The Happy Homunculus

Week of Productivity, Level 2

2011-10-28T16:41:00.000-04:00

Check, please?

Another Week of Metacognition? Check! As I've discussed, I've been playing around with these Daily Mind Games to practice thinking in new ways, and hopefully make some improvements to how I think. For me, it's been an interesting and challenging experiment.

Tell me: do the Daily Mind Games do it for you? I know I have a smattering of readers out there, so please! Give me some feedback. Do you like the format of the posts? Too short, too long? More posts, fewer posts? Be honest - I can take it. I think :)

I ask, because I fear the DMG-format may have run it's course. For starters, It's actually very difficult to conceive of, and write up a game every day. I do have a full-time job :)

In addition, many of these concepts are better thought of powerful habits, rather than isolated "games", although I do think it's important to focus. In any case, I think I sometimes fail to get my point across when I just rattle off a game. Instead, I may be better able to communicate with a pithy "article", complete with useful links and references to support my claims.

Finally, posting every day may be over-kill for you, the reader. I wouldn't even want to read my own posts at this rate. I know for a fact that my own family can't keep up! Not a good sign.

So, the plan is that this will be the last official Week of Metacognition at The Happy Homunculus. Moving forward, I'm going to try experimenting with some new ideas and new formats, while continuing to do an occasional Daily Mind Games to wrap things up. Hopefully you will find these changes to your liking, dear reader. As I mentioned already, I would really appreciate some comments. If I don't hear anything, then I'll assume that either no one is out there :) or that you're excited to get some new stuff.

Until then, let's review this last official week of games:

Week of Productivity, Level 2

Day 1: Approach - Where are you going?
Day 2: Game Time - Fun, at work.
Day 3: To-do to Goal - What's the point?
Day 4: Kudos - Small rewards.
Day 5: Unschedule - Big rewards.
Day 6: This Is For You - Not you, them.

I'm tuckered out. How about you?

Week of Feedback

2011-10-16T23:59:00.000-04:00

Give your monkey-brain a pat on the virtual back: some positive feedback for a job-well-done! The Week of Feedback is over here at The Happy Homunculus, and we've done some good work getting (and receiving) feedback. Getting feedback about our performance is a straight shot to awesomeness, so let's searching for criticism. It's the fastest way to be amazing!

The Daily Mind Games this week were not of the simple variety, so I may be going back again and again to test my feedback-gettin' abilities. Here's the entire week of challenges in review:

Week of Feedback

Day 1: All Ears - Listen.
Day 2: Question and Question - Ask, then listen.
Day 3: Tell Me About Myself - Ask about yourself, then listen.
Day 4: Physical Feedback - Look for the signs.
Day 5: Feedback Friend - Use the buddy system.
Day 6: Friendly Feedback - Now, you try.

Feedback rocks. Unfortunately mental-ninjas, I've been struggling with my procrastination demons again, so I'm thinking it's time to revisit some strategies for increased productivity. That's right, it's time for the Week of Productivity, Level 2! The first Week of Productivity was one of the most popular on The Happy Homunculus, and I've got some more science-inspired procrastination-killing games for us to try. Sound good? I don't care what you think: I need this!

Get back to work!

Homunky's Hot Hits:

Since next week's DMGs are all about productivity, I couldn't help but relate to this post about relaxing versus procrastinating. I feel like I'm always in that "I should be working" state: neither productive nor relaxed, and that sucks! But perhaps getting some insight into the thinking habits of procrastinators might help. My take-away? Thinking too much about all the procrastination may be contributing to the problem. Although, being aware of some bad thought-patterns related to procrastination might be helpful as I try to avoid them, right? I'll try both strategies!

However, this post from PsyBlog points out some science suggesting that thought suppression may be counter-productive. Hmm.

What do you think? Are these metacognitive strategies just what the doctor ordered? Post some comments!

Week of Sleep

2011-10-02T23:02:00.000-04:00

Week of Sleep? Check!

The Week of Sleep worked for me. I'm being totally serious. I followed my own good advice and was blown away by the results. Setting up a relaxing, circadian-cycle-friendly nighttime ritual (and sticking to it) has wired my brain to sleep on command. Now, when my old-person bed time rolls around, I start to get all blinky-eyed and fuzzy-headed instantaneously. How about you?

