contentment, gratitude, joy, awe... posted on May 31 2010, 4,945 reads

What Makes Us Come Alive?
People don't just do things for money. At least that's what Daniel Pink says. "We do things because they're interesting, because they're engaging, because they're the right things to do, because they contribute to the world," Pink elaborates. In a world that operates on punishments and rewards, writers Clay Shirky and Daniel Pink are paving a new path. Both grew up in Midwest university towns in t... posted on May 25 2010, 5,013 reads

The I of Marriage
We all know there's no "I" in team. But a new study suggests that having too much "I" in marriage might be a problem as well. In a study that examined over 150 middle-aged and older married couples as they discussed a recent conflict, UC Berkeley researchers found that couples who used words like "we," "our," and "us" displayed high levels of positive emotional behavior and low levels of physiolo... posted on May 19 2010, 4,309 reads

Does Thoreau Have a Future?
For a man who relished solitude, living in a small cabin by a small pond in the forests of Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau sure got his ideas heard. Can this philosopher who once refused a doormat- because, as he wrote, "It's best to avoid the beginnings of evil"- still inspire people to live in simplicity in today's increasingly complex world? According to Lawrence Buell, professor of American... posted on Apr 19 2010, 4,467 reads

Dirty Secret of Search Engines
Google serves up approximately 10 million search results every hour. How much does a web search cost? You don't pay up front, but there are non-monetary costs nevertheless. IT research firm Gartner estimates Google's data centres contain nearly a million servers, each drawing about 1 kilowatt of electricity. So every hour Google's engine burns through 1 million kilowatt-hours. Hence, it turns ou... posted on Apr 10 2010, 7,178 reads

Fairness: An Evolutionary Advantage?
The best place to see the Golden Rule in action is... at the grocery store? That's what science columnist John Tierney says. In a recent study, WalMart shoppers of Hamilton, Missouri scored higher in a test of fairness toward strangers than clan-based communities around the world. Researchers explain that developing "market norms" promotes general levels of "trust, fairness and cooperation" with s... posted on Apr 08 2010, 2,627 reads

Gladiators Were Vegetarians!
The figure of gladiators recalls the ideas of strength, hard training, endurance, and deadly efficiency: a perfect fighting machine. Historically, a gladiator was a sort of sport hero; statues and paintings of the ancient Roman period tell us of this astonishing world of fighters. Perhaps akin to the modern-day Mohammad Ali or Mike Tyson, these gladiators endured long sessions of physical training... posted on Mar 16 2010, 5,737 reads