Shock therapy a relic of the past? The story of a man saved by electroconvulsive therapy [video & review] - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Shock therapy a relic of the past? The story of a man saved by electroconvulsive therapy [video & review] - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the story of his life saved from a pre-frontal lobotomy, by Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT).

Notes that doctors (his own colleagues) were ready to give Nuland a pre-frontal lobotomy, until a friend suggested that all of his problems emanated from intense depression. This friend suggested that they try ECT, and after some convincing, they agreed to it.

After 10 treatments he noticed some improvement, and after 20 was nearly cured. His inspiring story gives hope to those who are physically afflicted with deep depression. He tells of recovery, redemption, and hope. He went on to continue as a surgeon, become a respected author, and a husband and father.

New cutting edge research center to combine neuroscience and learning - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

New cutting edge research center to combine neuroscience and learning - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the new organization created to explore scientific connections between cognition and learning, housed at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE), and  bringing the the Australian Council for Educational Research and the University of Queensland together. 

Notes that many educators have mastered the art of transferring knowledge to the brains of students, but youth today need more than just information.

Students need knowledge combined with the capacities to evaluate and maneuver information while thinking critically and analytically.  The Centre proposes to be on the cutting edge of this next phase of education.

Here are the essentials that entrepreneurs don't learn in college - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Here are the essentials that entrepreneurs don't learn in college - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the information entrepreneurs need that college does not teach, simply because college cannot teach and you cannot learn everything.

Notes that among the important lessons you will need to learn on your own are:

 Be open to change and new directions: while college makes it seem like things are fixed and permanent in business, most entrepreneurs who are successful are flexible and adapt. Innovation is key to success.

You are always obligated to attend: college courses make it seem like whether you are present does not really matter. Business reality indicates that ditching no longer works in the world of the entrepreneur.

Many infographics fail, but here is how to empower them - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Many infographics fail, but here is how to empower them - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

I easily grasp the appeal of infographics, yet I find them problematic at times. I remember examining an infographic dealing with social media not too long ago that needed a cartographer to interpret. In our current environment, where infographics are used almost as much as standard writing, it's important to question how to make them useful.

Not all infographics are built alike, but John T. Meyer at Steamfeed.com points to the obvious benefits of infographics in telling stories in a simple fashion:

Icons, illustrations, and graphics can all tell a story by synthesizing data, creating perspective, and communicating meaning at a glance. Infographics tell a compelling story that’s interesting, easy to understand, and universal.

How to power freelance writing with optimism - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

How to  power freelance writing with optimism  - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the essential attitude for success in the freelance workplace, pointing to Mark Murphy's claim in a Forbes interview that negative attitudes cause 89% of failures in business.

Notes the value of a positive attitude in helping to:
Be capable of learning lessons from failure.
Generate innovative ideas and new directions.
Spread a positive attitude to other including clients and coworkers.

How to boost sales by using stories in business and marketing - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

How to boost sales by  using stories in business and marketing - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the broad definition of storytelling: connections of causes and effects told through a narrative which allows us to process the information easily.

Notes that the scientist Jeremy Hsu discovered about 65% of our talking is in the form storytelling, and the reason is that it works. Humans understand information and ideas better when they are in a narrative.

While the idea of using stories in marketing is not new, many businesses still fail to take full advantage of the form to empower their products and brands.

See what your brain lacks if you don't read fiction - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

See what your brain lacks if you don't read fiction - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Obviously you enjoy reading. You are here. Intuitively you know the benefits of reading: broadening your knowledge, learning about other people, being familiar with classic human creations, and enhancing your imagination. 

I was not always like you. I used to hate reading.  I resisted it because it was difficult and boring. "Who needs Dickens, Hemingway,or Homer?" I thought. Eventually, I realized that I did.

I converted to an avid reader late in high school, plowing through books for a few specific reasons. I knew that smart people read. I heard that colleges required reading. I wanted to become someone intelligent and important. And, I became embarrassed by my own ignorance.