Did you miss the Week of Sleep? Do you want to take your sleep routine to the next level? Here's the summary:

Week of Sleep

Day 1: Bed Time - Set the clock.
Day 2: Dim - Let there be dark.
Day 3: Bedtime Snack - The way to sleep is through the stomach.
Day 4: Low Flow - Do something.
Day 5: Passive - Do nothing.
Day 6: Bright - Re-Set the clock.

I don't know if you noticed this (I didn't and I wrote all the posts), but the bedtime routine we've developed seems like something that would work for putting a toddler to bed. And, now that I think about it, that's a pretty smart way to approach our own sleep habits. I mean, if this approach works for the creatures with the least amount of self-control (i.e. little kids), then it should work for our inner children too. Or, should I say, our inner monkeys!

Next week, the Daily Mind Games are going to be paused while your humble author heads to an awesome, geeky conference. While I'm away, I'd love to get some feedback about future Weeks of Metacognition. What kinds of topics would you like to see? I've been thinking about Weeks of: Feedback, Creativity, Interaction, Toughness, or Open-Mindedness. If you have any preference, please let me know in the comments. Also, if you have any ideas of your own, I'd love to hear them. I would love some feedback from my readers about topics of interest. So, please! Where we should go from here?

Until then, here's some fun/interesting stuff that's come my way over the last week, enjoy!

Homunky's Hot Hits:

To start, here's a retelling of an allegory/experiment about learned anxiety that I've encountered before. Does anyone know the source of this? Is it a real experiment?

Next, we've talked about Flow a lot here at The Happy Homunculus, but here is a great Intro to Flow if you'd like a fresh point of view on the topic. And, of course, if you haven't read the original, you should do it. Click the link and buy the book to support Homunky!

As someone interested in improving my performance and, as part of that, my pain tolerance, here is a great summary linking meditation, mindfulness, and improved pain tolerance. This seems to be totally in line with the Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Commitment model for peak human performance: avoiding negative emotions and sensations is the sign of a beginner, while accepting the negative consequences of a task allows full engagement and eventual mastery.

Finally, on a more serious note, HelpForDepression.com is running a fundraiser in support of the non-profit To Write Love On Her Arms, a group dedicated to improving the lives of people struggling with depression and other mental health challenges. They would appreciate any form of support. Thanks!

Week of Calm

2011-09-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

According to Google Image Search,
this is a "Calm Monkey"

Emotions are cool, right? I mean, they make us feel all weird, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Occasionally, they come out of nowhere. They make our bodies do strange stuff: flush, feel tight, feel warm, put butterflies places. Those are all incredible experiences. However, that doesn't mean we need to let everyone else in the world know how we're feeling right?

Hence, The Happy Homunculus has sponsored a Week of Calm. A whole week dedicated to regulating our adult temper-tantrums. It was a trip! If you missed out, here it is again:

Week of Calm

Day 1: Feeling - Strange vibrations.
Day 2: Commute of Calm - Drive happy.
Day 3: Cool Off - Get out of there.
Day 4: Poker Face - No tells.
Day 5: Turn the Other Cheek - Empathy, big time.
Day 6: Off the Brakes - Let it out.

Next week, The Happy Homunculus is going to be all about my second favorite thing in the world: sleeping. I'm going to cobble together a bunch of Daily Mind Games that are going to be soporific to the extreme. Metacognitive control isn't just about analyzing our own thinking, it's about giving our brain what it needs and craves. Like some rest. And I need some rest.

Until then, why not check out the following fun links for some extra credit. I'd like to make it a weekly habit to share the recent articles that make Homunky the happiest...

Homunky's Hot Hits:

First off, it's always good to get a refresher on what metacognition is all about. And if that wasn't enough, check out this article for more.

Next up, here is a recent article from the prolific Jonah Leher about making decisions. It reminded me that it's not always smart to over-think things! Hungry for more decision-making research? Here's another article discussing the relative value of emotions and intentional thinking when making decisions. Cool!

Finally, here's a recent piece about memory that reminds me a lot of our discussions during the Week of Memory. Some good tips there for making concepts stick.

Week of Memory

2011-09-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

Let us join virtual hands and remember The Week of Memory. We have explored the most powerful and proven memory tricks; now, nothing can stop us from remembering anything that comes our way. Names? Nothing. Complex systems? Done. Lists of random stuff? Of course. Whole textbooks? BRING IT ON.

