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THE MIND OF DONALD TRUMP
The Atlantic: In 2006, Donald Trump made plans to purchase the Menie Estate, near Aberdeen, Scotland, aiming to convert the dunes and grassland into a luxury golf resort. He and the estate’s owner, Tom Griffin, sat down to discuss the transaction at the Cock & Bull restaurant. Griffin recalls that Trump was a hard-nosed negotiator, reluctant to give in on even the tiniest details. But, as Michael D’Antonio writes in his recent biography of Trump, Never Enough, Griffin’s most vivid recollection of the evening pertains to the theatrics. It was as if the golden-haired guest sitting across the table were an actor playing a part on the London stage.
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Ticklish Primates, Social Fish and Other Secrets of Animal Intelligence
The Wall Street Journal: The severed arm of an octopus can crawl on its own and grab food. Elephants can distinguish between people based on age, language and gender. Crows are adept at using tools. In “Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?” — a new book by Frans de Waal – the primatologist argues that the mental powers of animals are far more complex than often generally assumed. Many experts have been asking the wrong questions about animal intelligence, he argues, blaming the creature in the cage for poor test results when it’s the person in the lab coat who’s flawed. Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
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Read This Story Without Distraction (Can You?)
The New York Times: Stop what you’re doing. Well, keep reading. Just stop everything else that you’re doing. Mute your music. Turn off your television. Put down your sandwich and ignore that text message. While you’re at it, put your phone away entirely. (Unless you’re reading this on your phone. In which case, don’t. But the other rules still apply.) Just read. You are now monotasking. Maybe this doesn’t feel like a big deal. Doing one thing at a time isn’t a new idea. ...
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Life Isn’t Fair
The Atlantic: When you see a corporate scoundrel go unpunished, or a puppy die of cancer, or Rashida Jones gifted with talent, beauty, and smarts, you might be forgiven for asking: Is life fair? And yet most of us cling to the idea that people generally get what they deserve. Our belief in the world’s fairness can veer into magical thinking. For example, one study found that people who frequently patronize a business believe they are more likely than other customers to win a given prize drawing by that business—a phenomenon the researchers called the “lucky loyalty” effect. Read the whole story: The Atlantic
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The Wisdom of the Aging Brain
Nautilus: At the 2010 Cannes Film Festival premiere of You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, director Woody Allen was asked about aging. He replied with his characteristic, straight-faced pessimism. “I find it a lousy deal. There is no advantage in getting older. I’m 74 now. You don’t get smarter, you don’t get wiser ... Your back hurts more, you get more indigestion ... It’s a bad business, getting old. I’d advise you not to do it if you can avoid it.” Creaking bones and bad digestion notwithstanding, is that really the only face of aging? Turns out, it’s not. At least for the fortunate few, old age may not be Woody Allenesque; instead old age is when they become compassionate and wise.
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The social lives of rich people, explained
The Washington Post: Way back in 1983, Cyndi Lauper knew that "money changes everything." Social science is finally starting to catch up. The latest findings, from Emily Bianchi of Emory University and Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota, illustrate how having more (or less) money can radically alter the fabric of our relationships with other people, changing how often we socialize — and with whom. In examining several decades of household survey data, Bianchi and Vohs find that as people make more money, they spend less time socializing with others; they spend more time alone. And when they socialize, they spend more time with friends than with family members or neighbors.
