Shortform Books

The Consciousness Continuum: An Unsolvable Riddle?

What do psychologists mean when they talk about the consciousness continuum? How many states of consciousness can a being experience? Do you think non-organic material can possess consciousness? The continuum of consciousness refers to the spectrum of mental, emotional, and perceptive states a being can experience. Although we have studied a variety of human and animal states of consciousness, we will likely never know all possible states since consciousness likely extends well beyond the experiences of organic beings. Keep reading to learn about the consciousness continuum.

The Spiritual Heart: How This Chakra Functions

What is the function of your spiritual heart? How does your heart chakra regulate your life experience? Your spiritual heart is an exquisite regulator of your experience. It governs your life because it opens and closes in sync with human relationships. Keep reading to learn about your spiritual heart chakra, what happens when it gets blocked, and how to release those blockages.

Self-Herding: Stop Repeating Your Irrational Behaviors

What does self-herding mean? How can a good first impression lead you to make irrational choices? Is it possible to un-form your self-herding habits? Self-herding is when you decide if something is good or bad depending on your past experiences, then you continue to copy that behavior until it becomes a habit. This can lead you to justify your irrational decisions. However, it is possible to recognize and change your self-herding habits. Continue on to learn more about self-herding and how to avoid it.

Multipliers and Diminishers: The Two Types of Leaders

What is the difference between a multiplier leader and a diminisher leader? What are the traits of multipliers and diminishers? According to the authors of Multipliers, there are two types of leaders: Multipliers and Diminishers. Multipliers bring the most out of their team’s abilities and they inspire and push them to do their best. Diminishers only access a small portion of their team’s abilities and prefer to rely on their own intelligence. Keep reading to learn more about Multipliers and Diminishers

Liberal Humanism in a Nutshell

What is liberal humanism? What are the central values of the liberal humanist ideology? Liberal humanism is a philosophy that values individual freedoms above all else. For a liberal humanist, every human perspective matters. Because of this, they run into problems when valid, but differing perspectives clash. Keep reading to learn about liberal humanism.

The 2 Types of Habits That Can Change Your Life

What are the two types of special habits from Tiny Habits? How can you turn a negative trigger into a positive one to become happier? The two special types of habits from Tiny Habits are “Meanwhile Habits,” and “Pearl Habits.” A Meanwhile Habit is a habit you do while you’re waiting for something to happen and a Pearl Habit is something that starts as a small irritation and grows into something beautiful. Keep reading to learn more about these two types of habits.

The Elephant and the Rider: The Happiness Hypothesis

How does the metaphor of the elephant and the rider signify a divided mind? In what four ways is the mind divided? What are primal emotions? In the book The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, he uses the metaphor of a person riding an elephant to explain the human mind. However, the rider/elephant metaphor only describes the back-and-forth struggle going on within the self. There are other dimensions to this division. Keep reading to learn more about the elephant and the rider and the four divisions of the mind.

The Decoy Effect: Marketing by Distraction

What is the decoy effect? How are we manipulated into making decisions without even knowing it? How can you use the decoy effect to your advantage? The decoy effect is when you’re presented with options, including an obviously unfavorable option, to trigger a comparison that will guide you towards a certain choice. Marketing agencies, subscription services, and even real estate agents use this technique. Continue on to learn more about the decoy effect.

The Two Schools of Thought in Western Culture

What are the two schools of thought in western culture? How should we decide what is moral and what is morally acceptable? Is there such thing as universal morality? As western civilization developed, questions around morality emerged. Two schools of thought became the most prominent: deontology (Kantian ethics) and utilitarianism. Both, however, are at odds with how human psychology works. Keep reading to learn more about the two schools of thought.

Misleading Statistics: Examples of Techniques Used

What are the top five techniques used by liars to mislead the public and make statistics look better in their favor? How are these techniques used in practice? There are many techniques that anybody with an agenda can use to manipulate statistics in their favor. In How to Lie With Statistics, Darrell Huff explains how liars can fudge the numbers and he gives examples of misleading statistics so you can learn how to avoid being manipulated. Keep reading for misleading statistics examples and techniques that liars use.