For content related to psychology, how we learn, how we make decisions.

Imagination at work

Submitted by PeterElias on Sun, 06/03/2012 - 06:00

A wonderful thing, imagination, with the vast possibilities it allows. 

 

Nana Cindy, Bumpa Pooh and (Princess) Phoebe were enjoying a wonderful pretend picnic in her bedroom. Phoebe was describing in sometimes startling detail the preparations for the picnic when she started pantomiming, pouring a liquid on her hands, rubbing her palms together, and then applying it to her doll. We asked if she was using sunscreen, and she paused and looked thoughtful while she considered the question.

“No,” she said. “Moonscreen.”

First, what's the problem?

Submitted by PeterElias on Tue, 04/03/2012 - 06:00

We’ve all been there, facing a problem so large or complex it seems insoluble. Fortunately, insoluble problems are solved with great regularity. If that weren’t true, we’d still be living in caves and eating only what we could catch or pick.

What can we do to increase our chances of solving the big problems in our lives and workplaces? Here are three suggestions.

Confirmation bias

Submitted by PeterElias on Wed, 12/28/2011 - 06:00

I will never forget the quasi-humorous sign in the radiology reading room:

I’ll see it when I believe it.

Robert Burton, a former Chief of Neurology at Mount Zion Medical Center, explains it this way: