Like, um, yea, so... just one of the many ways we wander off of on our conversations. Although the following information does not exactly let one know how to deal with these problems, this article does help to reveal how to explain things more effectively. Found at Global Knowledge.


10 Ways To Explain Things More Effectively

April 1st, 2008

By Calvin Sun

In the course of your work, you may sometimes need to explain technical concepts to your customers. Having them understand you is important not only for technical reasons, but also to ensure customer satisfaction. The ability to explain things clearly and effectively can help you in your career, as well. Here are a few tips to help make your explanations understandable and useful.
#1: Keep in mind others' point of view

You've probably seen the famous illusion that looks like either a young woman or an old woman. Two people can look at that same picture, and they can have opposite views of what they're seeing. Keep this idea in mind when explaining a concept. Something that might be perfectly understandable to you might be incomprehensible to someone else. Don't be the person customers complain about as using "geek speak."
#2: Listen and respond to questions

It's easy to become annoyed when someone is asking questions. However, try to resist that reaction. A better attitude is to be happy that the other person is interested enough to ask questions. To minimize confusion and misunderstanding, try to paraphrase or summarize a question before you answer it. This step is particularly important if you're in a group setting, and you've just taken a question from someone in the audience. Repeating the question for the entire group helps everyone better understand your answer.
#3: Avoid talking over people's head

When you explain things to people, do their eyes glaze over? Chances are it's because you're talking over their head. Symptoms of such behavior include the use of jargon and acronyms. Remember, the people you're talking to probably lack your specialized knowledge, so you should use readily understandable terms.

The same goes for acronyms. They're important, but if you use them, define them in "longhand," followed by the acronyms in (parentheses), so that everyone's clear. Doing so avoids the scenario of situation normal, all fouled up (SNAFU).

Even within IT, the same acronym can mean different things. For example, both "active server page" and "application service provider" have the acronym ASP. A story from the Vietnam War era further illustrates this point. A young woman brought her boyfriend home to meet her father, a retired military officer. The woman was nervous because the boyfriend was a conscientious objector. When the father asked the young man to talk about himself, the latter replied, nervously, that he was a CO. The father clapped the young man on the back and congratulated him, thinking the latter was a commanding officer.
#4: Avoid talking down to people

Avoid the other extreme as well. Don't insult people by assuming that they're only as intelligent as a three-year-old. An attendee at one of my communications training classes described it aptly as "Barney communications."

Greek mythology has references to two monsters, Scylla and Charybdis, who sat on opposite sides of a narrow strait of water. If a ship sailed too close to Scylla, it was destroyed and the sailors eaten up. If the ship sailed too close to Charybdis, it was destroyed by a whirlpool that Charybdis created. The ship had to go right between them to survive. Follow that same principle with your customers: Make your explanations neither too complicated or too simple.
#5: Ask questions to determine people's understanding

The people you're talking to shouldn't be the only ones asking questions. You should be asking questions as well, to make sure they understand. Your questions can be open ended, which gives people a chance to provide detailed information, or they can be closed ended, which generally calls for a simple yes/no response. In either case, asking questions tells people that you're interested that they understand.
#6: Focus on benefits, not features

What's the difference? A feature is some inherent property of an object. A benefit, on the other hand, is a way the feature helps a person. For example, one of the features of a Styrofoam cup, because of the material used, is insulation. Someone who's planning a party probably doesn't care how the cup provides insulation. That person is more interested in the fact that such a cup keeps hot things hot and cold things cold.

In the same way, try to focus on benefits of technology rather than features of technology. This distinction becomes more important the higher the level of the person you're talking to. The CFO probably has little need to know about the specific commands and steps involved in setting up database mirroring. That person will want to know, however, that such a practice reduces the chances of data loss.
#7: Use analogies to make concepts clearer

An analogy involves explaining an unfamiliar concept in terms of a familiar one. For example, in drawing an analogy between a firewall and a bank teller, you could say that people don't just go directly into a bank and take money out. They go to the teller and identify themselves; the teller makes sure they have enough money; and then the teller gives them the money. Similarly, a firewall ensures that people who want access to a system really are permitted to have that access.

