Myth Buster43:00
Why affirmations backfire — find the evidence instead
“There's some research showing that if you've got low self-esteem and you do affirmations, it makes it worse”
“if you want to be a kind person, do go and do kind things.”
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22 July 2022
The Sure-Fire Way To Be Luckier In Life - Advice From Psychology Professor Richard Wiseman
5Frameworks
15Insights
Frameworks in this episode
Insights & moments
The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.
Myth Buster· 1
Hot Take· 2
Hot Take07:00
We are far less in charge of our careers than we think
“We like to think we're in charge of our careers and I don't think we are. I I think there's there's so much rolling of…”
Hot Take33:30
Retiring when you enjoy your work makes no sense
“I think it's crazy. Unless you hate what you do.”
“if you've got enough money in the bank to retire, there'd be no point in retiring cuz you're enjoying doing doing work.”
Explainer· 5
Explainer13:00
How you actually test a luck intervention: control groups and lucky charms
“Your problem is you haven't got a control group.”
“So, we often have a third group which is that we say, "Here's a lucky mascot or a lucky charm.”
Explainer16:00
The money-in-the-corridor experiment
“And we'd put money on the corridor on floor of the corridor. And so the question is did they spot it? And the lucky people…”
Explainer44:00
Dale Carnegie's forgotten 'daft things I've done today' journal
“So he's got this great journaling method which was kind of the opposite which was journal was called daft or silly things I've done today.”
“And then what you're going to do in the future to prevent that happening.”
Explainer47:30
Psychology's replication crisis started in parapsychology
“the way you get rid of those problems is to pre-register your study, to say in advance what you're going to do, what analysis you're…”
“So this whole current kind of focus on the need for replication and pre-registration actually dates back to parapsychology.”
Explainer1:01:00
Why 3,000 people become one person — and why he never gets nervous
“They become one personality.”
“That's why I don't get nervous in front of 3,000 people, cuz I know that will become one person within 10 minutes.”
Story· 3
Story04:00
The stolen props, the Magic Castle, and the stranger who flipped the question
“I'm not surprised you're upset. You're focusing on what you can't do.”
Story05:30
How a poster in the UCL cloisters turned a magician into a parapsychologist
“And he said, "I've just seen a poster advertising for a PhD position."”
Story51:30
The Apollo mission control mindset: celebrate mistakes, hide nothing, no egos
“They celebrated every mistake along that way. And the only way you lost your job in mission control was when you covered up a mistake.”
“You know, we were so young, we didn't know it couldn't be done.”
Q&A· 1
Q&A1:03:30
The Edinburgh flyer test: one question that predicts a bad show
“I always say to them, 'What other shows have you seen that you would recommend?'”
“If you become too isolated and too self-absorbed in anything, you're not feeding your mind with other thoughts, other perspective, other ways of doing things.”
Takeaway· 3
Takeaway21:00
Clichés are useless without tactics — the action is in the tactics
“And that's what I find more interesting. What are the tactics? Because often those clichés are very broad brush.”
“I'm I'm sure it's in the the action is always in the tactics rather than the strategy.”
Takeaway30:30
The desert island test for finding your passion
“you're on a desert island, are you allowed four or five books but they're only about one topic? What's the topic?”
“Now, find a way of making enough money to to get by with that topic and you've”
Takeaway58:30
The Vegas performers' pre-show reframe: 'It's not tonight, though'
“And they let that thought rest, and then they go, 'It's not tonight, though.'”