Age gives you an edge in the workplace. Here’s how.

60 is the new 30, says Melanie Katzman. Embrace your age and the benefits that come with it.

  • Melanie Katzman has 30 years of experience in her field, yet was advised to tell people she had just 20 years of experience so she wouldn't seem too out of touch.
  • Katzman strongly disagrees with that assessment of age in the workplace. Rather than see it as a liability, older professionals should embrace their age and experience. They can see patterns more broadly, plus they have deep network connections, information, and the desire to be generous.
  • "Research shows us that generativity flows downhill," says Katzman. "... New recruits and aging boomers can really change the world together but we have to not be afraid of stating our age."
Keep reading
personal growth aging work life intelligence leadership potential relationships self success teaching women in business

A unique brain signal may be the key to human intelligence

Scientists exploring human neurons directly learn some remarkable things.

Image source: vitstudio/Shutterstock
  • Most research regarding human brains is performed with rodent brains on the assumption that it may also apply to us.
  • An unusual study looked at recently resected human brain tissue that turned out to contain some big surprises.
  • Human neurons' unexpected electrical signals and their behavior shed new light on human intelligence.
Keep reading
intelligence neuroscience animals cognitive science human body neuron dendrite brain

William Shatner: Empathy must be taught

What a group of orphaned elephants can teach us about emotion and learned social skills.

  • Empathy is defined as the act of recognizing, understanding, and being sensitive to the feelings and experiences of others.
  • Sharing a story about young elephants at a nature preserve, William Shatner argues that empathy is a learned skill, not an inherited trait.
  • "That has to be learned, and I don't think it's any different from a boy to a girl. You have to walk in the shoes to experience what the other person is experiencing."
Keep reading
empathy learning teaching family evolution community animals intelligence compassion friendships men women gender

Grow your career (and salary) with industry-recognized certification training

Few career moves can make as immediate an impact as adding some advanced certifications to the resume. Meanwhile, the right certifications can increase your salary by as much as 40%.

  • Whizlabs offers certification training that can grow your career.
  • Whizlabs training includes fields like cloud computing, project management, digital marketing and more.
  • A lifetime Whizlabs subscription is discounted to $59.
Keep reading
work career education learning intelligence success job

#10: Become an intellectual explorer | Top 10 2019

The countdown is on for our top 10 videos of the year! Want to be smarter than you were yesterday? This video will teach you to have better conversations using 3 key design principles.

  • Big Think's #10 most popular video of 2019 will teach you how to expand your intellect through the art of insightful conversation. First up: What is a great conversation? They are the ones that leave us feeling smarter or more curious, with a sense that we have discovered something, understood something about another person, or have been challenged.
  • Emily Chamlee-Wright, president and CEO of the Institute for Humane Studies, details the 3 design principles that lead to great conversations: humility, critical thinking, and sympathetic listening.
  • Critical thinking is the celebrated cornerstone of liberalism, but next time you're in a challenging and rewarding conversation, try to engage sympathetic listening too. Understanding why another intelligent person holds ideas that are at odds with your own is often more enlightening than merely hunting for logic errors.
Keep reading
speech debate communication relationships friendship mind brain intelligence politics learning personal growth