When choosing an example for an analogy, first figure out the general principle you're trying to explain. Then, choose something from real life that illustrates that principle. Say, for example, that you're trying to explain memory leaks. Suppose you conclude that the principle involved is that of taking without giving back completely. An example/analogy might be the consequences of pouring a cup of pancake batter into successive measuring cups, or the consequences of lending money to your brother-in-law.
#8: Compare new concepts to familiar ones

Another illustrative technique is to use a familiar or existing product as a comparison. If you're explaining a new release of a software product, the comparison is easy. Simply discuss the additional capabilities it has over the previous one or how key features are different. If the person hearing your explanation is also an IT person and is familiar with different or older technology, try explaining in those terms if you can. For example, when explaining thin clients, consider a comparison to the old 3270-type terminals that IBM once used for connection to mainframes.
#9: Use the concepts of subsets and supersets

Brooklyn is a subset of New York City, because all of it is a part of that city. Conversely, New York City is a superset of Brooklyn, because the former contains, in addition to all of the latter, other boroughs as well. These concepts are helpful in describing, for example, a "lite" versus a "professional" version of a software product. If the latter does everything the former does, plus more, it truly is a superset of the former, and the former is a subset of the latter. Be careful, though: If the "lite" version does even one thing that's missing from the professional version, there's no longer a subset/superset relationship.
#10: Confirm that your explanation makes sense

Once you've finished explaining your point or answering a question, ask a final question yourself. Make sure the people who heard your explanation truly did understand it. Consider asking them to give you the explanation in their own words, just to double-check.
About the Author

Calvin Sun works with organizations in the areas of customer service, communications, and leadership. His Web site is http://www.calvinsun.com and his e-mail address is csun@calvinsun.com.

There's something so intrinsic about flirting that even in a relationship it is hard not resist. Simply looking at some of my friends, for instance, one might wonder why he continues to flirt when with (or at the very least, dating) someone. Turns out, the intrinsicness comes from our genes and the ways in which our bodies function...

Why We Flirt: The Science of Sex

By: Brie Cadman

It’s so natural, we barely even notice we do it. Tilting a head to expose the neck, smiling or laughing at something that really wasn’t funny, moving closer to the person making unfunny jokes, mimicking their actions. Our body language is perhaps the most subtle expression of what we’re really thinking and feeling, and is a crucial component of the courting dance known as flirting.

Though cheesy pick-up lines abound, a lot is conveyed even before words are uttered. A prolonged gaze or arched eyebrow gives clues to the person across the bar that you’re interested without having to explicitly ask about his/her sign. Though the statistics differ, some attribute almost 80 percent of our first impressions to our stance and swagger. And because flirting helps both animals and humans find mates faster and easier, it is an evolutionary trait hard-wired in our brains. Mice twitch their noses at potential mates, colorful peacocks strut around for admiring peahens, and pigeons puff their chests to look buff. As much as we have moved on from mice and feathers, we do much of the same, for the exact same reasons.

Genetic Peacockery
Because flirting is an easy way for us to display our genes, mating potential, and interest, nature put a lot toward its success. This is one of the reasons why some males birds have exotic plumes, why elk carry hefty antlers (a sign of a healthy immune system), and why male fiddler crabs have such large claws. He waves his in the air, alerting females to his whereabouts, and signaling them to come closer for a better look at his burrow, colorful shell, and flashy claw.

Much in the same way, we’re physically programmed to indicate interest almost before we mentally have a say in it. Slight actions reveal a lot. Stance, eye movement, and gestures like leaning forward to talk to the person, or quick eyebrow raises are what scientists call contact engagement, signaling to the other mammal that you’re prepared for things to potentially get physical. Perhaps most importantly, these signals show that you’re not intending to dominate or flee. Or not just yet, anyhow.

Moves Have Messages
By studying humans in their natural courting habitat (usually bars), scientists have been able to document the movements we make when we’re interested in someone else. As it turns out, we’re all quite predictable. A woman smiles, raises her eyebrows, opens her eyes wide, holds a gaze, fidgets with her hair, lowers and tilts her head, and laughs. A man might jut out his chin, try to make his chest appear as large as possible, unconsciously flex an arm, laugh aloud, and smile. But what do all these ridiculous gestures mean?

By comparing our actions with those of animals, it becomes clear that moves have messages. A woman tilts her head and shows off her neck as a sign of vulnerability and submission. I see my friend’s dog, a female boxer named Mable Mae, do this all the time. When a male dog is approaching, she turns her head and flattens her ears as if to say, “I’m a lover, not a fighter. Don’t bite.” The male dog naturally assumes the taller, dominant stance. Mable also steals sideways glances, just as we do when flirting, to show she’s demure and hard to get, yet interested.

