Boggle
http://boggletheowl.tumblr.com/post/41509206591/ive-been-getting-a-lot-of-these-lately-and-i
I just wanted to share this today. Have a good day, everyone ❤
Psychology
I Will What I Want – Under Armor
I’m loving those new Under Armour ads. They’re a perfect follow up in the theme set by the Always #LikeaGirl Superbowl ads; crazy excellent women doing crazy excellent at the things they do. Misty Copeland, especially struck me as a a great model for this particular set of ads because I have experience with the dance and performance industry, and the voice-over used in her video really struck a chord. Under Armour especially does a great job expressing an emboldening message, while making their products look fantastic.
Any profession where the body is used as an outward vessel for expression incites criticism of the vessel. Calls for an idealization of the vessel that makes it so that expression through it is exclusive. Modeling is the same way, though Giselle Bundchen’s ad focuses on a slightly different issue. There’s this odd tendency in all visual arts, from videography to photography to writing to watercolor to etching to dance, that dehumanizes the subject, and concentrates them down to that moment. At best, art gives a summary. We can’t forget that there’re always more to the story.
A question of scent: lavender aroma promotes interpersonal trust
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-olfactory-fragrance-lavender.html
This is an interesting study, but the authors of this study write quite a bit about how the experiment could be improved upon. I wonder as well how much of the Affect Grid especially was influenced by the fairly common knowledge of the effects of lavender and peppermint.
The “trust game” used in the experiment is also known as the game made up to help demonstrate Game Theory created by John von Neumann. Business students like myself are taught this game generally within the realm of economics to the end that rational people will try to optimize their benefit, and to teach the Nash equilibrium, which is when everyone involved in a situation is making a decision that takes into account everyone else’s choices, and an individual cannot stand to benefit from changing their strategy.
Sometimes, when the game is set up so that being unified in every decision results in the highest reward, a sort of positive Nash equilibrium that wasn’t really demonstrated in Game Theory’s conception which indicated unity as a neutral state, it’s used to teach business students not to step on each other on the path to success. That working together instead of indulging our innate competitiveness, we stand to have win-win situations instead of win-lose.
Perhaps the next time I need to negotiate for something, I should put some of Caldey’s Island Lavender on and the game will swing in my favor, or maybe it will just make me the sucker, and I’ll end up risking too much as a result of my own inclusive state of mind.
Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work
Happy 200th post!
❤
“Crying is a natural response to pain.”
It just came at the right time.
“WHY ARE YOU STOPPING?”
“IT’S A RED LIGHT!”
“THERE ARE NO RED LIGHT IN CAR CHASES!”
Toxic relationships
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/5-signs-youre-in-a-toxic-relationship/
This post is not about friends, families, or significant others.
This post is about work dynamics, and in a roundabout, rather passive aggressive way I guess, about how I’ve been feeling for a few months now, and the situations I’ve needed to change. Situations that I personally need to handle better. Situations that I really just have to avoid. Some of the points certainly apply to me, and how I react to certain situations. I am fighting a lot of unhealthy behavior in my life, and I don’t always win and this damages my relationships with others across the board. I try to acknowledge this as much as possible, but I’m kind of at the point where it’s not a 100% hit rate. Anyway.
I’m going to take the Tiny Buddha points and rewrite them to describe how they may apply to a work setting.
1. It seems like you can’t do anything right.
Your efforts are constantly brushed off, mocked, or otherwise not taken seriously. Suggestions you make don’t count in the context of the group, and you are regularly being criticized without given adequate constructive material to improve.
2. Everything is about them and never about you.
The goals are the only things that matter, and your needs and desires are not taken into consideration at any point for any reason. Any expression of discomfort or misgivings is met with accusations of bad attitude or undesirable qualities. At times, you may be talked over.
Gay Gaming Characters
The PBS Youtube shows are just so good! I don’t even play that many video games and this channel is incredibly intriguing.
This isn’t an issue I’ve ever even thought about, and now I’m a little upset because it’s obviously such an overlooked problem. I’ve only vaguely read about the social issues within the gaming world as it is, and part of that is that I’m not a gamer. It’s interesting, but it follows the pattern: nerds are really insular. Even now, when nerding is a big trend, there are people that try to keep themselves encapsulated: the backlash against “fake cosplayers” and “gamer girls”, brony culture, “filthy casuals”, haha. I can see the big patches of people who put up the red tape, whether or not they realize it or not. I mean, the whole stereotype of the gamer in their mom’s basement eating junk food and lacking a job is based on the notion that gamers don’t like social change/”growing up.”
The lack of acceptance top-down? Makes sense business-wise. It’s risky. The community is loud when it wants to be.
Robin WIlliams
I’ve been in Seattle the past few days, so I’ve been kind of MIA (I’ll have something to write about the pretty city when I get back though!) Plus, with Robin Williams committing suicide, well, that by itself kind of had me stuck. I’ve read a lot. Watched a lot. I’ve written what I could on Facebook and shared other people’s way better tributes to the actor. I don’t think I could do anything better, so I’m just going to post something I thought was lovely.
Suicide. Suicide isn’t something I’m really in the headspace to talk about right now, not on vacation with my parents who don’t acknowledge mental illness unless it’s dementia or the recognizable forms of schizophrenia. Anyway. There’s always a choice. Even if it’s hard to see.
First.
Tribute by Lad Bible
And now, a game that represents depression pretty damn well. Again, there’s always a choice. Sometimes you can’t see it. You’ll see what I mean if you play.
New favorite Youtube show :D
Commentary on what fiction is and is not? Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality in terms of literature? Why was I not subscribed to this PBS channel before?
Featuring one of my favorite worlds:
Creativity and Rationalizing Ethical Discrepancies
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unveiling-the-real-evil-genius/
Aha! See, this makes so much more sense to me than the more accepted trope of the analytical, scheming genius, if only because it only covers one personality. But the ability to rationalize what you’re doing, even if it’s wrong? That’s rampant in basically everyone.
Take procrastination for example. How many times have you thought or heard someone say “Oh, I procrastinate because I work better under pressure” or something similar? With that phrase, you’ve taken something that negatively impacts your productivity and told yourself that it’s a positive thing regardless of whether or not it’s true. That’s what being able to rationalize entails. People convince themselves with stories everyday that the guy in front of them meant specifically to cut them off, that the person at the register really does enjoy talking to you about your cats, that your significant other being quiet means they’re upset and haven’t voiced it yet. People good at these stories simply don’t recognize their evil as evil, because it’s so banal (Banality of Evil, people.)
It’s very easy to think that dishonesty is only a function of the individual, but the reality is that the environment plays a big role. You cheat when the rules are flexible or not very clear and when you have a conflict of interest or a reason to have a biased perception of reality.
We see this in many psychological studies, including the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment where flexibility or a specific point of view changes a person’s take on ethical and moral behavior. And the people studied don’t come in with a plan of action to cause harm to others; they’re just adept and creative enough to convince themselves that harm isn’t what they’re doing.
Pomelo girl thoughts 