5 Great Books on the Science of Being Wrong
"The intricate mechanisms of the human mind are endlessly fascinating. We've previously explored various facets of how the mind works -- from how we decide, to what makes us happy, to why music affects us so deeply -- and today we're turning to when it doesn't: Here are five fantastic reads on why we err, what it means to be wrong, and how to make cognitive lemonade out of wrongness's lemons." Cul... posted on Nov 11 2011, 9,103 reads

8 Approaches to Simplicity
Uncluttered, Ecological, Family, Compassionate, Soulful, Business, Civic, Frugal. According to Duane Elgin, author of the classic 'Voluntary Simplicity,' these eight words constitute distinct aspects of simplicity. "As these eight approaches illustrate, the growing culture of simplicity contains a flourishing garden of expressions whose great diversity -- and intertwined unity -- are creating a re... posted on Nov 10 2011, 18,781 reads

3 Lessons From A Collapsed Lung
"At the start of my junior year at USC, my left lung spontaneously collapsed unexpectedly. After being admitted to the ER, I spent four days at the Good Samaritan Hospital with a uncomfortable chest tube jutting out of my body. This was my first, real, and personal encounter of the true fragility of life: the fact that I could possess perfect health one day then instantly have to cling on for de... posted on Nov 09 2011, 8,708 reads

Discovering My Own Values
"For most of my life, I believe I inherited my values from my context. Working at Facebook, efficiency and leverage became important to me, along with openness, connectedness, impact. These were the things that kept me up at night. What should've kept me up was my dad's cancer. He'd been diagnosed sometime while I was in college, but I'd mostly pretended he hadn't because that was easier. I assume... posted on Nov 08 2011, 38,543 reads

An Amazon Tour Guide's Inspiring Story
Nearly 21 years ago, Patty Webster landed her dream job as an adventure tour guide in the Peruvian Amazon. But as she shared the area's beauty and culture with tourists, she realized there was a darker side to the rainforest paradise. "I saw how poor they were and realized that people were dying because they didn't have medical care," Webster said. She started sharing her supplies with the locals ... posted on Nov 07 2011, 3,750 reads

Of Forests and Men
To commemorate 2011 as the International Year of Forests, the United Nations appointed Yann Arthus-Bertrand to create a short video to raise consciousness about forests. Using stunning aerial photography and video footage, the producer (whose previous online movie was seen by 400 million people) has done it again.... posted on Nov 06 2011, 5,024 reads

Remembering Kindness 41 Years Later
"I was a widow and an expectant mother in the same day. We had bought a new home and I had filled our two bedroom apartment with nursery items in anticipation of moving in. Now the house would be taken away. I knew I would have to go back to my parents' home, at least until I delivered the baby. And the shock of my husband's sudden death had made losing the baby a very real possibility. I moved ba... posted on Nov 05 2011, 6,522 reads

The Essence of a Great Presentation
"A few months ago when I had worked with Macy in the recording studio, I found the circumstances even more daunting. Nearly every time I began to play, my mind would start churning: 'I'm not a professional musician. I'm going to make a lot of mistakes. The audience/album producer/recording engineer will think I'm lousy. I am lousy. I am going to let Macy down. Why did I think I could do this?' I'v... posted on Nov 04 2011, 15,791 reads

In the Pursuit of Happy
"Happiness is defined as a sense of well being, a feeling of joy or delight, and a state of balance and contentment. However, it is easy to confuse intensity, pursuing pleasure, and thrill seeking with joy, delight and contentment. The qualities of happiness include having a sense of freedom to make choices; being loved and giving love; acting in kind and compassionate ways; and seeing life in a c... posted on Nov 03 2011, 9,956 reads

The Potential for Design
"Design is an inescapable dimension of human activity. To adapt one of my favorite quotes by Reyner Banham, like the weather it is always there, but we speak about it only when it is exceptionally bad or exceptionally good. Design is also a powerful political tool, as pharaohs, queens, presidents, and dictators throughout history have taught us. It comes not only in very visible and traditional ap... posted on Nov 02 2011, 4,108 reads