Category Archives: Psychology
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
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
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
Have Happy Relationships in 2019
Human beings are social animals. To be our best selves, we need other people. But those relationships demand work, patience, and understanding. How can you make your relationships as happy as possible in 2019? Think about three things: You, the … Continue reading
Create a Better Life in 2019
Want to create a better life in 2019? In “Emily’s Five Things,” a Taiwanese television series, Emily finds a bottle at the beach. It contains a paper with an enigmatic message: Be Yourself Reconcile Bid Farewell Go Home Rewind The … Continue reading
Embrace the Paradox of Self-Improvement
Are you good enough as you are, or do you think you can do better? That question highlights the paradox of self-improvement. Before you can make your life better, you must believe you’re worthy of something better. That means accepting … Continue reading
Can We Measure the Quality of Debates?
As an undergraduate mathematics major, I had to take three semesters of statistics. I’m pretty good at mathematics, but statistics is a different animal. To adapt the famous last words of English actor Edmund Gwenn, “Mathematics is easy. Statistics is … Continue reading





