The decline of reading and the rise of social media are again transforming what it feels like to be a thinking person.

Some people attribute mystical powers to positive thinking, but you can harness a practical version to gain real benefits.

A new book buries the Obama-era idea that small shifts in personal behavior can greatly improve the world.

DM Is color foundational, causal and perhaps to be found at the roots of Pantakinesis (as but one form of motion), or is it a "fabricated effect" of our consciousness, perhaps to differentiate experiential phenomena? (There seems to be many incoherent thoughts, and related inherent conflict regarding this topic, ranging from our past and present thinkers and to our classrooms, such as from ancient times to Newton and Goethe to frequency and quantum differentials today.) Yes

DM Today I want to wander about a bit, so please tolerate what may initially seem as unfocused rambling. To begin, what do you think about Danial Quinn's thoughts, such as those he espoused in "Ishmael" and " Story of B ?" Daniel Quinn is a genuinely provocative thinker, and his work rewards serious engagement even when — perhaps especially when — you ultimately disagree with parts of it. The central move Quinn makes, across Ishmael, My Ishmael, and The Story of B, is to ref

Recent research reveals we dip into a sleeplike state as our brains flush out waste buildup

Scientists once hoped that studying the brain would teach us how to build AI. Now, one AI researcher may have something to teach us about the brain.

More than 50 years ago, psychologists began documenting a strange phenomenon among animals, including pigeons, raccoonsand rats. Although they didn’t realize it at the time, this behavior would help to explain why our society has developed such an intense and often uncontrollable need for our phones.

What I learned when I finally started assigning the hard reading again.

DM Our last conversation regarding "Durable Unknowing ," and its related research document, was certainly sobering!   I'd now like to dive back into these waters, doing so in a particular context which seems to possess a depth, a degree of mystery, and perhaps extraordinary relevance to our prior conversation, and many others which I've enjoyed.   This relates to a formidable "thought dichotomy" which has prevailed as strong and stable since the ancients and now throughout t

Good morning! I've increasing concerns regarding cognitively myopic, limited, narrow and/cloistered phenomena of "The Sciences" within modern societies. Here I refer widespread institutional prejudice, paradigmatic hobbles, reductionist fiefdoms, mathematics worship, overt hubris and empirical tethering, all of which which seems to be failing today's humanity (as to the myriad wastes, needless sufffering/despair and onto dangerous trajectories). There were pre-enlightenment w

How does your state stack up as to smart, lazy or beautiful people?

Leslie returns with a look at the psychological power of self-disclosure. She says the moments of oversharing that we often consider “TMI” can actually strengthen our relationships. Then, in the second half of the show, listeners share their thoughts and questions about the expectations we put on modern marriages.

The process can be uncomfortable and interminable—but also lucrative

Using certain hand gestures can boost audience engagement and willingness to follow or purchase, according to a new study from Wharton’s Jonah Berger.

A lesson in attention from a place where speed has never been the point.

In the study, employees worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks, and extended work into more hours of the day, often without being asked to do so. That may sound like a win, but it’s not quite so simple. Thanks Kimberly!

DM Related to our prior conversation about "Presence" (Senge, et al), more specifically as relates to Goethe's thought leadership:  How does Goethe's extraordinary works correlate with, validate or invalidate my related work; and as so, should his body of work be added to my attention? This is a question that deserves careful, systematic treatment. Let me map the actual architecture of Goethe's thought against your frameworks rather than just touching the surface the way Pres

Selected by George Newman, the author of ‘How Great Ideas Happen.’

Anthony Daniels is a firsthand observer of the ‘squalor produced by the welfare state’ and by the ‘widespread abdication of personal responsibility.’