Tag: Psychology / Sociology

Ice Hockey Experience [en]

So yesterday I went to see an ice hockey match. I have to tell you that I’m everything but a sports enthusiast. So this was my first match. And probably last.

First of all, I thought I was back in the EPFL corridors: 95% male population.

So I had a chance to check Aleika’s mother’s famous male IQ law. The law states that in a pack of males, an individual’s IQ is inversely proportional to the size of the group. In other words, the sum of all the individual’s IQs is a constant.

This means that a guy alone is nice company, that two guys can already be troublesome, and that three or more is a pain (split that 120 IQ between them, and see what you get!)

There were 8500 spectators last night. Not many girls.

The game in itself is not uninteresting. The only thing that bothered me (and it’s what bothers me with sport all the time!) is the lack of fair-play.
Now, Switzerland is a nice country as far as fair-play is concerned, and the match I saw was normal (yep, I asked). Well, I saw far too many aggressive players and nasty shoves for my liking.

Competition judo is much more fair-play than that, and I always complain about people being “unfair-play” over there.

So you see. I don’t have anything against sport in itself – but I don’t like the mentality that goes with competition. Yes, encourage your team. No, don’t throw rotten tomatoes at the other team – especially if they are losing!

Bonsai Kittens [en]

Thanks to Heather, I found another interesting article in the Urban Legends Reference Pages: bonsai kittens.

Web [en]

Now, this is really f***ing good research… ; )

Urban Legend Reference Pages has just been bookmarked by your favorite web-hunter as a very valuable reference. If you come upon something on the net and you’d like to check if it is real or not, search their library. You’ll probably find it.

I’ve singled out a piece for you on the uselessness of e-petitions. Check it out before hitting “forward”!

Médics [en]

Je serais curieuse de savoir quelle proportion de la population dépend d’anxiolytiques et d’antidépresseurs pour mener une vie normale (peu importe finalement ce que veut dire normal, on le comprend bien).

Dans le même ordre d’idées, je me demande parfois quelle proportion de mes connaissances consomme régulièrement des substances telles que cocaine, héroine, extasy…

Dans les deux cas, les chiffres sont probablement bien plus élevés que ce que j’imagine.

Intelligence Emotionnelle [en]

L’intelligence émotionnelle par Daniel Goleman.
Critiques sur epinions.com (anglais) – autres liens à  ce sujet

Je me méfie beaucoup des best-sellers américains, surtout lorsqu’ils sont garnis d’une couverture qui fait “psychologie à  deux sous”. Ne vous laissez pas berner, cet ouvrage est bien plus profond que sa couverture!
Goleman explique en quoi notre aptitude à  gérer notre vie émotionnelle et nos relations avec autrui joue un rôle bien plus important en ce qui concerne notre “réussite” dans la vie (sociale, professionelle, affective, santé…) que les capacités dites “intellectuelles” que l’on mesure et développe à  l’école.

J’ai compris beaucoup de choses intéressantes sur moi-même en lisant ce livre, et je suis loin d’être une novice en ce qui concerne l’introspection et l’auto-analyse psychologique… ; )

Emotional Intelligence [en]

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman.

Reviews on epinions.com – related links

I’m often suspicious of american best-sellers, especially in the domain of psychology. Don’t let yourself be fooled like I almost was: this book is far from shallow.
It explains how and why skills in the emotional realm play a far more important role in our lives than pure intellect (be it in school, at work, with family, or dealing with illness) – even though the development of these skills is not coached in any way, and left to chance.
I understood quite a few things about myself while reading this book – and I’m not thick when it comes to introspection and psychological analysis : )

Des yeux pour entendre [en]

Si j’attends d’avoir écrit une critique complète de chaque livre avant de vous le recommander, je risque bien de ne jamais le faire…

Il est temps de se jeter à  l’eau!

Des yeux pour entendre par Oliver Sacks.
Critiques sur epinions.com (anglais).

Ce livre est une formidable présentation du monde des sourds. Il explore en profondeur les caractéristiques du langage des signes comme langue, et son influence sur le développement et l’épanouissement de ceux qui le parlent.
Un avertissement, toutefois: on court le risque de s’inscrire à  des cours une fois le livre terminé!

Seeing Voices [en]

If I wait to write complete reviews of books before recommending them to you, I might never do it.
Let’s get going!

Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks.

Reviews on epinions.com.

This book is a great introduction to the world of the deaf. It explores in depth the characteristics of Sign as a language, and its influence on the mind and development of those who use it.
A word of warning, however: you might find yourself taking up classes to learn Sign by the end of the book!

Online Relationships [en]

I’m starting some net-culture research.