Read morePeople who learn the quickest show the least neural activity, a new study finds.
The research flies in the face of the common myth that the key to learning is trying harder and thinking it through.
Instead, quick learners in particular showed reduced brain activity in the frontal cortex, an area linked to conscious planning.
In other words: good learners don’t overthink what they are trying to learn.
Read more“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes,” writes author and prominent business-world thinker Daniel Pink. “Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.”
A lovely thought. But new research suggests it isn’t always true.
A paper just published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin provides evidence that feelings of empathy toward a distressed person can inspire aggressive behaviour.
Read moreBAD NEWS FOR EARLY BIRDS
* You’re useless in the arvo. Early birds are up and at ’em before anyone, and are very productive in the morning, but they tend to flame out by the afternoon. Night owls stay alert longer than early risers before losing their mental stamina. So, don’t ask an early bird to do anything that requires sustained attention more than 10 hours after they wake up.* You’re probably poorer. Although their lifestyle has plenty of drawbacks, night owls tend to be better off financially than their early-rising counterparts.
Read moreThe authors conclude by saying:
“Given the negative outcomes we find associated with more time spent on homework, our study calls into question the desirability of such diligence and the utility of assigning large quantities of homework in high-performing schools. […] any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development.”
It seems the horrible, wasteful, idiotic culture of pointless ‘busywork’ is alive in well in some high schools.
Read moreWhile going through the course my classmates and I were given surveys to fill out. One of the questions asked was: “Where or to whom would you turn if you were in crisis?” Popular answers listed were “the emergency room,” “a loved one,” “a mentor,” “a crisis hotline,” and very last on the popularity list was “clergy.” When asked why most people responded that they were afraid they would be told they were a sinner.
Read moreWisdom is the ability to make sound judgments and choices based on experience. It’s a virtue according to every great philosophical and religious tradition, from Aristotle to Confucius and Christianity to Judaism, Islam to Buddhism, and Taoism to Hinduism. According to the book From Smart to Wise, wisdom distinguishes great leaders from the rest of the pack. So what does it take to cultivate wisdom?
Seth Godin: Stop Stealing Dreams
This is, without a doubt, the best grasp of what needs to be fixed about the mess that passes as our education system I have ever seen. I started reading it just to see what he had to say and ended up not being able to stop reading until I had read the entire book in one sitting.
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