Category: Thinking

Ten Tips to Improve your Curiosity

Image by Alexas_fotos on Pixabay 1. Ask questions: Keep asking questions, even if they seem silly or obvious. Children are always curious about the world and are always asking questions. Be more childlike. 2. Read widely: Reading is the best way to expose yourself to new ideas and perspectives. Make an effort to read books, articles, and blog posts on a variety of topics, even if you don't... Read More--

Try Something Different

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got.” This trite saying crops up all over the place. It is variously attributed to Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Tony Robbins, Marian Diamond and several others. The trouble is that it just is not true. The world changes. It is volatile and uncertain. Things which worked well last year might work... Read More--

Facing a Difficult Decision? Just Spin a Coin.

How do you go about making a really tough decision?  Like whether to quit your job, buy a house or dump your boyfriend?  You have weighed up all the options, written down the pros and cons, tossed and turned in your bed but still cannot decide.  Maybe you should just roll a dice or spin a coin and follow the chance result.  Heads you go, tails you stay. Steve Levitt, professor of economics at the... Read More--

In Praise of Ignorance and Doubt

We value knowledge and certainty and disdain ignorance and doubt.  Ignorant is an adjective of derision.  Perhaps we over-value knowledge and underestimate the power of ignorance; or should I say the awareness of ignorance.  Why is this?  Because knowledge can breed certainty, hubris and closed minds.  We need to be open-minded and even doubtful about our knowledge because what was true yesterday... Read More--

Don’t be a Zebra, Be a Giraffe

Zebra stands for Zero Evidence but Really Adamant.  Zebras are people who see things in black and white.  They are sure of their own opinions and they disdain information or science which undermines their beliefs.  The king of the Zebras is Donald Trump. Tom Nichols is the author of the 2017 book, The Death of Expertise.  In it he writes that ignorance is now seen as a virtue.  ‘To reject... Read More--

Thank Heavens for Leaders who can Change their Minds

Why do we find it so hard to change our minds?  Why are we so critical of people who do change their minds? Stalin John Adair, the leadership expert, says that the most important (and often the most difficult) sentence for a leader to utter is, ’I admit that I was wrong.’  But on the rare occasions when political leaders change their minds they are accused in the media of flip-flopping, of doing... Read More--

Innovate and Persuade with a Well-Judged Nudge

Behavioural nudges are clever policy tweaks often used by governments to influence the choices that people make.  They are often found to be more effective and less costly than direct actions such as quotas, taxes or subsidies.  Here are some simple examples: Putting calorie counts on menus encourages people to make healthier choices – salads instead of french fries. Changing the default... Read More--

Do We Really Use only 10% of our Brains?

How much of the brain do we employ and how much remains unused? What would happen if we could release the full potential of our brains? Lucy is a film directed by Luc Besson in 2014. It stars Scarlett Johansson as a heroine who ingests drugs that dramatically improve her mental capacity. Morgan Freeman plays Professor Norman who states, ‘It is estimated that humans use only 10% of the capacity of... Read More--

Games for Thinkers

Thinkers relish the challenge and stimulation of intellectual games. They enjoy games for the pure thrill of exercising their minds and judgements in pursuit of victory. You can take pleasure in any number of great games. Here is a selection of recommended pastimes. Add them to your Christmas list: 1. Chess Chess is the king of games. It represents a pure cerebral struggle between two minds. It teaches... Read More--

If you want a great idea, start with a great many ideas.

One of the problems with the Western education system is that it teaches that for most questions there is one correct answer. Examinations with multiple choice questions force the student to try to select the right answer and avoid the wrong ones. So when our students leave school they are steeped in a system that says find the ‘right answer’ and you have solved the problem. Unfortunately the real... Read More--