Ideas
Experiments in thought
The Brain in the Vat
There are lots of things we might be uncertain about, but one thing is for sure, we know we are real and the world is real. Right? You would know if you were just a brain in a vat; wouldn't you?
Ideas
Logical Fallacy
The Straw Man and The Steel Man
If you are finding it hard to make progress in a conversation, it might just be that you are doing battle with Straw Men.
Ideas
Experiments in thought
The Trolly Problem
We might not always do the right thing, but we can be pretty sure we know what the right thing to do is. Right?
Ideas
Experiments in thought
The Happy Pill
Ask most people what they want in life, and most of the time they will say that they want to be happy. But do they? Would you take The Happy Pill?
Ideas
Building Rapport
The foundation to any productive conversation is rapport, a relaxed and friendly relationship in which people are free to communicate openly.
Ideas
Cognitive Bias
Group homogeneity
When we find ourselves in a group, we might not always be aware of how the group effects how we think; and how it can make people seem more similar than they really are.
Thoughts
The Infallibility of Parents
However many parents you have, however your specific configuration of parents works; and regardless of them being your biological parents or not; you don't get to choose them and they come a wide range of ability and aptitudes.
Thoughts
It's a kind of Magic
If you have ever found yourself wishing that like Harry Potter, the heroes of Dungeons and Dragons or the Dragonborn of Skyrim we live in a world with magic in it, Well I good news... I think we do.
Thoughts
Labelled
From the moment you were born (and probably even before), many of the characteristics that combine to make you unique were being labelled.
Thoughts
Emotional Responses
Everyone copes with misfortune differently. Those who fall apart and those that stare it coldly in the face are both dealing with it in their own way.
Ideas
Cognitive Bias
The Framing Effect
Find out how a small change in the way something is presented can have a surprising impact on the decisions we make.
Thoughts
Be sceptical of your limitations
We can't all be exceptional at everything we do; but it's worth applying some healthy scepticism what we believe are our limitations.