You weren't born ‘to be useful’, Irish president tells young philosophers

Irish president believes students need philosophy.

  • President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins calls for students to be thought of as more than tools made to be useful.
  • Higgins believes that philosophy and history should be a basic requirement forming a core education.
  • The Irish Young Philosopher Awards is one such event that is celebrating this discipline among the youth.
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education school classics psychology philosophy
Personal Growth

People with greater intellectual humility have superior general knowledge

Smart people are not afraid to say "I don't know."

In the era of social media and rolling news there's a constant pressure to be in the know, always on hand with an aperçus or two.

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education personality self psychology learning intelligence
Mind & Brain

New study discovers the trajectory of optimism throughout life

When are you most optimistic? A study found how optimism varies throughout life.

  • Researchers studied more than 1,000 people during the course of 7 years.
  • They found that levels of optimism change throughout life.
  • Optimism grows through the 30s and 40s and peaks in mid-50s.
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brain emotions personality personal growth happiness health psychology optimism
Surprising Science

Why ceasing to be creative is a mistake

Even drawing stick figures has its benefits.

Photo by gustavo centurion on Unsplash
  • Many of us stop making art at a young age, convinced, perhaps, that we just don't have the talent for it.
  • This belief, however, may be wrong, and the benefits that producing art can bring aren't contingent on talent.
  • Is creating art an activity that all of us should pursue? Can artistic skill be taught?
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depression personal growth health personality psychology science and art creativity
Personal Growth

How power-hungry politicians divide and conquer

There's a reason people are "triggered" during voting time.

content.jwplatform.com
  • People seeking to win an election often use emotional words to trigger voters.
  • These emotional words tend to trigger people into four different groups: loyalists, riled-up resisters, mild moderates, and disenchanted drop-outs.
  • What we see today is people getting into power with less than a majority of people because they're able to divide this four-way voter split.
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politics democracy psychology sociology emotions bill eddy
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