Wait, actually I can't remember what we went over this week... You too? That's cool. Here it is again:

Week of Memory

Day 1: Childhood Home - A palace of memories.
Day 2: Lewd, Crude, and Rude - Because boring isn't memorable.
Day 3: Name Game - Time to rhyme.
Day 4: Mental Model - Details are good.
Day 5: Pretty Pictures - Worth a whole lot of words.
Day 6: Smell, Taste, Feel, and Sound - Close your eyes.

Ah, that jogs the ol' memory! What a great week. I'm very excited to continue to apply these memory tricks in the weeks to come. Hopefully I'll remember to do so...

As for next week, I'm thinking it might be fun to play around with our emotions a bit. Specifically, I want to see what sort of control we can exert on how we feel and, more importantly, how we react to how we feel.

Oh, noble Monkey of Calm: what is your secret?

I think all of us can relate to the experience of letting our emotions get the best of us. We blow-up in anger at a loved one and say things we regret. We get upset at a colleague and let it impede our ability to work in a team. We feel sad about some event and let that sadness seep into other areas, preventing engagement. In all of these examples, we would be much better off if we could only reign in our emotions a bit.

So, in honor of emotional regulation, next week will be the "Week of Calm". We'll try some fun Daily Mind Games that will test our ability to maintain a cool head no matter what happens. Personally, this is one of the main cognitive skills I wish I was better at, so I'm really looking forward to the week.

Week of Productivity

2011-09-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. Just a single week dedicated to productivity? In case you are wondering, I am aware that whole sections of the world wide web are dedicated to increasing productivity. But, The Happy Homunculus is about improving all aspects of our thinking - we don't want to spend too much time on a single subject, do we? That being said, I'm beginning to suspect that we will definitely have to revisit procrastination and productivity again in the future, so stay tuned!

Albeit brief, I hope this week's Daily Mind Games were useful in your battle against self-defeating procrastination. It's always motivating to look back and see what we've accomplished, so here is the entire Week of Productivity in review:

Week of Productivity

Day 1: Too Easy - No such thing.
Day 2: Divide and Conquer - Or, break it up and win?
Day 3: High Contrast - Compare and contrast.
Day 4: Worst Case Scenario - Get busy, or else...
Day 5: Solitary Confinement - Escape distractions.
Day 6: Distraction-Free Zone - Clean your desk.

Just a reminder, all of these challenges were inspired by the book The Procrastination Equation. If you want more ideas for defeating the impulses that lead to procrastination, check out the book.

It is not clear what the monkeys
are trying to remember.

Next week is going to be really fun. I recently read an another amazing book, this one with a more quirky title: Moonwalking with Einstein. The memorable title is no accident - the book chronicles the journey of one intrepid journalist as he explores the secrets of the world-wide competitive memory circuit. The book examines human memory from all angles, both scientific and otherwise, and should be enjoyable for both the empiricist and theorist in all of us :) If you want to get a taste of the book, check out this article from the New York Times written by the author, Joshua Foer. Really great read.

Too excited to wait for the Week of Memory to begin? Check out this video for a sneak-peak of what we'll be up to in the days to come...

Finally, can't get enough metacognition? Here is some further reading from other blogs, that you might enjoy:

Further Reading

1. How can you reduce stress?
2. The secret ingredient of motivation?
3. Dealing with drudgery...
4. Still stressed? Here's another tip.

Week of Flow

2011-09-04T03:00:00.000-04:00

Go with the flow.

Good work masters of metacognition! You've completed another Week of Metacognition: the Week of Flow is behind us. But, that doesn't mean we should forget what we've learned... Oh, no. Flow is a state of mind, a state of engagement with the task at-hand and, as we've discussed already, depends on how we think about the things we do. I hope you will continue to look at all your activities as opportunities to get in the zone.

Miss The Week of Flow? Missed The Week of Flow? Try it again for the first time:

Week of Flow

Day 1: Finding Flow - Look out for flow.
Day 2: Feast of Flow - Flow, with food.
Day 3: Physical Flow - Flow, with movement.
Day 4: Liquid List - Your to-do list is a game.
Day 5: Liquid Life - Your life is a game.
Day 6: Stream of Consciousness - Your thinking is a game.