IQ tests are inaccurate: Here is how to defy them - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

IQ tests are inaccurate: Here is how to defy them - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the infamous IQ tests that produces a fixed number that supposedly defines how smart a person is, suggesting that intelligence is inborn and unchangeable.

Notes the seminar delivered by learning expert Annie Murphy Paul, who claims that humans have multiple intelligences, pointing to  current theories of measuring intellect. Human intelligence has a huge number of variables that must be taken into account.

Blog paragraphs are rough on the brain, but here's how to fix them - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Blog paragraphs are rough on the brain, but here's how to fix them - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

I was reading a blog post about content marketing yesterday and realized part way through that I was having a tough time following along. The ideas were not overly complex, but they had no coherence. I felt as if I was being pulled in a little red wagon down a winding, bumpy path.

I decided to figure out why I experienced the writing this way, and I found that it was the result of poor, random paragraphing. For the introduction, the writer had 11 one sentence paragraphs. These were the bumps.

Pro blogging dreams: How to realize them - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Pro blogging dreams: How to realize them - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the guts needed to take on the challenge of making your blogging dreams a reality in the face of obstacles.

Notes that dreaming of the future is important and inspiring, but the dreams are futile if you never take action. Many become frozen within their dreams, failing to strike forth with action.

5 Minute single task test: Can you be distraction free? - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

5 Minute single task test: Can you be distraction free? - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the difficulty in spending just 5 minutes focused on a single task without distraction because of the hectic, social environment we work in.

Notes that on average a person is interrupted more than 15 times in an hour, which has a dramatic effect on our efficiency and performance throughout the day. That equals 120 interruptions  in eight hours, and not only is there the time spent with the disruption, perhaps even more time is required to refocus. 

The key to converting clients lies in how you follow up - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

The key to converting clients lies in how you follow up - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the reasons why following up in marketing is key, converting clients that would otherwise pass you by. Persistence is your path to success.

Notes some guides that will help you follow up with your clients effectively:

Quantity: follow up with your clients many times, at least six. The idea is planted in the customers mind, maybe even with intentions buy, but people procrastinate purchasing. Repeated follow ups will convert those sitting on the fence.

Good clients: even your most dedicated clients might ignore your pitch the first, second, and third time. They probably have the intention to buy, but don't feel pressured to do it right away. They anticipate that you will follow up.

How to use intellect over intuition in hard decisions - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

How to use intellect over intuition in hard decisions - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the difficulty you confront when tough decisions arise, and you feel like you have to manage them on your own, with tight deadlines and a lack of guidance and support.

Notes that your intellect is often overpowered by your tendency to go with your heart or gut: intuition. However, even with great experience and knowledge, overconfidence can distort your thinking, creating illusions that might negatively influence your decision.

Here is what the human role will be as computers take over the world - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Here is what the human role will be as computers take over the world - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines technology's historical impact on the way organizations are run and managed, noting that people used to be valued for their knowledge of a trade for labor.

Notes that by the end of the 1900's, a knowledge economy began taking over the labor economy. The value of workers shifted from physical power to mental prowess, with successful organizations focusing on learning.

As we move on in the 21st Century, a new industrial revolution has begun, where machines are invading the territory of cognition. As with the industrial revolution of the late 19th Century  the role of humans and machines are shifting rapidly, and companies must innovate quickly to redefine the the hierarchical nature of the organizations.

Supercharge your energy levels and focus less on time - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Supercharge your energy levels and focus less on time - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the unlimited potential to increase your energy levels, in contrast to the finite 24 hours in a day, which you cannot extend.

Notes that focusing on time  leads to counterproductive tactics to speed up your work. You end up sacrificing healthy nutrition, sleeping patterns, and natural energy by attempting to amp up your productivity and save time. The result is lower energy levels, which cause poor decision making, reduced efficiency, and crashed thinking.

How to seal the sale in blogging: Win readers and sales - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

How to seal the sale in blogging: Win readers and sales - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the objectives you have as a blogger to market to your readers, whether encouraging them to buy merchandise or read articles.

