Creativity isn’t just a “nice to have” skill in a future where anything remotely routine will be automated. It’s a life skill that helps in almost every context. For problems ranging from “Why doesn’t my book sell?” to “How can I fix the dishwasher dispenser?” to “How do I make sure I’m eating a healthy diet?” being able to see… Read More

First, women/girls have internalized the idea that they must be perfect or at least twice as good as a man/boy to succeed in the world. Gender roles penalize men in horrible ways as well, but generally, we praise men/boys for just existing and excoriate women/girls for the same–that’s the SOURCE of this perfectionism. BUT… I also agree 100% with this… Read More

But it’s not only professional bards who weave tales. Humans are the storytelling animal. Stories help us decipher the world and ourselves–we use them for instruction and inspiration. Our brains are literally wired to hold onto information better when it comes in narrative form. “You can’t take it with you” applies only to the physical things–your body, your possessions–but you… Read More

Seeing things in a new way requires seeing the mess for what it is. Sometimes the mess is fine—it doesn’t matter, not really, if the box of junk stays a box of junk. Let go of the psychic toll and move on. Sometimes the mess is indicative of a wider, systemic disorder—a symptom of a larger pathology. Cleaning up THAT… Read More

My superpower isn’t that I have more knowledge or willpower than the average bear. My superpower is a willingness to take actual data, look hard at the cloud of data beyond just the numbers, and realistically evaluate what’s actually happened—not what I wish happened. Then take that information, fold it into a new understanding of complex systems, knowing that my… Read More