The Power Of Networks

Yet another fascinating animated talk from RSA.

The Myth of the Right-Left Brain Divide

It's a commonly held belief that the left side of our brain is governed by logic (science, maths, etc) while the right is more to do with emotion (artistic, creative etc). Permeating the cultural zeitgeist since psycho-biologist Roger W. Perry's research in the sixties, it's come to be accepted that each individual has a dominant hemisphere where one side overrides the other. The reality however, according to renowned psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist, couldn't be further from the truth...

The Paradox of Choice...

Choice is good, right? At least, that's what we've always been told. Indeed, this idea that we have a 'choice' is often touted to be one of the primary reasons why Western civilisation is so 'great'. But how liberating is it really? Is it one of the ultimate symbols that we are 'free' individuals? Or rather, is it in fact more inhibiting than people first realise? Renata Salecl explains...

The Problem with the Education System...

Read the papers and talk to business leaders today and every one will scream at the top of their voice how our children are leaving school without the necessary skills to function properly in the real world. The government on the other hand will tell you that education has improved, pointing to the unprecedented rise in students achieving top grades at GCSE and A-Level. Whatever the argument, my own personal view is that the current education system is most definitely sub-standard. I increasingly found whilst in school I would have to learn things in my own time as the curriculum sure as hell wouldn't teach me, and now can only point to the blithering idiots that once were my classmates as 'evidence'. Regardless of my anecdotes, Sir Ken Robinson here more or less summarises far more eloquently my thoughts on the education system... 

What REALLY Motivates People...

Too many times I've listened to self-acclaimed "realists" who tell me that the best way to get the most out of a person is to appeal to certain attributes that 'nature' has bestowed upon us. Ostensibly, they claim that the best way to motivate a human being is either through fear or by appealing to our "inherently" greedy nature, i.e. bribery. I don't agree with this, nor do I believe in some inherent natural attribute in the human psyche. And it seems to turn out that I'm right as studies conducted by psychologists, sociologists and economists show that human motivations are far more complicated than offering someone a bag of money or threatening to beat them with a stick. Dan Pink explains...