For years, I have been telling people an amazing story of the healing powers of Aboriginal People of Australia that I had read about in a non-fiction book. The name of the book was lost on me but on a recent trip to Australia I learned the name was Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo [...]
Every Rule Has an Exception: Weird
April 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Most of us are familiar with the famous classroom dictum: i before e except after c. It is helpful most of the time but not always. For example, do you find it weird that the word “weird” isn’t spelled wierd? If you wish to stay open to unlearning, it’s helpful to remember that every rule [...]
Show Your True Colors: Fear Commitment
August 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson Question #27: What do chameleons do? They do many things but the one thing they don’t do is change color to match their background. Chameleons do change color in response to changes in light and temperature. They also change appearance when frightened or when [...]
Stop Looking for Patterns
July 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
“We are so good at seeing patterns that, often, we see them where they don’t exist.” –Michael Mauboussin Question #26: If you flip a coin 14 times which is more likely to occur: a) The coin will land on “heads” 14 straight times (H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H); or b) this random outcome: T-T-H-T-H-H-H-T-T-H-T-H-T-T? The answer is that the [...]
Re-Understand, Leave Assumptions Behind and Unlearn
June 17, 2012 By 1 Comment
“Most people aren’t trained to want to face the process of re-understanding a subject they already know. One must obtain not just literacy, but deep involvement and re-understanding.” This wonderful quotation is from Charles Eames and comes compliments of Brain Pickings–a marvelously curated weekly newsletter for the insatiably curious. It reminded me of this quotation [...]
Put One Foot in Back of the Other
June 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
“Every mile you go in the wrong direction is really a two mile error. Unlearning is twice as hard as learning.” –Unknown Question #25: Imagine the Roman Numeral equation below is made out of ten toothpick sticks such that “I” equals one stick and the “X” “+” and “=” all represent two sticks: XI + [...]
Playing It Safe Is Risky
May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Unlearning Lesson #24 “Beware of false knowledge, it is more dangerous than ignorance.” –George Bernard Shaw Question #24: Do more people die jaywalking or in the crosswalk? The answer is the crosswalk. The reason is because people are lulled into a false sense of security due to the allure of existing rules such as painted [...]
