The article Wrote:A pillar of Koestler’s theory is the difference between bisociation and mere association, and the criteria for true creativity inhabit that very difference:

The term ‘bisociation’ is meant to point to the independent, autonomous character of the matrices which are brought into contact in the creative act, whereas associative thought operates among members of a single pre-existing matrix.

Quote:Confessions of a Sociopath

Remorse is alien to me. I have a penchant for deceit. I am generally free of entangling and irrational emotions. I am strategic and canny, intelligent and confident, but I also struggle to react appropriately to other people's confusing and emotion-driven social cues.

I was not a victim of child abuse, and I am not a murderer or a criminal. I have never skulked behind prison walls; I prefer mine to be covered in ivy. I am an accomplished attorney and law professor, a well-respected young academic who regularly writes for law journals and advances legal theories. I donate 10 percent of my income to charity and teach Sunday school for the Mormon Church. I have a close circle of family and friends whom I love and who very much love me. Does this sound like you? Recent estimates say that one in every 25 people is a sociopath. But you're not a serial killer, never imprisoned? Most of us aren't. Only 20 percent of male and female prison inmates are sociopaths, although we are probably responsible for about half of all serious crimes committed. Nor are most sociopaths incarcerated. In fact, the silent majority of sociopaths live freely and anonymously, holding down jobs, getting married, having children. We are legion and diverse.

You would like me if you met me. I have the kind of smile that is common among television show characters and rare in real life, perfect in its sparkly teeth dimensions and ability to express pleasant invitation. I'm the sort of date you would love to take to your ex's wedding—fun, exciting, the perfect office escort. And I'm just the right amount of successful so that your parents would be thrilled if you brought me home.

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of my confidence is the way I sustain eye contact. Some people have called it the "predator stare." Sociopaths are unfazed by uninterrupted eye contact. Our failure to look away politely is also perceived as being aggressive or seductive. It can throw people off balance, but often in an exciting way that imitates the unsettling feeling of infatuation. Do you ever find yourself using charm and confidence to get people to do things for you that they otherwise wouldn't? Some might call it manipulation, but I like to think I'm using what God gave me.
I was a perceptive child, but I couldn't relate to people beyond amusing them, which was just another way for me to make them do what or behave how I wanted them to. I didn't like to be touched and I rejected affection. The only physical contact I sought usually entailed violence. The father of a friend in grade school had to pull me aside and sternly ask me to stop beating his daughter. She was a skinny, stringy thing with a goofy laugh, as if she were asking to be slapped. I didn't know that I was doing something bad. It didn't even occur to me that it would hurt her or that she might not like it.

...

Regardless of my laziness and general lack of interest, I was actually a great lawyer when I was trying. At one point, I worked as a prosecutor in the misdemeanor department of the district attorney's office. My sociopathic traits make me a particularly excellent trial lawyer. I'm cool under pressure. I feel no guilt or compunction, which is handy in such a dirty business. Misdemeanor prosecutors almost always have to walk into a trial with cases they've never worked on before. All you can do is bluff and hope that you'll be able to scramble through it. The thing with sociopaths is that we are largely unaffected by fear. Besides, the nature of the crime is of no moral concern to me; I am interested only in winning the legal game.

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in a thread on LessWrong.com, a user Wrote:[snip] ... the amount of information and raw processing power needed to pull off central planning competitive with the market approximation seems to be out of our reach for the time being. As a result of this, and a few other factors, my own politics tend to lean Libertarian / minarchist, and I'm aware that there is some of this sentiment in circulation on this site, though generally not explicitly. I'm trying to refine my beliefs surrounding some of the sticky issues in Libertarian philosophy (mostly related to children and extreme policy cases), and I thought I'd ask LessWrong [rationalists/participants] what they thought about one issue in particular.

Jason Shadrick, PremierGuitar, Wrote:... On Unstoppable Momentum, Satch sets aside the futuristic slant from his last few outings and gives his strongest performances since his self-titled 1995 release. ... The medium-tempo stomp shuffle of “Three Sheets to the Wind” brings to mind the melodicism of the Beatles without becoming derivative—a tough feat these days. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Chris Chaney are mostly to blame for the burning rhythmic backing that allows Satriani to explore every inch (both harmonically and dynamically) of each tune. And honestly, is there anything keyboardist Mike Keneally can’t do? The former Zappa alum’s presence is felt throughout the straight-ahead lo-fi grind of “Jumpin’ Out.”

To my ears, the true sign of a well-crafted instrumental is that you could easily imagine lyrics going along with the melody. On “Can’t Go Back,” Satriani begins with a new wave-ish groove before launching into a wah-drenched melody á la “Cool #9.” For the Satriani army, this will be a welcome return to a stripped-down sound that relies a little less on futuristic themes and motifs and more on what inspired many of his followers—a cool guitar plugged into a loud amp.

Quote:Both the public and the business world have bought into modern-day mind myths for years and, in so doing, may have significantly decreased the likelihood of achieving their aims and ambitions. Worse still, such failure often encourages people to believe that they cannot control their lives. This is especially unfortunate, as even the smallest loss of perceived control can have a dramatic effect on people’s confidence, happiness, and life span.

In one classic study conducted by Ellen Langer at Harvard University, half of the residents in a nursing home were given a houseplant and asked to look after it, while the other residents were given an identical plant but told that the staff would take responsibility for it. Six months later, the residents who had been robbed of even this small amount of control over their lives were significantly less happy, healthy, and active than the others. Even more distressing, 30 percent of the residents who had not looked after their plant had died, compared to 15 percent of those who had been allowed to exercise such control. Similar results have been found in many areas, including education, career, health, relationships, and dieting. The message is clear—those who do not feel in control of their lives are less successful, and less psychologically and physically healthy, than those who do feel in control.

Quote:59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
CONTENTS

introduction
Self-help exposed, Sophie’s question, and the potential for rapid change

chapter 1. happiness
Why positive thinking often fails and how the real route to happiness involves a pencil, keeping the perfect diary, small acts of kindness, and developing the gratitude attitude

chapter 2. persuasion
Why rewards fail, how to give the flawless interview, improve your social life by making mistakes, never lose your wallet again, and convince anyone of anything by using your pet frog

chapter 3. motivation
The dark side of visualization, how to achieve absolutely anything by creating the ideal plan, overcoming procrastination, and employing “doublethink”

chapter 4. creativity
Exploding the myth of brainstorming, how to get in touch with your inner Leonardo merely by glancing at modern art, lying down, and putting a plant on your desk

chapter 5. attraction
Why you shouldn’t play hard to get, how the subtle art of seduction involves the simplest of touches, roller-coaster rides, and avoiding artificial Christmas trees

chapter 6. relationships
The perils of “active listening,” why Velcro can help couples stick together, words speak louder than actions, and a single photograph can make all the difference

chapter 7. stress
Why not to kick and scream, how to reduce resentment in seconds, harness the power of a four-legged friend, and think your way to low blood pressure

chapter 8. decision making
Why two heads are no better than one, how never to regret a decision again, protect yourself against hidden persuaders, and tell when someone is lying to you

chapter 9. parenting
The Mozart myth, how to choose the best name for a baby, instantly divine a child’s destiny using just three marsh-mallows, and effectively praise young minds

chapter 10. personality
Why not to trust graphology, how to gain an apparently magical insight into other people’s personality from their fingers and thumbs, their pets, and the time they go to bed

conclusion
Sophie’s answer: Ten techniques in 59 seconds