Next week, The Happy Homunculus is going to be all about Productivity. I recently read The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel, which made the interesting link between procrastination and impulsiveness. Reading the book inspired me to inspire my readers to be more productive, so next week I've prepared some fun Daily Mind Games that are designed to help us produce. Fun!

Are you diggin' The Happy Homunculus? Please, take some time and show your support!

Week of Self-Control

2011-08-21T04:00:00.004-04:00

Control yourself.

Another Week of Metacognition in the books - the Week of Self-Control is complete. The challenges last week touched on a number of different behaviors that significantly impact our health, mood, and productivity. If you completed each of the Self-Control challenges, you should be feeling pretty good: you can easily control your own behavior. So, when impulses start to bubble up in the future (and they will), just think back to all the times you were able to steer your own behavior.

Did you miss last week's challenges? Try the full Week of Self-Control for yourself:

Day 1: Reset - Calm down.
Day 2: Meal Plan - Eat with a strategy.
Day 3: Show Up - Go through the motions.
Day 4: Day of Doing - Don't plan, do.
Day 5: Play Date - Force some fun.
Day 6: Fave Five - Call your peeps.

Next week, your humble author is going on vacation, so the Daily Mind Games are going to be paused for one week (this is a one man show). But don't fear! I've got some fun weeks planned. In the coming weeks, I'm planning Weeks of Flow, Productivity, Memory, and Calm. Sound good? Are there any topics you'd like to see? Post your thoughts in the comments :)

Also, stop by near the end of next week - I'll be posting about the three critical cognitive characteristics of top performers. Do you want to be awesome? This post is for you. So stay tuned!

Not satisfied? Mad that I'm going to be gone? Check out all the ways you can Support The Happy Homunculus, and you'll make me feel guilty. But, don't stay mad for long, stay happy!

Links: Check out other Weeks of Metacognition

Week of Self-Awareness

2011-08-14T04:00:00.034-04:00

That's right, really get to know yourself.

It's done. The Week of Self-Awareness is complete. And. I. Am. Tired. I don't know what it is, but being self-aware is very taxing emotionally and mentally. However, I'm always happy after I observe my own behavior because I feel more informed about how to modify my behavior to get closer to a valued goal. Hopefully, you came away from the week with a similar attitude, dear reader.

Did you miss the Week of Self-Awareness? Go. Back. In. Time.

The Week of Self-Awareness

Day 1: Feeling - Good (and bad) vibrations.

Day 2: Eating - You are getting very hungry.

Day 3: Moving - Or not moving.

Day 4: Working - Or not working.

Day 5: Playing - Some work and some play.

Day 6: Socializing - All we need is love.

Last week was challenging, and I hate to be Debby-Downer, but next week is going to be even more challenging. We've been working on our metacognitive muscle for a few weeks now, though, so I'm confident we're ready for it.

For researchers studying metacognition, two main concepts are frequently emphasized: monitoring and control. The consensus seems to be that skillful metacognition requires both of these capacities. In other words, we must be able to accurately and consistently monitor our thoughts and behavior and simultaneously control those thoughts and behaviors when necessary. Demontrating both capacities is a hallmark of metacognitive mastery. Last week, we working on monitoring (i.e. Self-Awareness). Next week, we're going to focus on Self-Control.

What's the point you may ask? As I've discussed before, self-control is a powerful predictor of long-term success and health. Basically, unless we can control our impulses for short-term, immediate rewards, we will never be able to invest the consistent time and energy required to achieve bigger, more meaningful goals. But, don't fear if you've been lacking in self-control until now. Research suggests that training self-control is possible. The key may be to try small, achievable self-control challenges first, before working up to more difficult projects. Good thing The Happy Homunculus provides small daily challenge right? Right?!

Until next time, stay happy!

Links: Check out other Weeks of Metacognition

Week of Relaxation

2011-08-07T06:00:00.003-04:00

You go girl.

Is it possible to be too relaxed? Because, if it is possible, then I think I'm in trouble: the Week of Relaxation was a success! I'm kidding, of course. In today's pressure-packed world, chronic stress and a go-go-go mentality seems like the standard mode for most of us, myself included. That being said, taking time to "reboot" is even more critical as being chronically stressed out can lead to some nasty brain stuff. But, thankfully the relaxation response can be triggered with some simple meditation-inspired techniques.

