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Why Do Some Dogs Tilt Their Heads When We Talk to Them?
I have fond memories of my Beagle, Darby, coming into the kitchen when I was preparing dinner. I would casually chat with him, and when I would turn to him to say something he would cock his head to...
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Passwords and the Limits of Imagination
Text-based passwords seem to be a necessity for having any kind of use of information technology. The benefits are multiple: they are easy and cheap to implement, familiar to virtually everyone, they...
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Collective Intelligence: Help The World Create An IQ Test
You’ve seen those IQ tests online and you probably wonder who makes them. Well now you can actually become the test inventor rather than test taker in a new project from the M.I.T. Center For...
View ArticleCognitive Dissonance and Psychosis
Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions, thoughts or beliefs that are psychologically inconsistent with a person’s behavior. Cognitive...
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Night Music
When I was looking for unique narratives for a book called Cemetery Stories, I sometimes had to persuade people to trust me. Often, the tellers weren’t sure I’d believe them, let alone handle their...
View ArticleLoser Siblings: Sound Like Anyone You Know?
I had some hesitation about using the word "loser" in the subject line, but then I figured, that such a person would never read this (#20 below). I am checking out the size of the market and unmet need...
View ArticleHow the Science of Love Can Make You a Smarter Marketer
If you’ve watched your share of romantic comedies—and I’m not ashamed to say that I have—you know that there’s a certain formula involved.Step #1: The protagonists get off to a bad start. Step #2: The...
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The Real Problem With Weight Nazis
I was in the grocery store when I felt a tug on my lab coat. I looked down to find a very young kid. He said, “Hi My name is Aiden. What’s your name?” I said Billi. Then he said, “My mamma say you are...
View ArticleThe Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing
Notorious murderer Charles Manson is reportedly engaged. What? Yep, you heard right. The next obvious question is . . . to who? According to a story carried by the Huffington Post in November - would...
View Article20 Quotes on Silence
Silence - can it help you get your point across better than speaking? See what these famous people had to say about the virtue of silence. I've begun to realize that you can listen to silence and...
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Is a Woman's Father the Key to Her Power?
In 1972, just before I turned 21, my father, a pilot for TWA, invited me to accompany him on his new international route. Having just embarked on a new life in the wake of my turbulent upbringing in an...
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7 Drug-Free Ways to Boost Your Mood & Help Depression
I've written and spoken about my experience with depression for years, ever since I went through an intense depression as an Emergency Medicine resident over a decade ago. That experience changed my...
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Christmas Zen from a Mediocre Meditator
It’s the time of year where I begin to realize my ideal self and my real self will never match up. My friends’ Christmas cards stack in my mailbox, professional portraits on fine card stock, while I...
View ArticleAnimals in Print: Three New Outstanding Books
Three books just arrived in the mail and when I looked at the pile of books and papers on my desk that still needed to read I almost tucked them away for a later day. I'm thrilled that I didn't. My...
View ArticleDo “Hero's Journey” Narratives Create Heroes?
Screenwriters and classical scholars are intimately familiar with the hero's journey, a narrative pattern that undergirds countless myths, folktales, and epic stories. In the traditional version, a...
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Interviews with My Intellectual Idols: Part II
Ever wish you could meet one of your intellectual idols? Maybe shake her hand? Maybe share how much her work has meant to you? Well, I got to meet, greet, and convey my gratitude to many of the mental...
View ArticleWeight, weight: Don't tell me!
Many of us worry about our weight by the time we hit mid-life. We may have always been “a little plump,” but now it’s getting out of hand. Or we may have been slim—until we hit a certain age. And right...
View ArticleThe Dreaded Question: 'Why don't you have children, yet?"
Our first Pregtiquette post about navigating the holidays while trying to conceive, generated further questions from readers. This post focuses on the pariah of all questions posed to childless...
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Children’s Understanding of Death and the Afterlife
A friend’s 4-year-old daughter (we’ll call her Amy) recently learned that her neighbor’s beloved cat passed away. This was Amy’s first experience with death and she took it hard—tears were shed,...
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“You Suck!” and “Show Me Your Jugs!”
One of the most intriguing, and controversial, questions regarding comedy is why are there so few female comedians? While there is no agreement on why that is, I would like to provide some explanations...
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