Dacher Keltner talks about the psychology of emotions:

The story he tells about how hardly any American soldiers fired their guns in World War 2 is probably a myth.

Container 90 – Bollox

Spark – Skull and Bone

Elite! – Der bomberpilot

What is this?! I almost don’t want to know.

Psychiatrist Raj Persaud talks about the secret of happiness:

Or as Lin Yutang wrote in The Importance of Living:

All questions of living in heaven must be brushed aside. Let not the spirit take wings and soar to the abode of the gods and forget the earth. Are we not mortals, condemned to die? The span of life vouchsafed us, threescore and ten, is short enough, if the spirit gets too haughty and wants to live forever, but on the other hand, it is also long enough, if the spirit is a little humble. One can learn such a lot and enjoy such a lot in seventy years, and three generations is a long time to see human follies and acquire human wisdom. Anyone who is wise and has lived long enough to witness the changes of fashion and morals and politics through the rise and fall of three generations should be perfectly satisfied to rise from his seat and go away saying, “It was a good show” when the curtain falls.

For we are of the earth, earth-born and earth-bound. There is nothing to be unhappy about the fact that we are, as it were, delivered upon this beautiful earth as its transient guests. Even if it were a dark dungeon, we still would have to make the best of it; it would be ungrateful of us not to do so when we have, instead of a dungeon, such a beautiful earth to live on for a good part of a century.

From Google Tech Talks, Michael Merzenich talks about how the brain changes and learns:

Via a comment at Jeff Moser, who’s afraid of brain rot.

Here’s to the year’s first cup of coffee.

Min nære, personlige bekjente (vi har iallefall muligens hilst) Magne Opus har fått lagt ut et rungende oppgjør med norsk offentlighets uutholdelige letthet, et nådestøt mot Harry-mennesket, osv., i Meland konsernet bloggen, som av uforståelige grunner har tolket det hele som en julehilsen.

At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning.

At thirty, I stood firm.

To be continued.

I went to Dublin this weekend to expand my social network at Google’s European headquarters. This is to prepare for the day when they turn Evil. With one friend (so far) on the inside, I, for one, will now welcome our new Google overlords.

The Irish, I learned, have two written languages, which are English and Gaelic. They have one spoken language, but I’m not sure what it is. This is the first of many stupid jokes in this post. Here’s another:

The Irish drive on the wrong side of the road, and it might KILL YOU. Okay, that wasn’t so funny.

When you visit a friend in Ireland, they will force you to drink Guinness. Even if you don’t like Guinness. They will then take you to visit the Guiness museum, where there’s a floor for each of the six reasons why Guinness is THE MOST AWESOME BEER IN THE WORLD. One of the reasons is their founder, Arthur Guinness. The founder of Guinness is THE MOST AWESOME FOUNDER IN THE WORLD.

While you’re there, you can laugh at all the tourists, who paid 15 euro for what’s essentially an hour long infomercial. Stupid tourists!

You’ll also be taken to the Temple Bar area, which has the most authentic fake Irish pubs in the world. They play Irish folk music. Who plays Irish folk music?!

My tip: Visit the Kilmainhaim Gaol. It’s history the way we all love it, cruel and unfair.

Some blogger named Arianna Huffington went on the Daily Show this week to explain what “blogging” is, (it’s not just for cat pictures any more!)

“Blogging is not about perfectionism. Blogging is about intimacy, immediacy and transparency.”

Yes, that’s what blogging is about, and that’s why blogs are so bad. Here’s my philosophy:

- Blogging, like all writing, should be motivated by perfectionism. What you write doesn’t have to be important, and it doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should be as good as you can make it. If not, what’s the point? Where’s your pride? If your hobby is to paint or sing or play sports, you try your best. Trying hard and getting better is what makes it fun. Why should writing be different?

- Intimacy should be used sparingly. If you’re always intimate, you become just a reality star, but with fewer onlookers. Intimacy works, but it might be bad for you. Use it for the few parts of your life that are genuinely interesting or exceptional.

- What happens right now is overrated. Write about things before everybody notice them, or after everybody has forgotten them. If it’s happening now, you’re either too late or too early.

- In short, blogging should be a performance. Make it a good one.

Arianna’s advice is good for frightened newcomers. When you want someone to sing for the first time, you encourage them. Tell them nobody’s going to laugh. But when they’re no longer afraid, you tell them how to get better.