Growing up in Virginia, I often heard stories about verbal jousting between Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Astor, who was also born in Virginia. One of the most memorable is the following: Lady Astor: “If you were my husband, I’d give you poison.”Sir Winston: “If you were my wife, I’d drink it.” Amusing, but not…
This weekend I heard a podcast mention the concept of ‘kangaroo words’ so decided to have some fun dreaming up derivatives of kangaroo words. Kangaroo words contain letters of another word with the same or similar meaning, in the correct order but not necessarily consecutively. For example, the word chicken has the word hen in…
Have you ever noticed the word nonplussed has two opposite meanings? The original definitions of nonplussed is perplexed or disconcerted. Recently, and primarily in the U.S., nonplussed has come to mean unfazed or not surprised – the exact opposite of the original definition. The opposite definitions are certainly confusing but surprisingly it’s not that rare…
You can use the power of callbacks to improve your marketing… and to be funnier. In case you’re not familiar with the term, in comedy callbacks describe a joke which refers back to one told earlier in the set. By reminding the audience of the previous reference, the comic gets more than one laugh from…
When people ask for advice or a second opinion, they give clues to the answer they are expecting so they don’t get a truly independent point of view. In a series of experiments, researchers found that people often add their own opinion when they ask for an opinion or advice, even though they are aware…
The raven paradox forces us to question the value of information. In his 1965 essay “Studies in the Logic of Confirmation,” the acclaimed philosopher of science Carl Hempel showcased a fundamental paradox in the scientific method using the simplistic observations of ravens. He started with the statement “all ravens are black.” Expressed in logic form,…
Since my motto is Words Matter, I found myself researching how to write good. OK, that’s intentionally a bit provocative and some background is warranted. A friend used the phrase “Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement” so I obviously wanted to know where it originated. It’s generally attributed to Frank L. Visco from…
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This well-known quote, often attributed to Albert Einstein, cautions us from repeating ineffective actions or continue down paths likely to lead to disappointing outcomes. Only, Albert Einstein never said it. The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, the self-described ‘most…
Have you ever noticed there’s conflicting sayings for every situation and every point of view? When someone you care about goes on a long trip, a friend might comfort you by saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. On the other hand, when you end a relationship with a toxic partner, the same friend might…
Since it’s so easy to fall prey to them, it’s no surprise cognitive biases are rampant in politics. The most common bias in politics is the confirmation basis. The confirmation bias is the tendency to look for or interpret information in a way that confirms preexisting beliefs or assumptions. We not only don’t look for…