Book Review-How We Decide

We are all aware of the game show, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth grader; well there should be a game show called, Are You Smarter Than a Quarterback. Not only am I not smarter than a fifth grader on a regular basis, but after reading this book I took the Wonderlic intelligence test (test players on their decision making skills on math and logic problems), it was blatantly determined that I am not smart enough to be a quarterback, and I definitely do not have the skills (which I already knew). This book takes everyday scenarios that the normal individual takes for granted and exploits the problems that can arise in the brain, because we do not realize how much the interworking on our brains impacts our actions and behaviors. Here are some of my favorite exerts/topics from the book with my commentary.

• Who would of thought that a 4-year olds ability to wait to eat a marshmallow would predict how that child would act in high school and their chances of developing ADHD. I bet you will never look at a bag of marshmallows the same ever again.
• Mirror neurons. And no these small cluster of cells do not spend all day asking “mirror mirror on the wall, who are the fairest cells of all.” But rather these cells are found in autistic individuals.
• I will never leave home without my prefrontal cortex, and you shouldn’t either. After reading this book, I want to wear a helmet 24/7 in order to protect my prefrontal cortex; because damage to this region of the brain makes for entertaining and thought provoking stories for readers, but for the person having to live with a damaged prefrontal cortex, they have nothing but my deepest sympathies.
• My skin was crawling while I read the John Wayne Gacy chapter. He was a serial killer and rapist who assaulted and murdered approximately 40 teenager boys. This chapter of the book focused on psychopaths and how their brains work. Psychopaths can beat lie detectors. Note to self: Never play poker with a psychopath because I wouldn’t be able to tell when he/she is bluffing, especially since I lie detector cannot tell when they are bluffing. The book indicates that neuroscientists are beginning to identify the specific deficits that define the psychopathic brain. 
• There are more slot machines in the United States than ATM machines
• The average household owes more than $9000 in credit card debt, and the average number of credit cards per person is 8.5. This definitely makes me feel responsible-I have $0 in credit card debt and I only possess 2 credit cards. Although, when I was in undergrad, I had a total of 10 credit cards at one time. I had 3 main cards, and then the other 7 were from department stores (e.g. Victoria Secret and The Buckle). Not that I am justifying my decisions to possess that many credit cards, but it is nice to know that I wasn’t alone. Teenagers are becoming increasingly powerful consumers. I would be in a department store, for example The Buckle, and I would be ready to pay and the cashier would ask, “If you apply for our credit card today you can save 10% on your total purchase.” When I go shopping, I have the mindset that I don’t spend money, but rather I save money. Therefore, when the cashier mentions this deal I just hear “CHA-CHING” in my head. However, the dark secret this Buckle credit card is keeping is that it charges 24% interest; now my mind is going  “WAH WAH.” Additionally, if the personal debt isn’t a scary story amongst itself; in 2006, consumers spent more than 17 billion dollars in penalty fees alone for credit cards…MIND=BLOWN!

You definitely need to read this book! I learned something new on every page. The author packs so much information in this book, some may think that it would be a textbook, and no one wants to read a textbook. However, Jonah Lehrer makes neuroscience intriguing and entertaining...for once learning is FUN!

Muck Fizzou

I grew up in a Missouri's Tiger household, and this was most apparent when we moved to Iowa. My mother refused to be affiliated with anything Hawkeye related, and she had a mental restraining order against anything dealing with the Hawkeyes; nothing within 100 feet of our house. My mother is thankfully back in Missouri, so I don't have to worry about her yelling "Hawkeyes suck" at the top of her lungs. Hawkeyes vs. Tigers- two teams with the same colors (black and gold); but apparently a HUGE difference in the eyes of my mother-whom has NEVER watched a single football game in her life. Loyalty for her homestate (she was born in Sedalia, MO) runs deep, even dealing with things she couldn't explain if her life depended on it.

This weekend was Mizzou's 100th homecoming game in Columbia, MO, and they won against Iowa's Cyclones; which made my mom elated. However, I realize that not everyone likes Mizzou (or football for that manner). Therefore, I will share some amusing jokes with you. If you are a die-hard Mizzou fan I would suggest you stop reading now......

I SAID STOP READING!


Q: Why did Rihanna briefly consider attending Mizzou?
A: They don't beat anyone.

Q:Why does Mizzou have paw print on their uniforms?
A: They are used to getting stepped on.

Q: What's the difference between yogurt and Columbia, Missouri?
A: Yogurt has an active living culture.