Read My Lips
Like a lioness presenting herself to a mate, women will arch their backs and show off their hips to indicate fertility. Though I hate the stereotype of a giggly, doe-eyed blonde, women laugh and open their eyes wide not because they’re ditzy, but because it conveys an image of surrender and youth. (No wonder Dolly Parton was so jovial and popular.) While both men and women will make prolonged eye contact with people they’re interested in, a woman might also lick her lips, helping to bring visual attention to the mouth. If someone is staring at your lips he may be thinking of how to kiss them; scientists also think that our facial lips mimic our vaginal ones, and licking them shows sexual intent. (I swear, sometimes scientists have the dirtiest minds.)

Though a man might not pound his chest like Tarzan while in a crowd, it’s only because of social constraints. He’s still trying to put forth his strong jaw, an indicator of high testosterone levels, and spread his arms and chest to look muscular and strong. Yet he doesn’t want to look too strong or threatening, so he laughs and smiles frequently. Confident and powerful enough to protect his brood; nice enough not to harm the doe.

Monkey See, Monkey Do
Together, both sexes take part in mirroring, tending to sit or stand in similar positions, or pick up a drink at the same time. When one person leans in, another will do the same if she likes what she’s seeing. The theory behind this is that people are drawn to others who are like them. (Dating note: if he picks his nose, put the mirror down.)

We also tend to point or gesture toward our object of desire. This means feet, hands, or the entire body will subconsciously be pointed toward him or her, opening up a line of physical—and hopefully verbal—communication.

Yet through all our coquettish gestures, anyone who’s raised her eyebrows at a cop knows that flirting is not always intended to seal the deal. Flirting can be a default mechanism when we want to get something for nothing (a better table at a restaurant, another free cocktail on the airplane, a shortcut in line) or a comfortable and fun way to interact with new people. And it’s certainly not reserved just for people we want to mate with; married people flirt with no adulterous intentions and platonic flirting happens all the time. Flirting opens windows of potential and can peak curiosity about what might happen, but it also leaves us with the ability to walk away, no harm done.

I love psychology and how little acts can make people do the things you want to do.

First off, some words and phrases that you should avoid in your proposals and the reasons for doing so. From, Captureplanning.com

Phrase{PppPrm	Reason to Avoid It
We understand	Don’t tell the customer what you understand. Tell them what you will do and how they will benefit. The results will demonstrate that you understand. Even if the customer asks you to show your understanding you should speak in terms of how what you do, provide, or deliver will meet their needs. Understanding should be demonstrated and not claimed.
We believe, think, or feel	Who cares? The customer doesn’t care what you think. Take whatever you were about to say and turn it into a positive action and state the benefits to the customer.
We intend to	Either you do it, or you don’t. Who cares what your intentions are.
We are devoted to	This is just another way of saying you intend to.
Our highest priority	This like saying it’s your greatest intention.
We hope	That’s like saying you intend to but you’re not sure you’ll be able to.
We desire your business	Of course you do! But your proposal should not be about your needs, it should be about the customer’s needs.
We are committed	Customers don’t what your commitment, they want results.
We are pleased to submit	Of course you are! Does that phrase do anything other than waste the evaluator’s time and attention?
We are quality focused	This is another way of stating your intentions. Instead of focusing on quality, deliver it.
We will strive, try, or attempt	Customers don’t want you to try, they want you to deliver
We will	If it is something that you do (in the present tense) then just do it.
We would be honored	This is just another way of saying how you feel and talking about yourself instead of making it about the customer.
We can provide	Either you provide it, or you don’t.
Our mission is to	This is just another way of stating your intention.
We value	Instead of valuing it, deliver it.
State-of-the-art	This is overused and not credible.
The right choice	Prove it.
Uniquely qualified	Prove it.
Best of breed/class	Prove it.
Premier, world class, world-renowned	Unproveable. Using it is wasting the evaluators attention.
Dedicated to	Your dedication is not relevant to whether you have delivered or not.
Leading company, leading edge, leading provider, industry leader, pioneers, etc.	Overused and not believable. Don’t damage your credibility by using it.
Top-quality	Is there any other kind?
Full service	What exactly does that mean and is it credible?
Comprehensive solutions	As opposed to?
Fast growing	Your ability to take customer’s money quickly is not exactly a selling point to the customer.
Trustworthy	I don’t know about you, but when I hear a salesperson say that I tend to run away.
Customer first	This is not believable. Everyone knows there are limits to what you will do for your customers. Don’t strain your credibility.