During the week, we took some time for ourselves and completed six meditation-oriented Daily Mind Games to try to shift our brains into a more relaxed and calm state. Guided by strategies summarized in The Relaxation Response , we adopted a passive mindset and cleared our minds of anxiety-producing clutter. Hopefully, this approach helped you become more relaxed. I really enjoyed these challenges, and am going to try to incorporate this type of meditation into a daily routine.

Did you miss the Week of Relaxation? No problemo: get caught up!

Week of Relaxation

Day 1: Peace and Quiet - Find a meditation spot.

Day 2: Passive - Do nothing. Seriously.

Day 3: Mantra - The secret weapon of the uber-relaxed.

Day 4: Heavy - Get loose.

Day 5: Down - Get down.

Day 6: Timeless - Escape the clock.

Now that we're all relaxed and happy, I think it's time to get back to some heavy cognitive lifting. A basic definition of metacognition is awareness of our own thinking and understanding. Next week, we're going to extend that definition a bit and include our behavior as a part of our metacognitive domain. In other words, we can observe our own thoughts as part of an applied metacognitive strategy but we can also observe our own behavior. This would be a behaviorist approach to metacognition.

What's the point you may ask? I would argue that, for most of us, our biggest "problems" are problems in behavior: we eat too much, we don't work enough, we spend too much, etc. Unfortunately, most of us (myself included) often don't realize what's going on until the negative consequences are born out. Next week, we're going to work on self-awareness in order to combat bad behaviors that result from a "mindless" approach to life. Specifically, we're going to consciously track our own behavior across a series of critical domains in order to generate a more accurate assessment of our own behavior. Time to get serious!

Links: Check out other Weeks of Metacognition

Week of Optimism

2011-07-31T06:00:00.004-04:00

That is one optimistic monkey.

Optimism is a hot topic this week on the intrawebs: some pundits like it and others don't. Personally, I could use all the optimism I can get (my homunculus gets cranky easily), so this week at The Happy Homunculus we've been filling glasses of water half-way and contemplating just how full they are... That was an optimisim joke. Uggh.

During the week, we listened to our thoughts following bad events and completed six Daily Mind Games to try to shift our brains from a pessimistic state to an optimistic one. Guided by research summarized in Learned Optimism, we tried to avoid thinking about things in a permanent, pervasive, or personal way.

My homunculus is still cranky, but less so. Why don't you see how your homunculus responds?

Week of Optimism

Day 1: Hear the Homunculus - Listen to your automatic thinking.

Day 2: Ignore the Homunculus - Put a nasty homunculus in time-out.

Day 3: Temporary - Nothing lasts forever, bad stuff included.

Day 4: External - It's not always about you.

Day 5: Specific - Stop catastrophizing.

Day 6: Take Control - Escape the shock.

Whew! I'm all tuckered out from all this metacognition and self-improvement that I need to unwind. Don't you? Next week, we're going shed our go-go-go mentality and try to relax. But, worry not, partner-in-metacognition, we'll have our usual Daily Mind Games, but each day we're going to try to relax more and more. After next week, you might be able to cancel your next vacation. Another joke!

An old classic that discusses the science of relaxation is The Relaxation Response. While the "science of relaxation" may not sound relaxing at all (dramatic pause), the book is a great source of information about how to achieve a state of relaxation and the positive effects this state can have on our health and mood. The book is a bit out-dated, but the main points still ring true. The Daily Mind Games for next week have been inspired by this book.

What's the point you may ask? Well, our minds don't exist independently of our bodies. In fact, our mental state can directly impact our physiology (our brains are an organ, after all) and vice versa. For me, I'm always wound a bit tight - I'm kind of a nervous dude. This seems to have given me a touch of the high blood pressures. But, I'm not nervous about being nervous, the strategies in The Relaxation Response have been shown to reduce both blood pressure and other biomarkers of stress. Joy!

Links: Check out other Weeks of Metacognition

Week of Motivation

2011-07-24T06:00:00.004-04:00

You can do it!

We're intrinsically motivated here at The Happy Homunculus. We're so intrinsically motivated, that we were able to make ourselves more motivated. Dios mio!

During the last week, we started arguing with our own mind with the goal of increasing our intrinsic motivation. We completed six Daily Mind Games, inspired by the book Motivational Interviewing, that were carefully engineered to re-frame our internal biases and make us more open to changing our behavior.

