Finally! An Excuse for All the Weird Stuff in My Office

I have lots of schwag and silly toys in my office. Mostly, it's a bunch of plastic crap. BUT! It's mine, and now I have a study to show that it improves my productivity.

"...superior outcomes are observed when offices are decorated rather than lean. However, further improvements in well-being and productivity are observed when workers have input into office decoration."

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-the-way-an-office-is-decorated-affect-em

Dominant Hand Good, Nondominant Hand Bad

This fascinates me. "In laboratory tests, right- and left-handers associate positive ideas like honesty and intelligence with their dominant side of space and negative ideas with their non-dominant side,"

If only everyone in meetings didn't have their hands on laptops and smartphones, this could be useful in real life...

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/m-gab072910.php

The Real Reason They Killed Off the Guy in the Red Shirt

Red shirts make you more attractive to the opposite sex. (Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-the-color-red-have-magic-powers) If they hadn't killed off the dude in the red shirt, Captain Kirk would have been SOL.

BUT...

Don't wear it to an IQ test or when trying to be creative 'cuz it'll undermine your performance. (Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-the-color-red-have-magic-powers)

So much for getting dates in art class...

You Can't Eat Your Way to Sleep

No fat, no alcohol, no caffeine, no turkey... Taking all the fun out of choosing late-night snacks...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/27/AR2010072703168.html

Tunnel Vision and The Blues

"inducing a good mood in the participants caused an increase in the scope of their field of vision, whereas inducing a negative mood reduced their visual field" (source: http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2009/06/how_we_feel_affects_what_we_see.php)

We tend to talk about people getting fixated on a pessimistic vision and, thus, missing any and all evidence that contradicts said vision. Interesting that there's a visual-processing analogue to the psychological phenomena.

The Healing Power of Attention

"Healing an injury requires the practice of paying attention, of being with something fully, of focusing upon it over and over again without pushing it away or trying to change it. It is in paying attention that we will discover the tiny threads of healing and transformation that are developing moment to moment. It is attention, not judgement, that will help our brains rewire." (source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/healing-possibility/201007/paying-attention)

This really resonates with me. I'm currently recovering from an injury, and given that patience is not in my top five strengths, have experienced a lot of frustration with my slow progress. A few times, however, I've been stopped in my tracks by someone with a better view than mine. For example, my acupuncturist always asks about my workouts and what I'm able to do. Invariably, I express frustration with not being 100%, and just as invariably, she flips back to the last appointment and points out that I'm doing better than I was.

I'm gonna try paying attention. Moving those reality checks closer together than my acupuncture appointments should bring a steady stream of moments in which to feel good about my progress.

Bring Your Inner B*#$ch to the Bar

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-do-men-get-so-sexually-aggressive-when-th

A study shows that guys lose their ability to tell the difference between friendliness and sexual interest when alcohol enters the picture. No wonder it takes such a high level of hostility to get some of them to go away...