The American Idol Effect: Why We're Not Too Good at Judging Our Own Creativity
Yep, I'm talking about you, William Hung.
View ArticleThe Charlie Brown Theory of Personality
Charlie Brown is a model neurotic. He is prone to depression and anxiety and paralyzing fits of over-analysis. Constantly worrying if he is liked or respected, he has a perpetual, usually dormant crush...
View ArticleA Creativity Researcher's Thoughts on the Oscars
I've always liked Michael Giacchino, composer of Pixar movies and Lost; now, I love him. In a brief speech, he articulated nearly everything I know about how to encourage creativity: When I was nine...
View Article“There’s no stat yet that measures heart." Or any test, either.
Joe Posnaski - an outstanding on-line baseball writer, one of the very best - has an interesting column where he riffs off of a Nomar Garciaparra quote: There's no stat yet that measures heart.Just as...
View ArticleConstance McMillen vs. Itawamba Agricultural High School: Evil Creativity vs....
Creativity is not always reserved for the good, nice, and just.Imagine if next year the good folks of the Itawamba County School Board are faced with new horrors. Perhaps an interracial couple wants to...
View ArticleThe Man Who Taught Me How to Teach
My favorite professor from graduate school taught me how to be a professor. His name was William Kessen, and I had the good fortune of taking one of his very last classes. Taking his class on teaching...
View ArticleArmando Galarraga: Not Perfect, But Divine
If you aren't a baseball fan, then this column probably won't be terribly interesting. But I will tell you (at the end, after you click through) a magnificent video of Alan Moore's The Watchmen done as...
View ArticleRevisiting loud children in public places
A while back, I wrote a blog called (a bit dramatically), Why does our society hate children? Unlike most of other blogs, which are about creativity, this one kind of "took off" (in the "a lot of...
View ArticleA Must Read: The Invisible Gorilla
To see the invisible gorilla: A review of Chabris and Simons' The Invisible Gorilla, my first must-read psychology book in years.
View ArticleToo much novelty, not enough appropriateness
Creativity is usually thought to be both new and appropriate to the task. When creativity has too much new and not enough appropriate, some glorious blunders can happen. Take the story of Hacienda, a...
View ArticleSecret Confessions of an Academic Psychologist
People make some basic assumptions about the basic ability of an academic psychologist to function in society (and even have a certain modicum of smarts). I am the outlier.
View ArticleEntering IMDb into Evidence? From CSI to being CSI'ed
An IMDb page can be many things - a source of information, promotion, entertainment, or amusement. But rarely have I seen an IMDb page that seems like a harbinger of bad things to come.
View ArticleWhen it's good to leave money on the table
Leaving "money on the table" is bad for businesses. But not knowing the difference between "money on the table" and "needed incentives" is even worse.
View ArticleWhy Couldn't Jean Valjean Have Been More Creative?
With a little creativity, Valjean could have helped a lot more people and made his life a lot easier.
View ArticleThe Danger of (Some) Creativity Advocates
There is a place for revolutionaries. Sometimes it's okay for people to get upset. But can we upset people in a more scientific way?
View ArticlePeter Pan and Growing Up
If we believe in fairies, Tinkerbell lives. If we believe in an education system that keeps creativity alive, can Wendy, Tootles, and the rest hold onto some of their spark?
View ArticleFrom Creative Writing to Studying Creativity
I ended up applying my passion in creativity to the psychological realm, where I would like to think I have had a larger impact than if I were still working on my stories and plays.
View Article