Whether or not history will determine that we are living in an ever more divided culture, it certainly feels that way. Perhaps there is just more to argue about when facing a never-ending Ninja Warrior course of crises. The culture wars, meanwhile, strip words of their meaning and debates of their nuance, further pitting communities, generations, families and friends against each other. Among the many casualties of this 21st-century slanging match is – arguably – the art of debate itself. So how do you win an argument in such fractious times without fuelling division? And if arguing is indeed an…

IQ (intelligence quotient) tests aren't the only way to measure intelligence. For one, these tests evaluate specific skills like memory, logic, and problem-solving. But that doesn't encompass all kinds of intelligence or measure people's overall abilities. After all, intelligence is a broad topic and psychologists study it from many different angles. One interesting find is the Dunning-Kruger effect. Essentially, people with low abilities tend to overestimate their competence while smart people often underestimate their brain power. So if someone is unsure about their level of intellect, it may indicate that they are smarter than they might think. At the very…

Time- and experience-tested methods of improving your image and drawing more attention in meetings and other public settings. Do you feel people at work aren't always paying attention when you speak, or that your word seems to carry less weight, even if you're right? Due principally to evolutionary factors, humans tend to respect and hold in higher regard those who portray strength, confidence and poise. Here are methods I’ve found that can boost all those qualities in a public speaking setting. 1. Unqualified speech “I feel like, maybe, we should try X instead of Y. Is that ok with you…

There's a reason why older people tend to wake up earlier in the mornings — it's a part of the natural aging process. There are many jokes that center around older adults waking up before the sun, and even more about teenagers’ late-sleeping habits. Turns out there’s truth to them: The time our body naturally goes to sleep and wakes up is not only part of our genetics, but part of the natural aging process, too. As we age, our bodies change both internally and externally, which is a major factor behind the sleep changes that come later in life.…