Craving some more Missouri and Mizzou dissing? Then check out this site: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2200204458&topic=2340

Betty White rapping

I am enjoying my time in Missouri with my family for the weekend; however, I wanted to share this video of Betty White rapping. Enjoy!!!
http://music-mix.ew.com/2011/10/13/betty-white-raps-in-luciana-music-video/#more-38069

The odoriferous banana with protein

I absolutely detest bananas, and especially abhor the smell of a banana. I think burnt human hair, boiled cabbage, rotting cadavers, and Amorphophallus titanum (aka the Corpse Flower) smell absolutely horrendous; however, the smell of bananas is almost as foul smelling in my opinion. Today a friend (that taunts me with bananas on a daily basis) was eating a banana in class, and I gave her my familiar "you are eating a banana'" death glare, and she responded, "I am sorry, but I need my protein." Yes she responded PROTEIN, not potassium. So obviously, the food pyramid has it all wrong. It look like the banana was adopted by the fruit family; however, its biological parents are the meat family. So to all you muscle builders out there, forget the steroids, just eat a bucket of bananas; they are just chockfull of protein. That must be why monkeys have such a huge appetite for bananas; they are wanting to be as muscular and ripped as King Kong. 

For all you banana enthusiasts here are some banana jokes that you can substitute in your day instead of eating a banana, or better yet eat an apple. Rumor has it that apples are chockfull of calcium, whole grains, and protein, so bon appetit!!!

Q: Why do bananas wear suntan lotion?

A: Because they peel.

Q: Why are bananas never lonely?

A: Because they hang around in bunches.

Q: Why do bananas' do so well on the dating scene?

A: Because they have Appeal.

Q: Why did the banana go out with the prune?

A: Because he couldn't find a date.

Wadded Paper for Sale

Before computers came into our lives, we used paper and a writing instrument to write our thoughts down. Sometimes, instead of erasing a sentence (especially if it was at the beginning of the paper) I would just wad it up and try to shoot it into the trash can. Therefore, with the evolution of the internet and it's domination over the world, it would make complete sense that paper would become vestigial, like the human appendix. However, NOW with the invention of the internet, a person can now become abundantly wealthy almost instantly by jumping on the wadded paper money train. I am seriously contemplating financing the rest of my college tuition with wadded paper. Forget the gold rushes of the 1890s, it is now the wadded paper rush of 2011. I wish I was kidding, but there is an actual website that sells wadded paper. But instead of just appealing to "tree haters" the sellers gave the wadded paper originality by adding a poem. But not just any poem, a haiku; therefore, now they can expand their buyers and appeal to japanese art collectors. These sellers are geniuses and probably even Mark Zuckerberg is pinching himself for missing out on such a money making opportunity! Because I am definitely kicking myself in the rear-end for throwing away perfectly good wadded up paper for years, because I could have been a millionaire by now!

Make sure you read the Frequently Asked Questions on the webpage to make sure you soak up the complete absurdity and amusement of this webpage! http://www.origamiboulder.com/

My iPad experience

Yesterday I purchased my iPad, and I am already in LOVE with it. I imagine this feeling I am experiencing is what a mother feels when she has her firstborn-and yes, I just compared a newborn to an innovated technology device. Even though I am amusing myself with all the Apps on the iPad, it was my experience at the Apple Store that amused me the most. WARNING: This story may only be funny to me; it might be one of those stories where you just had to be there. DISCLAIMER: For those that don't know me, I am not a fan of children, except the ones I am related to. However, I am not immune to laughing out loud to the ridiculous and funny things that children say and do. So I have just walked into the Apple store and one of the employees was helping me make my decision on which iPad to get (and yes picking the color-black or white- was the hardest decision aspect). When all of a sudden this child (approximately 6-8 years old), is running after his mom, yelling "Mommy! Mommy! I want an Ipet! Mommy, buy me an Ipet!" Which was really funny to me, but the mother looked really annoyed by her child; and I joined being annoyed after the child repeated this for the tenth time. I have this general outlook in life that if you cannot pronounce an item/thing correctly, maybe you shouldn't have nor need it for one reason or another....for instance, I cannot pronounce pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, even if my life depended on it. Therefore, I probably don't need it and I especially do not want it (for those that are curious pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is a type of lung disease).

Even though I am borderline obsessed with almost any apple product, I have become obsessed with theoatmeal.com ; it has become my newest resource for procrastination. Therefore, the ultimate procrastination experience for me would be reading articles on theoatmeal.com on my iPad.

Here's an article on the website that meets all my requirements of the ultimate procrastination experience: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

The Oatmeal-misspellings

Some of my friends have informed me recently that I am a terrible speller. This was a shocker to me because I considered myself a great speller (and I have the fourth grade spelling tests to prove it). However, once it was brought to my attention, I began noticing misspellings in Facebook statuses and emails (and there are probably a few on my blog website). However, I have concluded that 99% (maybe I am exaggerating a touch) of these misspellings are due to auto-correct features on my phone. However, I stumbled upon this website via a Facebook posting and it made me feel loads better, and of course it made me laugh! I hope you enjoy it as well!
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling