Learning

Few months back while having this conversation with Neophyte over how he puts in so many hours reading news over the BBC website, I wondered, 'What is it that could keep him glued to it...the mundane daily reporting, the filthy politics, the sports highlights, the gossip (Yeah, Men are bigger gossip mongers than women), the sensual XX pictures (XX denotes the female chromosomes, you're responsible if you thought otherwise), etc. etc.? Wouldn't the articles just end with his speed of reading and leave him sore one day to not have found good stuff to read?'

Leaving his choices to himself, I was content for it would, at least, prevent me from his over thinking and general concern for my career/future. (Oh Yeah, He's mighty worried about my indecision, instability and unpredictability. That's a different point, anyways!)

After months of time spent on facebook, twitter, movies, serials, cookery shows, sitcoms (Started with The Big Bang Theory, finished all seasons, and then to Friends, whose 2 seasons have only been 'covered' !) ; today it struck me to do something better than just loiter around for entertainment from others. And what better could it have been than the BBC portal, which I had a recommendation for.

Neurohacks, is one section of BBC that caught my attention and there were two things I learned today:

1. Endowment Effect : The exact thing could be read here, but I put it in my life in a way which goes like this: The fact that we are possessive about a thing is because we own it. We value it even more because it is special to us in an emotional way. Be it a person, a novel, a shirt, a keychain, or a message in your Inbox. We don't do away with them, and keep them treasured within us.

2. Fundamental Attribution Error : The phenomenon that we all inherently have of blaming others for their mistakes, and being plainly unlucky for ours is what is Fundamental Attribution Error. (Read more here) The virtue of finding causes for things is what leads to it, and generalizing it to them leads to the Ultimate Attribution Error, eg. Women can't do math.

PS: Hoping I get to read some good stuff like this regularly. ;-)