Correlation Coefficient as a Gateway to Skepticism

June 14, 2017

The correlation coefficient as a gateway to radical skepticism:Suppose you calculate that two variables are moderately correlated. For instance, you find that self-reported happiness has a correlation r=0.32 with self-reported willpower, as I found in one of my studies. What are the possible explanations for (or causes of) this? A Causes B - Increasing A is a cause of increasing B but not the reverse. [e.g., more happiness causes more willpower] (2) B Causes A - Increasing B is a cause ...

Make a Plan to Improve Your Life

September 20, 2013

Have you considered creating a plan to improve your life? If not, how about doing it right now? Or if you don't want to make one for yourself, you can use this one. A friend asked me to help him make a plan to become happier. He is already pretty happy, but thought he could be more so. What you see below is the general life improvement plan we came up with, which should apply to most people (plus some improvements I added for this post). Each week of the plan is an experiment, where you wo...

Human Symbiogenesis

September 10, 2011

One of the most mutually beneficial states that two people can achieve is symbiogenesis, where they take such pleasure in each other's happiness (and displeasure in each other's unhappiness) that they start viewing each other's interests almost as their own. The more strongly this happens, the closer the pair is to being a single, two bodied organism, working towards a common set of goals. One remarkable benefit to such a state is that it allows for a level of optimal allocation of resources ...

Planning Your Life Based on Your Ideal Ordinary Week

August 4, 2011

When people consider how they want their lives to be, they often think in terms of reaching specific milestones. They set goals like earning a certain amount of money, achieving a certain level of success at work, having a certain group of close friends, falling in love, getting married, having a spectacular wedding, having children, and being thought of as a good person. But milestones like these don't necessarily determine how much people enjoy their lives, how high their mood is on a regular ...