I know it worked for me. My homunculus said it worked for him. So, why wouldn't it work for you?

Week of Motivation

Day 1: Benefits of Change - talk up the good reasons to change.
Day 2: No to the Status Quo - remind yourself why not changing is uncool.
Day 3: Characteristics for Change - note your skillz.
Day 4: Expertise for Change - get more skillz.
Day 5: Intention to Change - make a promise to yourself.
Day 6: Small Change - Make a change, a small change.

Next week, our goal will be to improve our moods (and our performance) by working on being more optimistic. I recently read a great book entitled Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman that reviews the current science about optimism and how we can change our thinking to be more optimistic. The Daily Mind Games for next week have been inspired by this book.

What's the point you may ask? Well, an optimistic style of thinking has been linked to improved mood, better health, longer life, and greater success. Neat-O! Sounds like something my homunculus could use...

Links: Check out other Weeks of Metacognition

Week of Empathy

2011-07-17T17:57:00.006-04:00

Empathize, yo.

It's official: empathy is a hot topic! Just ask Dan Pink. Good thing we're ahead of the curve here at The Happy Homunculus. Last week, we pumped some cognitive iron with a focus on making our compassion-muscles as big as possible. During this homunculus-sanctioned "Week of Empathy", we engaged in six Daily Mind Games designed to test and improve our ability to think about other people. The Homunculus knows that if he thinks about thinking, he can change the way he thinks: so why not think about thinking about other people? Say whuh?

In case you missed it, why not catch up?

Week of Empathy

Day 1: Simple Relationship - Think about someone who makes you happy

Day 2: Complex Relationship - Direct compassion at a complex someone

Day 3: Subordinate - Show empathy to an employee

Day 4: Superior - Show empathy to your boss

Day 5: Dependent - Give support to a loved-one

Day 6: Self-Empathy - Be nice to yourself

Last week's final challenge, "Self-Empathy" may have been the hardest of all for some us; however, being patient with our own shortcomings is going to be a critical skill to take into next week when we work on self-motivation. During the upcoming Week of Motivation, we're going to be applying strategies outlined in an awesome book - Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change. The approaches described in Motivational Interviewing were formulated (and tested) to help people deal with substance abuse problems, but are applicable to any situation where an increase in motivation is needed before an change in behavior can occur. While Motivational Interviewing was written for counselors (not a general audience), we're smart cookies and are going to try to extend the framework to our self-motivation goals. Let's do this.

FYI - If you buy the book via the above link, you'll be supporting The Happy Homunculus - thanks for the help!

Links: View other Weeks of Metacognition

Week of Focus

2011-07-10T22:04:00.003-04:00

More! More focus!

Today marks the conclusion of the first week of Daily Mind Games (DMGs) here at the Happy Homunculus! Thanks for following along this far. As we've discussed previously, our mission is to engage in metacognition, or thinking about our thinking, with the aim of changing the way we think. Just like physical exercise can lead to adaptations in our body that allow it to handle the work demanded, these daily, mental challenges are consciously designed activities that, with time, will change how our minds function - hopefully for the better.

During the Week of Focus, our goal was to test the limits of our attention span, and then to apply the skills we acquired to our daily lives to try to be more effective. In case you missed the Week of Focus, follow along from the beginning:

Week of Focus

Day 1: 100 Breaths - Count 100 consecutive breaths
Day 2: One Object - Maintain attention on a single object
Day 3: Zone of 100 - Use breath counting to enter, and stay in, the zone
Day 4: Every Object - Examine each object with curiosity
Day 5: One Task - Focus on a single concept that matters to you
Day 6: One Person - Focus on a single person that matters to you

The final challenge of last week, "One Person", required that we observe one individual we care about. This challenge, in addition to testing focus, also transitions us nicely into the DMG theme for next week: empathy. Next week, we will conduct some thought experiments that challenge us to infer the thoughts and feelings of other people, to practice compassion, and to start to push ourselves to remain open-minded to the opinions of others. Research is beginning to suggest that aspects of social intelligence, including empathy, are critical to the success of a group. We will take these results at face value and attempt to develop this aspect of our thinking next week.

See you tomorrow!

Links: Check out other Weeks of Metacognition