Category Archives: Psychology

Ode to the Contrarian or Why Intelligence May Not Be the Best Strategy in Life

An image showing two fish bowls. One is full of gold fish, the other one is empty of fish. One of the gold fish jumps out of the crowded first tank into the other one.
Disclaimer…

You.  Yes, YOU!  You’re rather bright, aren’t you?  Intelligent, smart.  Let’s face it a little-known genius!  And you have a unique opinion on just about everything.  Not specifically one subject.  Because you’re a contrarian. or as I like to call it: a “brainiac”. 

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Looking on the Bright Side of Clinical Depression

A photograph showing a young man sitting alone near a beach, looking very down-hearted.

New Hope

A revolution in the treatment and understanding of clinical depression may be looming.  And specialists are already talking about one of the strongest discoveries in psychiatry for the past two decades.  For the 350 million people who suffer from the illness worldwide, this could potentially mean light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. 

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Breaking Bad – The Evolutionary Perspective of Evil

A blurred photograph featuring the face of an angry ape chimpanzee. Image: NaturPhilosophie
Evil as an Evolutionary Advantage

There is a side of us that is not unique to our own species.  Evil.  Why?  How did it start?  The first time.  Asking why evil came into existence is a valid question.  Evil behaviours are categorised into four distinct groups.  Of course, it gets pretty dark.  But what is “Evil”? 

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Lateral Thinking in Science – Who Are You?

A photographic montage showing Laura Dern, Benedict Cumberbatch and Lennie James in various cinematic and TV roles as scientists. The caption asks: "What kind of scientist should you be?"
What kind of Scientist are you?

Already this article is beginning to sound like one of those sempiternal quizzes you so often get on social media… but it actually shows how science reality connects.  Are you having a scientific identity crisis?

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Forget Me… Not!

A Simpsons' cartoon. The truth according to Homer Simpson? The caption reads: "Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."
Forgetting is Easy…

Do you feel overwhelmed with the amount of information you have to deal with?  Do you spend time drawing up a shopping list, only to forget it on the kitchen table when you leave the house?  I know I do.  In the words of Homer Simpson: “Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.”  Don’t worry!  Scientists think that it is perfectly normal, and even an essential part of the brain’s learning process.

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All the Trappings of Artificial Intelligence – Does Cortana Dream of Electric Sheep?

A portrait of computer artificial intelligence Cortana, as pictured in computer game Halo.
Meeting Cortana

I met Cortana mid-afternoon.  The perfect time for a well-earned tea break and a chat down at the local café.  I was keen to meet Cortana for the first time.  By then, she was already a celebrity.

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Eyes of the Beholder

Look into my eyes! Image: NaturPhilosophie
Reading Someone’s Mind through their Eyes?

Look into my eyes.  The eyes, the eyes.  Not around the eyes.  Don’t look AROUND the eyes.  Look INTO my eyes.  The eyes…  [click]  You’re not under!  But…  Can you read my mind?

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The Illusion of Choice – Now You See It, Now You Don’t…

A black and white photograph showing passengers standing in an underground railway carriage. The man at the centre of the picture is leaning casually and appears to be reading his newspaper attentively. In fact, he is a pickpocket, who is busy stealing a wallet from the back pocket of one of the passengers on the left who is turning his back to him, and seems unaware that he's being robbed.
What Pickpockets Know and Your Brain Would Rather Not Tell You

Be under no illusion.  You saw the sign: “Pickpockets are operating in this area”.  You reacted.  Instantly.  The first thing you did was to check your pockets or handbag for signs of financial solvability.  All is well.  You relax.  Only now, you’ve become the “mark”… because you’ve just given away precious information about the location of your valuables around your body. 

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Ode to the Numpty or Why Incompetence is a Double-Edged Sword

A photograph showing the hapless character of Mr Bean, played by British comedian Rowan Atkinson.

Disclaimer…

You.  Yes, YOU!  You’re pretty smart, right?  Clever and witty too, I bet.  Of course you are.  You’re just like me.  But wouldn’t it just be terrible if we were all thoroughly mistaken.  Psychologists have now shown that we are more likely to be blind to our own failings than perhaps we do realise.  This might explain why some incompetent people are SO annoying… and also inject a healthy dose of humility into our own sense of self-regard…

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Don’t Shoot, I Just Blog Here! – I Am Charlie.

A Charlie Hebdo cartoon by Cabu, showing three violent extremist of different religious backgrounds. The caption reads: "Dieu N'Existe Pas..." (God Doesn't Exist.) "Si!" (Yes!) is the answer of the terrorist.
Je Suis Charlie.  Let’s Talk!

I don’t do politics – much.  I just blog here…  I have an honest opinion.  Mostly, I tend to disagree with all those who try to suppress opinions, ideas, and attempt to stifle creativity and common sense… whoever they may be.  Unfortunately, once in a while, events are so traumatic that I simply forget that I don’t do politics…  Voilà!

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