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The Power of Scientific Brainstorming
Research: the road not taken
Since it is unclear in advance which research direction will yield results, scientific progress needs independent explorers. Sometimes a conventional path leads to an unexpected breakthrough, but more often, a traditional path leads to a traditional result.
Following new paths bring fresh opportunity for discovering hidden treasures.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
A Good Sense Of Humor
- Humor has many practical uses, like diffusing a difficult situation, masking one’s nervousness, coping with failure and softening the criticism doled out to someone.
- Humor works ...
The Perfect Formula Of Funny
According to philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, humor is derived from a sudden unmatching or unexpected outcome of an event, which had in our minds a specific expectation. This causes a mild ‘violation’ in our minds, which creates the humor.
Non-Words
In a series of experiments, it was found that the greater the ‘violation of the expected outcome’ the greater the humor feels. It also found that certain non-words, which are a combination of letter strings (like digifin, or artorts) but have no dictionary meaning, are the most consistent in their funniness rating.
Non-words with low entropy(the extent of them being unexpected) seem to offer more surprise, and therefore, get a higher humor rating.
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Key Ideas
E-mail rudeness is a pervasive problem
Studies show that more than ninety percent of professionals surveyed admitted that they had experienced disrespectful e-mails at work.
Rude e-mails are on the rise. The e-mail may ...
The derogatory or condescending e-mail
Electronic communication is efficient, but it's detached. Sitting at a computer screen, the need for tact and a respectful tone disappears.
- Being on the receiving end of such impoliteness can create lingering stress and negative emotions. The recipient may find it harder to stay engaged at work. The stress associated with e-mail rudeness can spill over into family life and, like a chain reaction, can send stress signals to other people.
- A subtler form of aggression is failing to reply to a request, in effect giving others the "silent treatment." Not responding to an email leaves people hanging and struggling with uncertainty.
Remember your netiquette
With remote work on the rise, the use of electronic communication has allowed incivility to thrive.
- To mitigate the stress, managers need to set clear and reasonable e-mail expectations. Organizations should create meaningful opportunities for employees to build good working relationships.
- For employees, the best option to cope is to unplug from work after-hours.
- Regardless of your level of stress, remember the rules of netiquette. Spend time composing your e-mail and notice inconsiderate expressions. Acknowledge a request and let your co-workers know when you will get back to them. Perhaps keep caps lock off.
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Why We Avoid Asking For Advice
Most people shy away from asking for advice when they cannot figure out how to finish a tricky task or assignment at work.
- Reasons range from not wanting to bother anyone, or not tru...
Advice Seekers Appear Smarter
The fear of appearing incompetent or an incompetent person is misplaced, as research shows that the person who is asked for advice thinks good of the person asking.
Advice seekers appear smarter to the person whose ego is now stroke, making him provide valuable insights while being impressed by the seeker. Being asked for advice increases the level of perceived competency of the seeker in the eyes of the expert.
Connection Made Thorugh Advice
Asking for advice leads to a series of interactions at the office, which gives way to exchanging information, learning and builds a meaningful connection that goes beyond the initial request for advice.