The World's Best Book Summaries
The primary reason that most people can’t immediately detect a lie is that human beings default to assuming truth in others. Is it possible to learn how to detect a lie? We’ll cover the reasons it’s difficult to know how to detect a lie, and we’ll look at why you’ve evolved to assume the best in people.
The common sentiment when it comes to building a business is that you have to make sure you’re beating the competition. But is it more important, in business and in life, to compete against yourself? The problem with the idea of crushing the competition is that it makes you focus on what other companies are doing rather than steering your own. Instead of competing against others, it’s more effective to compete against yourself. Learn why.
Who was Patrick Dale Walker? Why was he let out on bail? How could such atrocities be prevented in the future? Patrick Dale Walker was a Texan who was arrested for attempting to murder his girlfriend. Even though the crime was serious, the judge set his bail at $25,000 and let him go. Find out what happened in the Patrick Dale Walker case and why it’s so easy for a judge to make a devastating mistake.
Who were Brothers to the Rescue (Hermanos al Rescate)? Why were their planes shot down in 1996, and why was this such a disaster for America on the whole? Brothers to the Rescue was a group of American immigrants with the mission to save Cuban lives and incite revolt against Fidel Castro’s regime. Also known as Hermanos al Rescate, they would fly planes into Cuban airspace to make rescues. We’ll cover why two of these planes were shot down, and why the event revealed something surprising about someone working for the CIA.
Motivation is a well-acknowledged aspect of good management. What are Simon Sinek’s views on motivation? Does he have any thoughts on how to increase motivation in employees and inspire a team? We’ll cover Simon Sinek’s thoughts on motivation, from his book Start with Why. Then we’ll look at how success can actually be detrimental to an organization’s motivation, and how to keep motivation alive and your company on track.
Do you know how to tell when someone is lying? Do you think you’re good at it? What does science tell us about our ability to accurately tell when someone is lying? Science says we’re not very good at how to tell when someone is lying. Learn when you’re better at it, and what red herrings throw you off course.
What is alcohol myopia theory? Why do you tend to get really focused on, even obsessed with, one thing when you’re drunk? What are the negative consequences of alcohol myopia? Alcohol myopia is a state in which the drinker’s mental and emotional field of vision becomes narrow. This can cause the drinker to fail to take in the context of a situation and to make short-sighted decisions. We’ll cover what alcohol myopia theory says about what alcohol does to our decision-making abilities and look at the problems with alcohol myopia.
What is a word stem completion task? Is the way you complete it indicative of your personality? And what do answers to that question say about your bias against strangers? We’ll look at how the word stem completion task works, whether your answers to the task are random, and how your assessment of the task can reveal your biases.
Do you know how to tell if someone is lying through their body language? Is body language really the key to detecting a lie? We’ll cover why it’s hard to learn how to spot a liar through body language and what signals to watch for (and why mismatching might throw you off).
Why do people experience memory loss from drinking? What’s happening in the brain? What are the consequences? The effects of alcohol on memory are startling. At a blood-alcohol level of approximately 0.15, the hippocampus shuts down entirely. At that point, all memories disappear completely and there is nothing to recall. Even in this state of total blackout, when the hippocampus is entirely shut down, it is possible for the drinker to continue to function like a “normal” drunk person. In fact, it can be impossible to tell when someone else has reached the point of blackout. Learn more about drinking and