Second, ever wanted to sell your art but you have no one who wants to buy it? Have you tried placing it next to another piece with a slightly higher price? As this article explains anchoring in the decision making process can make all the difference.

Similarly related to anchoring is what goes on in this about train of thought and this video about advertising.

Lastly, I just wanted to post a link to this video entitled Randy Pausch Last Lecture, simply because it's just so inspiring.

I figured out this puzzle I had posted earlier, but it definitely wasn't as intense or interesting as these Microsoft interview questions I found.

For instance, how are M&M's made?

Hahahah

Microsoft Interview Questions

The following are actual questions from actual interviews conducted by Microsoft employees on the main campus. Microsoft Consultants are sometimes allowed to have a life, so questions asked of them during interviews don't really count and aren't listed.

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Riddles

• Why is a manhole cover round?
• How many cars are there in the USA? (A popular variant is "How many gas stations are there in the USA?")
• How many manhole covers are there in the USA?
• You've got someone working for you for seven days and a gold bar to pay them. The gold bar is segmented into seven connected pieces. You must give them a piece of gold at the end of every day. If you are only allowed to make two breaks in the gold bar, how do you pay your worker?
• One train leaves Los Angeles at 15mph heading for New York. Another train leaves from New York at 20mph heading for Los Angeles on the same track. If a bird, flying at 25mph, leaves from Los Angeles at the same time as the train and flies back and forth between the two trains until they collide, how far will the bird have traveled?
• Imagine a disk spinning like a record player turn table. Half of the disk is black and the other is white. Assume you have an unlimited number of color sensors. How many sensors would you have to place around the disk to determine the direction the disk is spinning? Where would they be placed?
• Imagine an analog clock set to 12 o'clock. Note that the hour and minute hands overlap. How many times each day do both the hour and minute hands overlap? How would you determine the exact times of the day that this occurs?
• You have two jars, 50 red marbles and 50 blue marbles. A jar will be picked at random, and then a marble will be picked from the jar. Placing all of the marbles in the jars, how can you maximize the chances of a red marble being picked? What are the exact odds of getting a red marble using your scheme?
• Pairs of primes separated by a single number are called prime pairs. Examples are 17 and 19. Prove that the number between a prime pair is always divisible by 6 (assuming both numbers in the pair are greater than 6). Now prove that there are no 'prime triples.'
• There is a room with a door (closed) and three light bulbs. Outside the room there are three switches, connected to the bulbs. You may manipulate the switches as you wish, but once you open the door you can't change them. Identify each switch with its bulb.
• Suppose you had 8 billiard balls, and one of them was slightly heavier, but the only way to tell was by putting it on a scale against another. What's the fewest number of times you'd have to use the scale to find the heavier ball?
• Imagine you are standing in front of a mirror, facing it. Raise your left hand. Raise your right hand. Look at your reflection. When you raise your left hand your reflection raises what appears to be his right hand. But when you tilt your head up, your reflection does too, and does not appear to tilt his/her head down. Why is it that the mirror appears to reverse left and right, but not up and down?
• You have 4 jars of pills. Each pill is a certain weight, except for contaminated pills contained in one jar, where each pill is weight + 1. How could you tell which jar had the contaminated pills in just one measurement?
• The SF Chronicle has a word game where all the letters are scrambled up and you have to figure out what the word is. Imagine that a scrambled word is 5 characters long:
1. How many possible solutions are there?
2. What if we know which 5 letters are being used?
3. Develop an algorithm to solve the word.
• There are 4 women who want to cross a bridge. They all begin on the same side. You have 17 minutes to get all of them across to the other side. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them. The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each woman walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower woman's pace.

  Woman 1: 1 minute to cross
  Woman 2: 2 minutes to cross
  Woman 3: 5 minutes to cross
  Woman 4: 10 minutes to cross
  

  For example if Woman 1 and Woman 4 walk across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Woman 4 then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have passed and you have failed the mission. What is the order required to get all women across in 17 minutes? Now, what's the other way?

