...A lifeguard doesn’t have to spend much time pitching to the drowning person. When you show up with a life buoy, if the drowning person understands what’s at stake, you don’t have to run ads to get them to hold on to it...
...In other words, what counts as common knowledge is a mix of things that are true and other things that are false, all of which are believed because they’re widely held, frequently repeated, and routinely recalled. It’s this fluency-as-a-surrogate-for-truth shortcut that makes innovation tricky: We trust in assumptions about the way the world operates that seem so obviously true that we fail to test them. And in failing to check these basic assumptions, we slam the door shut on finding new and better ways to do things...
...Breaded, melty cheese is something that crosses cultures—from deep-fried mozzarella sticks at state fairs to queso frito in Latin America. Inspired by those foods, we've taken squares of cheese are breaded and "fried" them in the waffle iron for just a minute, until their outsides turn golden brown and crunchy and their insides become perfectly melted and gooey...
...While looking to the future is fun, the more important question is, “What’s not going to change in the next ten years?”...
...When it comes to making your art—whether it’s music or writing or building a great company—you either really want it or you don’t. There is no easy way in, or out...
...Regardless, despite the upheaval, itemizing deductions is still a viable strategy to reduce overall tax obligations, and there are still six core deductions available to taxpayers, including: medical expenses (to the extent that they exceed 10% of Adjusted Gross Income); taxes paid to other governmental entities (both state or local municipality taxes as well as foreign governments, but with a $10,000 maximum deduction limit… regardless of filing status!); at least some types of interest paid (for not only mortgage interest – up to a $750,000 principal limit – but for investment purposes as well); charitable giving (but with limits); casualty and theft losses (but, for individuals, only if they were attributable to a Federally declared disaster); and other (miscellaneous-but-not-subject-to-the-2%-of-AGI-floor) deductions (such as gambling losses, among others)...
...Staying at the house of an old friend, whenever possible, is preferable to spending a night in a hotel...
...What starts small compounds into something more. The longer you play the long game, the easier it is to play and the greater the rewards. The longer you play the short game the harder it becomes to change and the bigger the bill facing you when you do want to change...
...risk management is about avoiding the mistake of betting so much you can lose it all—the mistake made by nearly every bank and hedge fund that ran into trouble in 2007 and 2008...
...Experimenting with different futures and identities is more than just a way of uncovering new opportunities (or pitfalls). Hard choices are often hard because they impact other people’s lives in meaningful ways, and so our ability to imagine that impact — to think through the emotional and material consequences from someone else’s perspective — turns out to be an essential talent...
...But I would bet that there are some ways that you could make your tried-and-true recipe even better...
...Meanwhile, Ekblom-Bak and other researchers are discovering that even just moderate physical activity — such as a brisk walk, dancing, or even gardening — can improve physical and mental well-being and extend lives...
...It takes numerous encounters with positive people to offset the energy and happiness sapped by a single episode with one asshole...
...A password manager is an app for all your devices — phone, laptop, tablet and any browser you use — that autofills usernames and passwords for all of your online accounts. A password manager stores your passwords and creates an easy, secure way to access all of your accounts on any device...
...Think about what attendees will remember 24 hours after your talk...
...Take the example of trying to decide what restaurant to go to. This is a problem that has a particular computational structure. You've got a set of options, you're going to choose one of those options, and you're going to face exactly the same decision tomorrow. In that situation, you run up against what computer scientists call the "explore-exploit trade-off." You have to make a decision about whether you're going to try something new -- exploring, gathering some information that you might be able to use in the future -- or whether you're going to go to a place that you already know is pretty good -- exploiting the information that you've already gathered so far. The explore/exploit trade-off shows up any time you have to choose between trying something new and going with something that you already know is pretty good...
...When facts become so widely available and instantly accessible, each one becomes less valuable. What begins to matter more is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with emotional impact...
...Knowing the exact math of probability calculations is not the key to understanding Bayesian thinking. More critical is your ability and desire to assign probabilities of truth and accuracy to anything you think you know, and then being willing to update those probabilities when new information comes in...
...You like soft and chewy. He likes thin and crispy. If only there were a chocolate chip cookie recipe that pleased everyone...
...If your income has indeed increased since you opened your credit card, and you have considerable self control over your spending, you should go ahead and update your income. The increased credit limit could actually boost your credit score...
