Author Archives: Robin

Behaving as members of the same family

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Robin

According to the Bible and other religious texts we are all descended from an original pair of ancestors, while evolution shows that we all diverged as a species from a common ancestor. Either way, every one of us is related … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Leave a comment

Taking the time to reflect on who we are

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Robin

Whatever your religious beliefs (or otherwise), you have to admit that life is an astonishing thing, especially when considered on the microscopic scale. Every living thing on this planet is made up of trillions of minute particles, far, far smaller … Continue reading →

Posted in Observations | Leave a comment

What’s your personality type, and what does it mean?

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Robin

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicators were created during World War II to help women entering the industrial workforce to identify the sort of war-time jobs in which they would be “most comfortable and effective”. These preferences were extrapolated from theories proposed … Continue reading →

Posted in Features | Leave a comment

Why unskilled think they are skilled, and vice versa

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Robin

There’s a fascinating psychological principle known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, which is a cognitive bias whereby someone who knows a little about a subject is unaware of just how much there is that goes into it, and therefore assumes that … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | 2 Comments

Why you should learn to lucid dream

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Robin

If you’ve never experienced it then you may find it hard to understand what lucid dreaming is all about. In fact you may be thoroughly sceptical and dismiss the whole thing as silly nonsense. But I can tell you from … Continue reading →

Posted in Features | 10 Comments

Richard Feynman on how science enhances beauty

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Robin

Richard Feynman was one of the brightest scientific minds of the 20th century, certainly on a par with Einstein. He was part of the Manhatten Project that created the first atomic bombs, and also discovered the O ring fault that … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Leave a comment

Improving your physical accuracy with visualization

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Robin

Some sports require skill and accuracy more than speed and stamina. These include activities such as archery, pool and snooker, darts, shooting, or mental sports such as quizzes, card games and so on. You also need to be accurate in … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | Leave a comment

Keep smiling, you’ll live longer!

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Robin

In this thought-provoking video Ron Gutman reviews a raft of studies about smiling, and reveals some surprising results. For example, Did you know your smile can be a predictor of how long you’ll live – and that a simple smile … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Leave a comment

On friendship

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Robin

Although I’m not normally a great lover of poetry, sometimes a simple, to the point poem or piece of short prose is enough to make me stop and think, such as the following piece on friendship by Dinah Maria Mulock … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry / Prose | Leave a comment

Music and life, by Alan Watts

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Robin

Alan Watts was a deep thinker and philosopher with a profound understanding of what it is to be alive. A follower of Buddhism, Watts became a much sought after speaker and did much to bring eastern religion and philosophy to … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Leave a comment