Thinking About Thinking

[caption align="alignleft" width="390"] Image via Wade M / Flickr[/caption]

Oh hey, it's been a while. I haven't carved out time to write lately because I have been busy thinking about thinking and it has been rather time consuming. When I mentioned to my longtime HR friend Joan that I wish I could get paid for just thinking, rather than thinking and doing - she suggested a career as a Professor. I don't think so, at this stage in the game the time and associated debt for a PhD would wreck my golden years plan. I'll just keep writing what I think here, hope you like it and collect that monthly Paypal deposit for advertising that buys my coffee.

Here are some of the things I have been thinking about lately:

edX - Take one of these free courses (or any MOOC) on something that will enrich your life. I'm taking (as if this will be a huge surprise) Think101x The Science of Everyday Thinking. I haven't taken a college class since 1989.. umm it's changed a bit and all for the better. Maybe if I could have taken for credit classes in pajamas on the couch I would have that PhD today.

Moral judgments - There's this whole position that morality is divinely inspired and I actually don't agree, have never agreed. So I think it's awesome that the month I'm thinking about thinking, CNN posts about How your brain makes moral judgments. Prisons and jails are warehouses for the mentally illwith over 64% of inmates suffering from disorders (not only is that number way old IMO it's way low). Not all brains work the same but they are all measured by the same societal standards and social norms. The system isn't "broken" it simply has never been any good. We need to come up with another plan to help those who need it, and keep people safe.

Narcissism - What type of narcissist must one be to crank up their qualifications on a resume? I'm not talking about the typical embellishing we all know often goes on - I'm talking resume crack for a 5 year X 1m+ contract.

During the search for a new men's basketball coach, an agreement in principle was reached by USF and candidate Steve Masiello. The agreement was pending a verification of credentials. Through the verification process it was determined the candidate's credentials could not be substantiated and therefore he did not meet the requirements for the position. - bleacher report

If I can't be paid for just thinking because I'm not a PhD Steve, you can't be the coach because you didn't graduate Kentucky. But I can be a speaker at conferences and seminars and you can coach high school and community leagues for much less or no money.

The ways people sabotage their opportunities for success - Leave it to Reader's Digest funnies to highlight some of the best examples of candidate ineptitude.

An individual applied for a customer-service job, and when asked what he might not like about the job, he said, 'Dealing with people'.

It's amazing when people come in for an interview and say, 'Can you tell me about your business?' Seriously, people. Theres an Internet. Look it up.

Systems one and two and their bearing on decision making - Most of us have our mundane daily living routines well thought out and fairly down pat. But it only takes one poor decision to land you up in a dreadful or even fatal circumstance. Yeah, it could be life or death for sure, but more likely it's decisions about timing, finances, health, influences and relationships. I've done okay with decision making all except for one category. I'm just taking that thinking course and hoping Daniel Kahneman figures out how to send me real telepathic messages to keep me focused.

I have also been thinking about NEPA BlogCon2014, what it will mean if the Russians re-establish a naval base in Cuba, and if the Catholic Church will attract more converts because of Suor Cristina,who concocted a very devious scheme to get out of the convent to appear on The Voice Italy in the name of evangelization.

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