Reading Time: < 1 min Uncovering the truth can be a tricky thing to do. Not only do you have to figure out who to trust and which sources to believe, but our own brains can often conspire against us. According to Adam Grant in his book “Think Again“, we have two biases that tend to drive poor judgement: Confirmation […]
Learning
Which is the right tool?
Reading Time: < 1 min I talk a good bit about various digital tools on here, like my recent post about Pipedrive. At times I probably play with tools more than I should (testing tools instead of doing work), but in a lot of cases it can really pay off. For example, I posted 12 years ago about Gmail’s “Send […]
Trust versus expectations
Reading Time: 2 min I’ve always considered myself a trusting person, perhaps to a fault. Trust is good, but unearned trust can lead to trouble. That’s why I was surprised a few weeks ago when our team was working through some DISC testing that it showed I wasn’t particularly trusting. Similar to the Enneagram (or any kind of personality […]
Your opinions require logic when spoken aloud
Reading Time: < 1 min Those of us living in the United States are protected by the wonderful First Amendment, which provides us with freedom of speech. Businesses like Facebook can still block you if they want (thanks to their First Amendment rights), but you’re free to publicly say most anything you want (yes, including yelling “fire” in a crowded […]
The armchair quarterback of politics and science
Reading Time: < 1 min In his book Think Again, author Adam Grant posits the “armchair quarterback syndrome”, which is he says is simply when confidence exceeds competence. We see “armchair quarterbacks” on social media every weekend, second-guessing decisions made by the coach of their favorite sports team. Grant takes it a bit further, though, and applies this syndrome to […]
The specifics matter
Reading Time: < 1 min There is a popular video going around right now of a man that is very opposed to the idea of Critical Race Theory, but seems to know virtually nothing about what it really is. You can see the video here: This post isn’t about CRT itself, but in how our views are shaped. This man […]
The new Kindle Paperwhite is worth the upgrade
Reading Time: 2 min My wife and I have been Kindle readers for quite a few years now. I picked up my first Kindle in 2010, and my wife got her first one a bit before that, and then we both upgraded to the Kindle Paperwhite some years later. It was a great reader! When the new Kindle Paperwhite […]
Arguing can be a sign of respect
Reading Time: < 1 min While you shouldn’t go around looking to pick fights, being willing to argue with someone means you’re willing to engage with them to uncover the truth. Adam Grant said it well in Think Again when he said: In fact, when I argue with someone, it’s not a display of disrespect—it’s a sign of respect. It […]
Open-minded versus actively open-minded
Reading Time: 2 min Accepting new ideas is great. If you believe something, and someone presents another angle for you to consider, taking a look at that angle is likely wise. That’s being open-minded, and many people do a great job of that. However, it can fall a bit short. To accurately refine your viewpoints, it takes going a […]
Do you have something to learn?
Reading Time: < 1 min Related to my recent “Where I’m Ignorant” post from a few days ago is a quote from psychologist Elizabeth Krumrei Mancuso that relates learning to humility. In short: Learning requires the humility to realize one has something to learn. We’ve all seen people that lack the humility to know that they’re not the best, which […]