Some Surprising Reasons Why Identifying Psychopaths is Harder Than You May Think

  by Nomad

Confessions of a Psychopath-Spotter

I recently found this extremely interesting and amusing TED talk by Jon Ronson. Even though you've probably never heard of him, Ronson's career covers a lot of ground: a journalist, author, documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, and radio presenter. And one other thing,  he is also a certified psychopath-spotter. He's taken the course and everything.

His TED lecture begins with Ronson stumbling across a DSM manual, the comprehensive manual of mental disorders. If you don't know, the DSM Manual is produced by the American Psychiatric Association and serves as the official authority on mental health diagnoses (and related insurance claims).

Sanity Sunday- Please Don't Go by Barcelona

by Nomad

This Sanity Sunday song is by the Seattle-based group Barcelona. It is here coupled with the view of Japan's Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. It certainly provides a few soothing minutes.
Lord knows, we can use it.

I dedicate this song to the outgoing president- Barack Obama to whom we owe a heartfelt thank-you for 8 years of hard and largely unappreciated work.

We are definitely going to miss you in a hundred ways we can't now even begin to imagine.

For what it is worth, this song was listed in their top 10 relaxing songs by researchers at Mindlab International, an independent research consultancy. (Legitimate or not, I can't tell you.)

Want to Spoil Your Happiness? Think About Money

by Nomad

In a search for true happiness, thoughts of money are a killjoy.

If you are- for some obscure reason- eager to ruin whatever bit of joy that life has to offer, an article from last May's Psychological Science has some advice. 

Think about money.

Studies have demonstrated that the level of happiness is dependent on that person's ability to appreciate and savor their experiences.  How much happiness you derive from living depends on what degree you are able to extract joy, awe, excitement, and gratitude- the full range of emotions- before, during and after your experiences. 

Psychologist Jordi Quoidbach and his research team from the University of Liege in Belguim devised an experiment involving nearly 400 adults coming from diverse backgrounds.
The participants were randomly divided into two groups. One group was shown an image of a stack of money while the other group was shown the same image blurred beyond recognition. Both groups were given psychological tests to rate their ability to savor pleasant experiences in general. 

As described in their academic paper, their paper, Money Giveth, Money Taketh Away: The Dual Effect of Wealth on Happiness, the researchers found that people who had been shown photos of money scored significantly lower on the tests.