When the Creativity Researcher Goes Back to Being Creative
For half of me, this is a dream come true. I’m revisiting my musical and reworking the script with my director Valeria and rewriting some songs with my composer Michael. The other half of me is feeling...
View ArticleThat's DR. Blossom to you: A New Child Star Stereotype
Danica McKellar earned her B.S. in Mathematics from UCLA, has written several books promoting math for children, and has an Erdos Number of 4. Best known for The Wonder Years, she remains an actress...
View ArticleWhy is Bath and Body Works so nice to my wife?
Why is Bath and Body Works so nice to my wife? The easy returns, the heavy duty coupons.... Do they just love her, or could the answer be found in Robert Cialdini's Influence?
View ArticleWho will be remembered 100 years from now? Part One
Who will still be remembered in 100 years? Paris Hilton, Miley Cyrus, the Gosselins, and Megan Fox may dominate the news, but will barely be footnotes in 20 years (if not, I will change species). In...
View ArticleThe List: Who will be remembered 100 years from now?
Who will be remembered in 100 years? I offer my own take on which current legends will be immortal and whose works may fade with time.
View ArticleGandhi, Bill Gates, and... Hannibal Lecter?: Creativity and Emotional...
Constructs such as creativity and emotional intelligence are often considered part of Positive Psychology. They are seen, usually, as desirable and good traits. Yet there are many ways that people may...
View ArticleFight Logical Fallacies -- Eat More Halloween Candy!
How many readers have had Halloween candy taken away from them by their parents? Perhaps the candy was unwrapped or homemade. Even worse, entire bags might be confiscated. Why this nightmare? All...
View ArticleWhy does our society hate children?
There are some situations where it is necessary to take a child into the public eye. One that's on my mind right now (because we're traveling quite soon) is plane rides. I have seen the most egregious...
View ArticleThe 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...
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