Amanda Penn, Author at Shortform Books

Priming: 9 Examples of the Power of Your Subconscious

Shape Your Thoughts to Shape Your Reality

What is the meaning of “priming” in psychology? How does priming work? When is it useful? Why is it controversial? Priming is a technique based on the theory that when an idea is triggered, its associations can cause you to behave in a meaningfully different way without your consciously realizing it. The concept of priming takes the idea of association beyond mere thought, to the functional level. We’ll cover what priming is, how it’s used, and why it’s controversial.

Biological Engineering: Are Superhumans the Future?

In the future, intelligent design could replace natural selection through biological engineering. What is biological engineering? Biological engineering is when scientists intervene with an organism’s biology to change its physical, behavioral, or emotional characteristics. For these reasons, biological engineering projects are often controversial. We’ll cover examples of biological engineering that’s already happing and biological engineering plans for the future. We’ll also look at other ways intelligent design could replace natural selection.

The Future Human Race Will Be a Different Species

What does the future of the human race hold? Will we remain the same race, Homo sapiens, that we are now? In the future of the human race, intelligent design could replace natural selection in one of two ways (or a combination of the two): cyborg engineering and biological engineering. We’ll cover what these are and what new questions they’ll introduce to the future human race.

Why Did Homo Sapiens Survive? How We Outlived 7 Human Species

We think of our own species as the only humans, distinguished from and superior to every other species on earth. But when we, Homo sapiens, arrived on the scene 2.5 million years ago, we weren’t anything special. We existed in the middle of the food chain, as often prey as we were predators, and we weren’t even the only humans. Why did Homo Sapiens survive while other human species disappeared? Homo Sapiens survived due to their advanced linguistic abilities and communication skills. The way Homo Sapiens used language affected their ability to hunt, trade, and dominate the animal kingdom. We’ll

Narrow Framing: One Way You Make Bad Decisions

What is narrow framing? Does it help or hinder our decision-making process? Narrow framing is when you focus on the details at the expense of the big picture. Narrow framing can hurt your decision-making skills because it keeps you from seeing your choices in context. We’ll cover what narrow framing is, how it differs from broad framing, and how to counter narrow framing in your everyday life.

Regression Toward the Mean: 7 Real-World Examples

What does “regression toward the mean” mean in psychology? How does it apply to everyday life? Regression toward the mean refers to the principle that, over repeated sampling periods, outliers tend to revert to the mean. High performers show disappointing results when they fail to continue delivering; strugglers show sudden improvement. We’ll cover what it means to regress toward the mean in psychology, 7 examples of regression toward the mean, and how to counter biases related to this phenomenon.

Associative Thinking: How to Be Creative + Why You’re Biased

What is associative thinking? What is its function, and how might it lead to bias? Associative thinking is fast, subconscious thinking that associates one concept with another. The ideas can involve memories, emotions, and physical sensations. We’ll cover how associative thinking works and how you use it in everyday life.

Illusion of Validity: Think You Make Good Predictions?

What is the illusion of validity? Why is it an illusion, and why is it a problem? The illusion of validity is the tendency to be overconfident about our skills of prediction. We’re especially vulnerable to the illusion of validity when faced with data points that seem to form a coherent narrative. Learn what the illusion of validity is and why it happens, with examples.

Measuring Well-Being: Why It’s So Hard + How to Be Happier

How can you measure your well-being, according to Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow? We’ll cover the steps of measuring well-being and how to improve well-being.

Cognitive Revolution (Sapiens): How Gossip Changed Our Brains

What was the Cognitive Revolution in Sapiens? How did it allow our species to survive, while other human species, such as Neanderthals, disappeared? The Cognitive Revolution was the moment in human history when our ancestors developed three new abilities: flexible language, communication about 3rd parties, and collective fictions. The Cognitive Revolution allowed homo sapiens to develop the societies that characterize the species today. We’ll cover the three aspects of the Cognitive Revolution as described in Yuval Noah Harari’s book Sapiens and expand upon the above Cognitive Revolution definition.