• If you had an infinite supply of water and a 5 quart and 3 quart pail, how would you measure exactly 4 quarts?
• You have a bucket of jelly beans. Some are red, some are blue, and some green. With your eyes closed, pick out 2 of a like color. How many do you have to grab to be sure you have 2 of the same?
• If you have two buckets, one with red paint and the other with blue paint, and you take one cup from the blue bucket and poor it into the red bucket. Then you take one cup from the red bucket and poor it into the blue bucket. Which bucket has the highest ratio between red and blue? Prove it mathematically.

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Algorithms

• What's the difference between a linked list and an array?
• Implement a linked list. Why did you pick the method you did?
• Implement an algorithm to sort a linked list. Why did you pick the method you did? Now do it in O(n) time.
• Describe advantages and disadvantages of the various stock sorting algorithms.
• Implement an algorithm to reverse a linked list. Now do it without recursion.
• Implement an algorithm to insert a node into a circular linked list without traversing it.
• Implement an algorithm to sort an array. Why did you pick the method you did?
• Implement an algorithm to do wild card string matching.
• Implement strstr() (or some other string library function).
• Reverse a string. Optimize for speed. Optimize for space.
• Reverse the words in a sentence, i.e. "My name is Chris" becomes "Chris is name My." Optimize for speed. Optimize for space.
• Find a substring. Optimize for speed. Optimize for space.
• Compare two strings using O(n) time with constant space.
• Suppose you have an array of 1001 integers. The integers are in random order, but you know each of the integers is between 1 and 1000 (inclusive). In addition, each number appears only once in the array, except for one number, which occurs twice. Assume that you can access each element of the array only once. Describe an algorithm to find the repeated number. If you used auxiliary storage in your algorithm, can you find an algorithm that does not require it?
• Count the number of set bits in a number. Now optimize for speed. Now optimize for size.
• Multiple by 8 without using multiplication or addition. Now do the same with 7.
• Add numbers in base n (not any of the popular ones like 10, 16, 8 or 2 -- I hear that Charles Simonyi, the inventor of Hungarian Notation, favors -2 when asking this question).
• Write routines to read and write a bounded buffer.
• Write routines to manage a heap using an existing array.
• Implement an algorithm to take an array and return one with only unique elements in it.
• Implement an algorithm that takes two strings as input, and returns the intersection of the two, with each letter represented at most once. Now speed it up. Now test it.
• Implement an algorithm to print out all files below a given root node.
• Given that you are receiving samples from an instrument at a constant rate, and you have constant storage space, how would you design a storage algorithm that would allow me to get a representative readout of data, no matter when I looked at it? In other words, representative of the behavior of the system to date.
• How would you find a cycle in a linked list?
• Give me an algorithm to shuffle a deck of cards, given that the cards are stored in an array of ints.
• The following asm block performs a common math function, what is it?

  cwd xor ax, dx
  sub ax, dx

• Imagine this scenario:
  I/O completion ports are communictaions ports which take handles to files, sockets, or any other I/O. When a Read or Write is submitted to them, they cache the data (if necessary), and attempt to take the request to completion. Upon error or completion, they call a user-supplied function to let the users application know that that particular request has completed. They work asynchronously, and can process an unlimited number of simultaneous requests.
  Design the implementation and thread models for I/O completion ports. Remember to take into account multi-processor machines.
• Write a function that takes in a string parameter and checks to see whether or not it is an integer, and if it is then return the integer value.
• Write a function to print all of the permutations of a string.
• Implement malloc.
• Write a function to print the Fibonacci numbers.
• Write a function to copy two strings, A and B. The last few bytes of string A overlap the first few bytes of string B.
• How would you write qsort?
• How would you print out the data in a binary tree, level by level, starting at the top?

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Applications

• How can computer technology be integrated in an elevator system for a hundred story office building? How do you optimize for availability? How would variation of traffic over a typical work week or floor or time of day affect this?
• How would you implement copy-protection on a control which can be embedded in a document and duplicated readily via the Internet?
• Define a user interface for indenting selected text in a Word document. Consider selections ranging from a single sentence up through selections of several pages. Consider selections not currently visible or only partially visible. What are the states of the new UI controls? How will the user know what the controls are for and when to use them?
• How would you redesign an ATM?
• Suppose we wanted to run a microwave oven from the computer. What kind of software would you write to do this?
• What is the difference between an Ethernet Address and an IP address?
• How would you design a coffee-machine for an automobile.
• If you could add any feature to Microsoft Word, what would it be?
• How would you go about building a keyboard for 1-handed users?
• How would you build an alarm clock for deaf people?

