Young persons increasingly put greater faith in the wisdom of crowds (such as Google) and prize the confidence of their peers above that of trusted sources of wisdom. But “tribal elders” represent a better source of wisdom, if you take the initiative to ask.
Humorist Will Rogers once said, “Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.” But acquiring wisdom solely by experience has a psychological price. Is learning life’s lessons “the hard way”… the only way?
The first step in making a decision is one of the most risky. Why? Because choices are not always about reality. Rather, they are about what you believe. As rational “choosers,” most all of us believe that we always strive to make the most rational choices possible. The problem is we don’t.
Life is a numbers game. There are no guarantees, only risks and probabilities. The question we face is “How likely is it that I (you, they, it) will … ?” In responding to uncertainty, however, it is important to understand that “possibility” does not mean “probability.”
Well-being (life satisfaction) peaks in our late 40s and it’s all downhill from there. Declining health, growing dependence, increasing loneliness, deepening depression and regret. “What a drag it is getting old,” crooned Mick Jagger. Or is it?
Online dating has become a cultural phenomenon as millions of users flock to access the names and profiles of potential companions. But the promise of blissful happiness comes with a host of privacy and security threats.
Outcomes often fall short of expectations because we inaccurately predict how we will feel in the future. And somewhat surprisingly, predicting our “future self” is not something we tend to be very good at.
Social Security (SS) is a mandated supplemental retirement system (plus other benefits) set up to ensure that no one falls through the cracks. Benefits are paid based on a sliding scale depending on your income, how long you work, and at what age you retire.
The term “social pecking order” does not refer to the items on a KFC menu. Rather, it is a distribution, or list, of social classes. Among sociologists, however, there is considerable disagreement regarding how best to define a social class.
An economic bubble signifies a situation when some prices (say, of stocks or houses) rise far above their actual value. Generally, they occur because long periods of prosperity and increasing value of investments lead to increasing speculation using borrowed money.