Notes that to be successful, one should study the psychology of marketing, particularly Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Cialdini, published back in 1984. The psychological principles backing the book hold true whether you market for a store or a blog, in 1984 or 2013.

Many scientists believe humans are growing dumber: Here's why they are wrong - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Many scientists believe humans are growing dumber: Here's why they are wrong - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

As a child, I always thought that intelligence and IQ were inborn. In other words, I thought certain people were A students, B students, and so forth. Not until college did I prove to myself that this was false. Intelligence is a complex mystery of the mind, and no one really  understands it.  Scientists have made few advances in comprehending it.

I read recently the engaging "Are Humans Getting Smarter or Dumber?" in LiveScience recently, and Stephanie Pappas pushed me to think more deeply.  She notes the dramatic rise in IQ over time starting from the point when they began recording the statistics. 

Top iPad apps for creating and publishing books at any age - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Top iPad apps for creating and publishing books at any age  - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the best apps for creating ebooks on the iPad, suggesting that they are powerful and easy to use tools to help you start publishing.

Notes that among the eight are:
Book Creator: an easy way to create ebooks, read them, and even send them to the iBookstore. Specialties include picture books, art collections, cookbooks, and textbooks.
Book Writer: an app for both the iPhone and iPad that creates books supported by epub, PDF, and the  iBookstore. The app uses the fixed-layout format which is not the best for long works such as novels. However, you can include photos, videos, music, and even record your voice. Photos are easy to touch manipulate.

How to learn like a child and become a genius - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

How to learn like a child and become a genius - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

The infographic by Mentoring Minds captures critical thinking with amazing detail, incorporating much of the new science that has emerged recently. While the infographic is designed for students, humans have plastic minds, which means that these principles apply at any age. Neuroplasticity means that the brain has the ability to change, adapt, and increase intelligence over the course of a lifetime.

These exciting mental challenges and potential for growth mean as much for you as they do for children, and working to incorporate a intellectually rich environment into your day will yield mental dividends that will last a lifetime. You'll also see in looking through the graphic that you do an amazing amount of deep, critical thinking in an average day.

Power your writing and draw traffic this summer using some simple techniques - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Power your writing and draw traffic this summer using some simple techniques - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

In thinking about the summer, I decided to write down a few solid blogging goals that I want to accomplish, fearing that if they are not on paper, they will not happen. I thought I would share them with you, and you will find some of the ideas fun and stimulating. So, when your not swimming or sun soaking, here are some ideas for what you might achieve.

Here is why children will be left behind without coding skills - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Here is why children will be left behind without coding skills - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the urgent need now for children to learn computer coding in school  to be prepared for college and jobs.

Notes that Kevin Mitchell, only 29, engineer's software and volunteers for a small nonprofit, ScriptEd, providing coding instruction for underfunded New York high schools. Some students in his class pick the code up easily, while others struggle, with results coming slowly.

One student admitted that before he took the course he knew no one with the coding skills he is learning. He said thatcoding is demanding because one mistake in punctuation messes everything up. Mitchell tells the students that coding is like giving instructions to the computer, and it cannot know what you want unless you tell it correctly.

If you desire happiness, you must watch this [video and review] - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

If you desire happiness, you must watch this [video and review] - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines our obsession with happiness, arguing that we think, talk, read, and write so much about it that the term is no longer useful. Happiness is far more complex and ambiguous than it appears on the surface, and because of cognitive traps, we do not fully understand the emotion.

Notes that you might think of yourself as having two sides: the experiencing self in the present moment and the remembering self that reflects on past stories of your past experiences. 

Positive habits can confine creativity - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Positive habits can confine creativity - ZipMinis Blog-ology: Science of Blogging

Mines the connections and possible conflicts between creativity and habit (routine) formation.

Notes that habit formation has become the mantra of positive psychology, preying on the mind's ability to make, break, and change mental routines.

A potential problem grows when you observe the way your creative role models perform since you are tempted to emulate their behavior and adopt their qualities and habits.