If there is one conclusion to be drawn from the life of Leonardo, it is that procrastination reveals the things at which we are most gifted — the things we truly want to do. Procrastination is a calling away from something that we do against our desires toward something that we do for pleasure, in that joyful state of self-forgetful inspiration that we call genius. @How to procrastinate like Leonardo da Vinci • Psychology Evolution

Politicians… have long known that appeals to emotion are more effective than appeals to logic—not because people are stupid but because the mind is designed to use logic as a tool for supporting our beliefs rather than for changing them. What the Heaths do well is to explain how important it is to bring both systems (emotional and rational) onboard for change—and explain why that still isn’t enough. All the good intentions and native intelligence in the world can be defeated if the setting is not right. But small changes to one’s environment can have a big effect. @Book Review: Switch – WSJ.com

This response to the book What Darwin Got Wrong covers a lot of ground and gives background information on the book’s authors that the thoughtful reader may find heplful. @What Darwin’s Doubters Get Wrong – The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of Higher Education

[Harm Bandholz, an economist at Unicredit Markets] said he is concerned that so much of the economic rebound is a result of government spending rather than a revival of private income and jobs. That situation is unsustainable, he said, because the government has had to borrow massively to prop up the economy and cannot continue that binge for long. @American reliance on government at all-time high – Washington Times

The federal government’s size and scope have historically taken big leaps in reaction to war and financial crisis. It’s not unreasonable to worry that in responding to the biggest economic slump since the Great Depression while fighting two wars, we’ll find ourselves with a more expensive, more intrusive public sector and a less free and dynamic private one. @Make It Stop | Newsweek.com

Mutuality rather than independence is the chief characteristic of human life, whatever wed like to believe. @The School of Life : On Mutuality

A social critic argues that divorce poses no threat to the institution of marriage @TheAtlantic.com :: Magazine :: Divorce and the Family in America

The genotype-phenotype distinction is drawn in genetics. Genotype is an organism’s full hereditary information, even if not expressed. Phenotype is an organism’s actual observed properties, such as morphology, development, or behavior. This distinction is fundamental in the study of inheritance of traits and their evolution. @Genotype-phenotype distinction – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A good post on why some people fail despite being intelligent:

If you are intelligent, you are at a clear advantage against people who are not intelligent. But if you are intelligent, and another person is not as intelligent, but the other person is willing to train harder than you, the other person will very quickly overtake you in ability.

@Your high IQ will kill your startup – Cube Of M

Poor Charlie’s Almanack is deceiving. It looks like a coffee table book but actually turns out to be a pretty dense read, worth careful attention if you are interested in money, business and getting smarter. These notes are a good primer on what the book covers [PDF]. @Business Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger | HENSEY ASSOCIATES

Questions and Answers with David Shenk, author of The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ is Wrong

Intelligence isn’t fixed. Intelligence isn’t general. Intelligence is not a thing. Instead, intelligence is a dynamic, diffuse, and ongoing process.

@The Questions in All of Us – National – The Atlantic

Dr. Rob runs down some of the reasons why marriages fail and why therapy leads to better outcomes even if the outcome is still divorce. @Why Marriages Fail « Shrink Talk

You get the politicians you deserve.  Arguing over “cutting spending” polarizes Americans because that soundbite is contentless, but elicits a strong emotional response not to a plan but about an imagined recipient (welfare abusers, etc.)  This kind of a debate is an addictive drug. @The Last Psychiatrist: Wrong About Obama II

A lifetime consuming does not prepare you well for a good old age. If we reorganised society from the perspective of making the end of life better, what would we focus on? @The School of Life : Charles Leadbeater on Perspective

As with any other species, human populations are shaped by the usual forces of natural selection, like famine, disease or climate. A new force is now coming into focus. It is one with a surprising implication — that for the last 20,000 years or so, people have inadvertently been shaping their own evolution. Although it does shield people from other forces, culture itself seems to be a powerful force of natural selection. @Human Culture Plays a Role in Natural Selection – NYTimes.com