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Author Archives: N.S. Palmer
Thought Experiments for Left and Right
Whether your politics lean left or right, a couple of thought experiments can help you understand people who lean the other way. History’s most famous thought experiment inspired Albert Einstein‘s theory of special relativity. In 1895, aged only 16, Einstein … Continue reading
Can You Feel the Love?
Can you feel the love? It’s kind of a cliché, sometimes said as a joke. But it points to a real problem. For any society to survive, its people need to cooperate. That requires at least a minimum level of … Continue reading
Our Own Personal Iagos
In high school, I had a friend who tipped me off that someone secretly hated me. Pretty soon, however, I noticed that he told me the same thing about a lot of other people. So either I was most hated … Continue reading
Whose Welfare Counts, and How Much?
This blog post isn’t about what you’ll at first think it’s about. So bear with me. The United Kingdom’s National Trust was established in 1895 to showcase and protect Britain’s national heritage. Among other things, it gives tours of historic … Continue reading
Coping with Clickbait
Call me naïve (“You’re naïve!” “Thank you.”), but I believe that most people want to be good. That doesn’t mean that all people want to be good, or that most people are good all the time. Obviously, they’re not. But … Continue reading
We Don’t Always Need to Talk
“We need to talk.” Those words inspire dread. They usually portend something unpleasant. At home, your spouse might be angry because you forgot to take out the trash. At work, your boss might scold you for neglecting to put cover … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Life, Psychology
Tagged Communication, Confucius, Consideration for others, Kindness, Silence, Small talk, Talking
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Three Ways to Understand People
If you want to understand why people believe and act as they do, three ideas will get you a long way: People want the world to make sense They make sense of the world in various ways, based on different … Continue reading
Learn How to Trust People
You can trust people. Honest. That’s not a joke. Trust me. But it’s important to know what trust is. Then you can trust people in the right way. A couple of analogies might help explain the point. Suppose that you … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Life, Psychology
Tagged Forgiveness, Human Relations, Patience, Pragmatism, Realism, Serenity, Trust, Understanding
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Remain Calm, Even If All Isn’t Well
It’s easy to remain calm when everything is going well. But it’s more important to remain calm when everything isn’t going so well. One way I’m lucky is that I have friends and family members who disagree with me about … Continue reading
The Thousand-Year View 