“Why Nerds are Unpopular” and other lanky links…
paulgraham.com: Bottom line: nerds don’t realize that being popular is of a discipline unto itself. “Nerds don’t realize this. They don’t realize that it takes work to be popular.” This is an Internet classic from 2003 for the English-speaking wired world…
“Why Russians Don’t Get Depressed”
Jonah Lehrer: “According to Grossman and Kross, however, not all brooders and ruminators are created equal. While American brooders showed extremely high levels of depressive symptomatology (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory, or BDI), Russian brooders were actually less likely to be depressed than non-brooders. This suggests that brooding, or ruminative self-reflection, has extremely different psychiatric outcomes depending on the culture. While rumination makes Americans depressed, it actually seems to provide an emotional buffer for Russians. ”
“‘Survival of fittest’ is disputed”
BBC: “…more formally known as the ‘ecological niche concept’ by biologists—refers to the particular requirements of an organism to thrive. It includes factors like the availability of food and a favourable habitat.”
“Ten Signs of a Fear-Based Workplace”
Liz Ryan: “The U.S. financial crisis has caused fear in the boardroom, and that unease trickles down to every worker. The principal signs of a fear-soaked senior leadership are a preoccupation with looking out for No. 1, a clampdown on consensus-building conversations, and the shunning or ousting of anyone so bold or naive as to tell the truth about what he or she believes.”
“When honesty isn’t always the best policy”
Wallace Immen: “Those who answered the questions honestly but hesitantly were rated an average of 25 per cent less credible and likeable than those who evaded in an eloquent way, said Prof Norton, who did the study along with Todd Rogers, senior researcher at ideas42, a think tank at Harvard, and the founding executive director of the Analyst Institute in Cambridge, Mass.”