The Earlier Version of You.
Last winter, I had a day where I felt completely steady walking into something and completely unsteady walking out of it. I was only about ten miles from my house. I went into a company on a beautiful crisp, clear morning to give an in-person presentation. I thought it went so well. But when I […]
The Small Thing That Won’t Let Go.
We recently had our Primary Program at my church – a well-rehearsed hour filled with songs and speaking parts presented by the children in the congregation from ages 3-11. Darren, for the life of him, has not been able to get one of the songs out of his head. It has gotten to the point […]
A recent sleep study – and misperception.
When I was a student teacher in Psychology, I led a large group of juniors and seniors in high school through a dream experiment. For 2 weeks I asked them to keep a notebook by their beds and record the events of their day before they got in bed at night, and any remembrances from […]
The Geese Lesson.
I live in a neighborhood right now with a crap ton (*actual number) of geese. Is it because of the river? The lake? I have no idea. But I love watching them fly. I remember a day over a decade ago when I was trying to make a decision on a big career move. I […]
When the bill breaks.
In 2009, behavioral economists Priya Raghubir and Joydeep Srivastava designed a series of studies to observe how people handle cash. They found that a single large bill carried more psychological weight than the same amount divided into smaller ones. Participants who received a fifty-dollar bill tended to keep it intact. Those given the same amount […]
Wyna’s Herrings (and Thinking Sideways).
The New York Times Connections is a daily online word puzzle designed by puzzle maker Wyna Liu where players must group 16 words into four categories of four words each. For instance, these 16 words: Twist Fan Mint Fab Just Only Petit Spread Merely Fantastic Olive Connect Cherry Simply Radiate Branch Darren hates it. And […]
What the London Plane Tree knows.
The London plane tree (platanus × acerifolia) is a hybrid between the American sycamore tree and the Oriental plane tree. Wikipedia says it’s believed to have appeared by accident in the 17th or 18th century, possibly in a garden in London or Spain. Botanists noticed that this crossbreed had unusual strength: it could survive soot, […]
The Wizard of Oz — and Remastering.
As some of you probably know, maybe even because I’ve told you, The Wizard of Oz is not in Kansas anymore. It’s in Las Vegas. And it’s incredible. According to the Wall Street Journal, Steven Hickson, director for AI foundation research at Google DeepMind, The Wizard of Oz project was “Very, very, very big and […]
Apparently, wood cabinets are back.
I remember so clearly a couple years ago texting my friend Mariah a picture of someone’s legs while I was at Disneyland. They were wearing longer socks with their leggings — just like we used to do in the 80s. I said something like “Really? We’re doing this again?” Previous to that everyone had been […]
When the system looks like Magic.
Justin Willman, the magician-comedian, has a trick that never fails to amaze people. Including me. He’s memorized every zip code in the United States. For real. Audience members call out their five digit zip code, and he tells them their town. Not just the state, not just the region — the actual exact town. It […]
