We often assume intelligence is fixed from birth.
If you’re born with it, you have it. And if you aren’t? That’s too bad. End of story.
Previously, neuroscientists believed that our brains were “fixed”. No matter what someone did, there was nothing they could do to change their brains. If anything, our brain functions would become worse over time.
However, more recent research shows otherwise.
But before we get to that, let’s answer the question: what is intelligence?
We are incredibly picky about where we spend our time and money.
When someone wants to meet, we evaluate the usefulness of the meeting before agreeing to their request. If a store sells items that aren’t of interest to us, we leave and take our money elsewhere. We naturally veer towards activities that give us the highest returns.
Every day, we make mental calculations on what we’re doing, what we’re getting out of it, and alternative options out there. Then, we make incremental adjustments to optimize our lives.
In short, we are smart when it comes to deciding how to use our finite resources.
So why is it that once we’ve started something and realized it’s a bad opportunity – knowing full well that it’s draining our time, money, and energy – do we find it hard to stop?
Ending conversations is a tricky business, no matter which side you’re on.
As the listener, you find yourself daydreaming while the other person drones on. You want nothing more than to run far, far away. Unfortunately, you’re trapped within the jaws of social propriety, afraid to cut the discussion and come off as rude.
As the speaker, you’re not sure if the other person is fully engaged in what you’re saying, or whether you should cut your losses and go elsewhere. After all, you don’t want to socially embarrass yourself by talking long after the person has lost interest.
There’s a tricky balance between time and courtesy. You want to give enough time so that both of you feel good about the social interaction, but not so much that you feel like you wasted it.
Malpractice lawsuits are every doctor’s nightmare.
Once a doctor gets sued for malpractice, the implications reach far and wide. Patients distrust their doctor. Self-doubt creeps in. Some doctors even take it as a sign to leave the medical profession altogether. Even though many cases are dismissed or settled outside court, the effects of receiving that dreaded notice letter can last a lifetime.
A study using a malpractice database in Florida found that 6 percent of obstetricians accounted for over 70 percent of all malpractice-related expenses over a 5-year period. Further research showed that claims at all levels, from unpaid claims to large paid claims, played a predictor in whether a doctor was sued in the past.
Basically, some doctors get sued repeatedly, while others hardly ever get sued. There’s clearly a difference between the two. But what is it? Why do malpractice lawsuits happen in the first place?
Captivate someone for a moment, and you stay captured in their memory forever.
When someone enthralls you, the rest of the world melts away. Nothing else matters. It’s only you and the other person.
On the opposite end, being in the presence of someone boring is like a death sentence.
Imagine two scenarios:
In the first one, you make a $10 bet with a friend. You lose. The next day, fortune smiles on you as you walk down the street. You see a $10 bill lying on the sidewalk.
In the second scenario, nothing happens. You neither enter into any bet with anyone, nor do you find any money lying on the street.
In both scenarios, your net gain is $0.
Would both of these scenarios affect you the same psychologically? Or would one have a greater emotional impact than the other? Which scenario would you choose?
If you picked the second scenario, you made the right choice.
In 2003, Barbra Streisand made a grave miscalculation.
She attempted to sue photographer Kenneth Adelman for invasion of privacy. In the process of documenting the California coastline, he photographed her Malibu mansion. Adelman then included the photo as part of the California Coastal Records Project.
Adelman created the publicly available 12,000 photo collection in order to document coastal erosion. His aim was to influence government policymakers. No matter the intent, Streisand didn’t take kindly to the inclusion of an image of her home. She launched a $50 million lawsuit.
Before the lawsuit, “Image 3850” had only been downloaded from Adelman’s site six times, two of which were by Streisand’s attorneys. Afterward? Over 420,000 people visited the site in a month due to the resulting publicity.
As for the lawsuit, things didn’t go well for Barbra Streisand. The case was dismissed and Streisand subsequently had to pay Adelman’s legal fees totaling $155,567.
Bigfoot. Aliens. The Loch Ness Monster. There are all sorts of creatures out there that people buy into. While many of us see them as myth, there are many still who are rabid followers, chasing after any clues and signs.
Once in a while, something new pops up. A photo reveals a hazy shape off in the distance. Someone claims they saw a strange creature while hiking in the forest. A group of people hear unusual noises. When questionable evidence comes up, many people jump to the same conclusion every time: they were right all along.
However, there are few stories that have shared the same mystique as the legend behind the Hope Diamond.
“Whoops – My wand is a little over excited!” – Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Do you believe people get what they deserve in the end?
Because that’s exactly what happens to Gilderoy Lockhart, a character in the Harry Potter books.
Born in 1964 to a Muggle father and a witch mother, Lockhart attended school at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he joined the house of Ravenclaw. While there, Lockhart proved to be a good student, even though he constantly attempted to seek attention for himself.
In 1982, Lockhart mastered the spell of Memory Charms, enabling him to erase people’s memories. After graduation, he travelled to all sorts of exotic places. Using his newfound skill, he learned the greatest deeds that witches and wizards performed before promptly erasing their memories and claiming their deeds as his own.
Have you ever received criticism that you felt was unfair or downright spiteful? If so, here is an interesting Aesop’s fable:
A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along by his side a countryman passed them and said, “You fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon?” So the man put the boy on the donkey, and they went on their way.
But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said, “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.”
So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other, “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.”