As parents, we all try to do our best to do a good job. But with thousands of books on the topic of parenting as well as countless articles in popular magazines and periodicals, sometimes it is difficult to know how to be a good parent. Should we be more strict? More lenient? Use time-outs? …Read More
The Road to Expertise – Nature or Nurture?
Oct 16, 2011
“America’s Got Talent!” proclaims the title of the popular TV show. A more provocative question is, “Does anyone have talent?” A dichotomy regarding expertise exists, especially in America. For one, we hear things like “Practice makes perfect” that extol the virtues of working hard as the road to greatness. On the other hand, we hear how some …Read More
A Response to the “Tiger Mother” and a Thanks to Disney
Oct 2, 2011
First, before I jump into this topic, I want to apologize for the long delay since my last blog. I recently had a third child, so it’s difficult to keep up! My aim is to post weekly, so I promise to get back on track. I listened the audiobook version of Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of …Read More
Elite Preschool = Success in Life? Hmm…
Aug 29, 2011
So I was driving home the other day when I heard this NPR story about how fierce the competition is for Manhattanites to get their children into elite preschools. These preschools can cost parents between $20,000-$30,000 per year! Apparently, it is so competitive to get into some of these preschools that parents can become quite …Read More
“The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, M.D. (Book Recommendation)
Aug 21, 2011
A fellow professional recommended this book to me a few years ago, and I finally go around to reading it (well, listening to the audiobook). Although a few years old, the findings and implications are still very relevant today. It is similar to Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley, which I blogged …Read More
“Reality Is Broken” by Jane McGonigal (Book Recommendation)
Aug 9, 2011
I’ve been a gamer a long time – basically, since video games were first invented. I date myself but, as a kid, I played the first arcade games – landmark games such as Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Centipede, Frogger, and Galaga. Ahh, such fond memories! I had an Atari 2600, then a …Read More
“The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner (Book Recommendation)
Jul 18, 2011
Eric Weiner’s The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World is an absolute treat. Weiner is a journalist and a veteran foreign correspondent for National Public Radio and a self-professed curmudgeon. As the book implies, Weiner chronicles his quest to discover why people in some countries (e.g., Iceland, Switzerland, Thailand) …Read More
Mindfulness and Being Nonjudgemental
Jul 11, 2011
In the previous post, I briefly discussed how mindfulness involves being nonjudgmental. In a manner of speaking, this is impossible. We are constantly making judgements: What do I want to eat? What do I want to wear? What TV show do I want to watch? Which friend do I want to try to hang out …Read More
No Time to Meditate? Here’s an Easy Solution!
Jul 5, 2011
Meditation has immeasurable benefits – decreasing stress, improving well-being, reducing cardiovascular disease, and so on. The society we live in seems so fast-paced sometimes that the idea of sitting down to meditate for 15-30 minutes a day seems out of reach. Ironically, many of the other things that keep us so busy that we can’t …Read More
“The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Nicholas Carr (Book Recommendation)
Jun 11, 2011
I recently enjoyed the audiobook version of Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Yes, I did the audiobook version. Sometimes while I was driving. At double playback speed. Yes, I get the irony…or hypocrisy? In The Shallows, Mr. Carr chronicles the history of various ways we have dessimated information …Read More