Betterment

If a placebo heals your illness, does that mean it was all in your head in the first place? That you weren’t really sick, or didn’t really want to get better? If expensive wine tastes b…

You want to make your move. Launch your idea. Throw your hat in the ring. But your competitors look awfully intimidating.  They got there first. They own that space. And if their social media feeds are any indication, they’re absolutely killing it in every possible way. From afar, your rivals seem to possess a mythical, […]

Assets are ownable. They are devices, skills, connections or properties that allow us to amplify our effort and do our work with more impact. A drill press is an asset, so is your law degree. The p…

In his book, “The Practice: Shipping Creative Work,” our old friend Seth Godin, talks about how creativity thrives under restraints. He tells the story of

Somebody once asked Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic, why he was so successful. He must be terribly clever! Adams replied, paraphrasing, that

A new study explores how people's preferences for immediate or delayed happiness can shape their behavior and overall well-being.

In the mid-1980s, David Hemery set out to answer a burning question: “What makes a winner?” Hemery was a winner himself, having taken the gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1968 Olympics. He was curious as to what contributed to this achievement, and to the achievements of others. Were there common qualities amongst those […]

When the gas car was first introduced, it couldn’t compete with horses. After all, we’d had thousands of years to optimize our systems around horseback, and this new technology was stil…

The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer shares a few of his favorite things.

The biographer of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson visits his archive, which, after getting the Marie Kondo treatment, is on exhibit at the New-York Historical Society.

The course focuses on taming a ubiquitous emotion. But what about addressing its root causes?

Boring résumés can lead to fewer interview opportunities. Here's what to check for if you're searching for a new job.

I’ve been thinking about retirement lately. I’m not retired, at least I don’t think I am, though moving on from The Recount has left me uncertain about how to answer the inevitabl…

A question we don’t ask ourselves very often, but a choice we make every day. It’s tempting to not care. If you choose to not care, you’re off the hook. It’s simply to do as…

Tips for developers on getting into flow states

Do we underinvest in learning? An exploration of the logic of learn-or-delegate decisions.

No matter how big your backpack is, you can’t carry a bonfire with you when you go on a camping trip. A match is sufficient. Conversations are like that. Conversations are the tools that chan…

Back in 1988, the shoe company, Nike debuted what is probably the greatest advertising tagline of the last 40 years, “Just Do It.” It’s still going strong

I denied burnout as a concept, until life decided to teach me the hard way. So here I am, burnt out. How did I get there?

Mike Schur, co-creator of Parks and Recreation, said of his career, “This is not stuff you can read in a book,” he said. “This is stuff that you have to experience.” I think it’s also useful …

You’re entitled to it, and we will do our best to help you find what you want. But it’s unlikely that what you want is what everyone wants. It’s hard to believe that there is only…

An asteroid has never destroyed the Earth, therefore an asteroid never will. This brand has been involved in scandals before, and it has always come back stronger, so there’s nothing to worry…

Need to learn something difficult? Here's how to make a studying plan that actually works!

Learning a new language can be daunting, especially if you don't think you have the skill for it. But polygot Lýdia Machová says the secret is in the process of learning itself.

Brain area that stimulates appetite could be a target for eating-disorder therapies.

How much of what we want, really want, is due to the ideas that culture has given us, and how much is truly what we need? If memetic desire isn’t making us happy, perhaps we can find some new…

…to make it look easy. Sometimes, you don’t need to bother. Making it look hard might be a plus. The important part is how it makes the recipient feel.