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How Sherlock Holmes Can Help Bring You Success in Life and Work
The Wall Street Journal: Sherlock Holmes is the world’s most famous detective. And while he may be fictional, in that fictional world of his he also happens to be the greatest: success follows upon success, the biggest scoundrels fall under his careful scrutiny, the world bends to his will. How easy it would be for the master sleuth to rest on his laurels—or at the least, to keep taking those cases that have a familiar air, that would be more likely than not to guarantee a quick, successful outcome. But he doesn’t. In fact, he does the opposite. Consider, for instance, “The Adventure of the Red Circle,” when Holmes chooses to enmesh himself further in a case which he has ostensibly solved.
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To regift or not to regift: Is it ever OK?
TODAY: OK, I’ve done it. And quite frankly, I always feel guilty about regifting. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the present. But sometimes you get something that you really don’t like or can’t use, and there’s no way to take it back to the store. You don’t want to offend the person who gave it to you and you don’t want to throw it away. So you pass it along to someone else who might appreciate it more. Is this a resourceful way of dealing with an unwanted gift? Or is this rude and distasteful behavior? ...
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Don’t underestimate your willpower
Los Angeles Times: Every year about this time, I write a list of New Year's resolutions. It's the usual stuff: Work out three times a week, cut back on coffee and alcohol, floss daily, relearn Spanish, watch less television, etc. I then put the list in the drawer of my bedside table, where it remains until I take it out a year later and laugh at my lack of progress. I'm not alone. The enthusiasm with which Americans make New Year's resolutions is matched only by our chronic inability to see them through. Gyms are packed in January but clear out by March. According to surveys, only about 10% of resolutions survive a full year.
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The Challenges Of Treating Personality Disorders
NPR: Personality disorders represent some of the most challenging and mysterious problems in the field of mental health. People suffering from antisocial personality disorder or obsessive compulsive personality disorder are often misdiagnosed. The effects on the sufferers and their families can be wrenching. ... Joining us now to shed some light on how the psychiatric community is dealing with these disorders is Mark Lenzenweger. He is the psychology professor at Binghamton University and professor of psychiatry at the Personality Disorders Institute at the Weill Cornell Medical College, and he's with us by phone from his home in New York. Read the whole story: NPR
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Courtroom Justice
Scientific American: In another feature in the issue, a psychologist and a lawyer team up to show how psychological science can improve the accuracy of courtroom decisions, preventing miscarriages of justice in which the wrong person is put behind bars. They present evidence-based solutions for incorrect eyewitness accounts, false confessions, racial bias, prejudicial courtroom procedure and picking innocent individuals in subject line-ups. It’s an important story with widespread implications and clear prescriptions for change (see “Your Brain on Trial,” by Scott O. Lilienfeld and Robert Byron). Read the whole story: Scientific American
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The Power of Concentration
The New York Times: Meditation and mindfulness: the words conjure images of yoga retreats and Buddhist monks. But perhaps they should evoke a very different picture: a man in a deerstalker, puffing away at a curved pipe, Mr. Sherlock Holmes himself. The world’s greatest fictional detective is someone who knows the value of concentration, of “throwing his brain out of action,” as Dr. Watson puts it. He is the quintessential unitasker in a multitasking world. More often than not, when a new case is presented, Holmes does nothing more than sit back in his leather chair, close his eyes and put together his long-fingered hands in an attitude that begs silence.
