Brainstorm

Psychology Today Editors Flood the Psych Zone

By Psychology Today Editors

Joshua Persky on Failure

By Jay Dixit on July 2, 2009 - 10:56am in Brainstorm

When Joshua Persky was fired from an investment bank at the nadir of the economic crisis, he spent months looking for a job. His lowest moment, he says, was watching his wife cry as she left New York with their kids to move back to Omaha to save money. Read More

Orny Adams on Failure

By Jay Dixit on June 29, 2009 - 8:27am in Brainstorm

It must be odd to be famous mainly for not being famous. But that's the case with Orny Adams, a standup who's best known not for his own work but for his appearance in The Comedian, a documentary about the frustrations of trying to break into comedy. In that movie, Adams was presented as a foil to Jerry Seinfeld—an example of a man struggling to achieve the success Seinfeld takes for granted. Read More

John Hodgman on Fake Facts

By Matthew Hutson on June 22, 2009 - 11:19am in Brainstorm

John Hodgman has an answer for everything. What the answer may lack in veracity, or even sense, it makes up for in staid charm and eccentric pseudointellectualism. You may know Hodgman as the PC in Apple's hit ad campaign, or the geek who called Barack Obama a nerd Friday night at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner (video below.) Here the author of The Areas of My Expertise and More Information Than You Require discusses satire, truthiness, and Hobbits with Psychology Today. Read More

Author Bill Wasik on Viral Culture

By Carlin Flora on June 15, 2009 - 9:13am in Brainstorm

Bill Wasik, a senior editor at Harper's magazine, has been conducting social science experiments on the side for several years now. He's best known for creating "flash mobs," wherein a large number of participants follow emailed instructions to converge on a designated public spot for a few minutes of inexplicable mayhem. Read More

How Fast Living (Not Just Fast-Food Eating) Leads to Obesity

By Guest Blogger on June 11, 2009 - 9:47am in Brainstorm

The way we eat and the way we live go hand-in-hand. For the majority of people, they are eating in their cars, at their computers, while talking on their phones - trying to "fit it all in" when really this is a surefire way to "stuff ourselves" and pack on the pounds. Read More

Mark Penn on Failure

By Jay Dixit on May 27, 2009 - 9:24am in Brainstorm

Mark Penn has helped some of the most powerful people in the world get through some of the most challenging personal crises in history. As a public relations advisor, he helped Bill Clinton survive the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He helped Bill Gates keep Microsoft from being broken apart by the government. He helped Martha Stewart through her insider trading trial. Read More

Why Dominant Women Enjoy Sexual Submission Fantasies, Part 2

By Matthew Hutson on May 26, 2009 - 4:22pm in Brainstorm

My last post revealed that socially dominant women enjoy sexual submission fantasies more than other women. Why is that?

Why Dominant Women Enjoy Sexual Submission Fantasies, Part 1

By Matthew Hutson on May 26, 2009 - 4:13pm in Brainstorm

It's been said that those who are easy-going in real life tend be dominant in the bedroom, and those with type-A personalities like to be submissive. (Maybe you've heard the stories of dominatrixes with titans of industry as regular clients.) But is it true? And if so, what might explain it? Read More

Paula Scher on Failure

By Jay Dixit on May 21, 2009 - 10:01am in Brainstorm

Paula Scher is one of the world's most famous graphic designers, known for creating Citibank's umbrella logo as well as for design work for The Public Theater, The New York Times Magazine, the American Museum of Natural History, The New York City Ballet, and Herman Miller. She believes failure is the secret to artistic success. "You have to fail in order to make the next discovery," says Scher. "It's through mistakes that you actually can grow." Read More

Mary Higgins Clark on Failure

By Jay Dixit on May 20, 2009 - 10:24am in Brainstorm

Mary Higgins Clark knows something about getting through tough times. She lost her father when she 11, her brother when she was 16, and her husband when she was 36—after which she was left to raise five children on her own. That didn't stop her from becoming one of the most successful suspense novelists of all time, writing 28 books that have sold 100 million copies in the U.S. alone. At age 81 she's still going strong. Her new book, Just Take My Heart, is on sale now. I reached her at her home in Saddle River, New Jersey. Read More