Category: psychology

Stop thinking ‘failure’ is a bad thing

James DysonMost of us are brought up being encouraged to get things right. Although ‘fail fast, fail hard’ has become a Silicon Valley motto, it’s anathema to most of us.

And yet doing things wrong is great, because you learn from your mistakes (and no, that’s not meant to be a cliche).

Take James Dyson, King of Making Failure Pay. He famously made 5,126 versions of his Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner before he reached the magic version that has turned him into a very wealthy and successful man. Continue reading “Stop thinking ‘failure’ is a bad thing”

Is there wisdom in crowds?

I’m a huge fan of Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street blog and in a great post about how to make good decisions, he talks about the power (or not) of the crowd:

Is there a wisdom of crowds? Some say yes, others say no. My view is that crowds can be very useful if individual members of the crowd are able to vote independently or if the environment is such that there are few repercussions for voicing disagreement. Otherwise, I think signaling effects from seeing how others are “voting” is too much evolutionary force to overcome with sheer rational willpower.

In other words, the herd mentality often outweighs the benefit of lots of views.

Why I’d like us to be able to show joy

I was making a cup of tea alone in the office kitchen the other day, singing to myself and doing a dadlike jig, when someone came in and I hurriedly called a halt to my fun.

It struck me afterwards, though, why I felt I had to stop. I’ve often seen kids dancing in the street while holding a parent’s hand and singing out loud is hardly a crime – you only have to watch the wonderful video of Respect on the Underground to see the joy it can bring.

What is a ‘cultural norm?’
Society places an awful lot of cultural ‘norms’ onto us that can be hard to break and expressing yourself in public is one of them.

The British reserve is well-known, but by contrast watch the reaction of Winesi whose sight was restored thanks to a cataract operation funded by Sightsavers.

It’s a lifechanging moment sure, but the spontaneous dancing is typical of many cultures in Africa that is often conspicuously absent in Western society. Continue reading “Why I’d like us to be able to show joy”