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Thinkers

• How are M&Ms made?
• If you had a clock with lots of moving mechanical parts, you took it apart piece by piece without keeping track of the method of how it was disassembled, then you put it back together and discovered that 3 important parts were not included; how would you go about reassembling the clock?
• If you had to learn a new computer language, how would you go about doing it?
• You have been assigned to design Bill Gates bathroom. Naturally, cost is not a consideration. You may not speak to Bill.
• What was the hardest question asked of you so far today?
• If MS told you we were willing to invest $5 million in a start up of your choice, what business would you start? Why?
• If you could gather all of the computer manufacturers in the world together into one room and then tell them one thing that they would be compelled to do, what would it be?
• Explain a scenario for testing a salt shaker.
• If you are going to receive an award in 5 years, what is it for and who is the audience?
• How would you explain how to use Microsoft Excel to your grandma?
• Why is it that when you turn on the hot water in any hotel, for example, the hot water comes pouring out almost instantaneously?
• Why do you want to work at Microsoft?
• Suppose you go home, enter your house/apartment, hit the light switch, and nothing happens - no light floods the room. What exactly, in order, are the steps you would take in determining what the problem was?
• Interviewer hands you a black pen and says nothing but "This pen is red."

Here are two really cool sites if you're interested in speaking your mind.

The first is called idrea.am.

idre.am is a collection of dreams and interpretations from all over the internet. You can search from old and popular dreams to see what others are experiencing and can even post your own.

The second is called i am neurotic.

i am neurotic is a collection the things that bother people and how they cope with it. Some of them are pretty interesting and you can even post your own.

EDIT: for more about dreams, including how to better remember the 5+ dreams you have every night, check out Dreams 1oh1.

1. Those who kiss their partner goodbye each morning live five years longer than those who don’t.
2. Kissing is great for self-esteem. It makes you feel appreciated and helps your state of mind.
3. Kissing burns calories, 2-3 calories a minute and can double your metabolic rate. Research claims that three passionate kisses a day (at least lasting 20 seconds each) will cause you to loose an entire extra pound! It's time to start that kissing diet!
4. Kissing is a known stress-reliever. Passionate kissing relieves tension, reduces negative energy and produces a sense of well being, lowering your cortisol ‘stress’ hormone.
5. Kissing uses 30 facial muscles and it helps keep the facial muscles tight, preventing baggy cheeks! The tension in the muscles caused by a passionate kiss helps smooth the skin and increases the circulation.
6. Kissing is good for the heart, as it creates an adrenaline which causes your heart to pump more blood around your body. Frequent kissing has scientifically been proven to stabilize cardiovascular activity, decrease blood pressure and cholesterol.
7. Those who kiss quite frequently are less likely to suffer from stomach, bladder and blood infections.
8. During a kiss, natural antibiotics are secreted in the saliva. Also, the saliva contains a type of anesthetic that helps relieve pain.
9. Kissing reduces anxiety and stops the 'noise' in your mind. It increases the levels of oxytocin, an extremely calming hormone that produces a feeling of peace.
10. The endorphins produced by kissing are 200 times more powerful than morphine.

The article this was derived from is located here... hahaha, and now to think, I don't really have an excuse not to xP

This is really interesting. How many times have you had a message or email misinterpreted?

I know I can say, a lot.

This one post brings to the forefront why certain messages, especially senstive ones should be relayed in person:

This sentence is interesting in that if you say the sentence seven times, each time placing the emphasis on a different word, the meaning of the sentence shifts.

Try it…

1. I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
2. I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
3. I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
4. I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
5. I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
6. I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
7. I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.

Similar thing happen to you?

Having taken Political Psychology, I've developed a new fondness for psychology and how it impacts our lives. Particularly, this is with regards to matters that are fairly intrinsic to how we operate.

Here is a collection of surveys, test, and articles that I've found particularly interesting about this topic :)

Tests and Surveys

Have you checked out what your Personal DNA is? I'm an Advocating Director which does actually seem pretty accurate. What are you? NOTE: This test takes a little while, but the results are really intriguing (including ways to change any given facet of your personality as you see fit).

Academic ones care of the BBC:

Memory training
Try to improve your recall using World memory champion Andi Bell's technique.

Explore your memory
Stretch your memory with fun challenges designed by experts.

Art and personality
Is there a connection between your personality type and the art that you like?

What sex is your brain?
Take the Sex ID test and find out more about 'brain sex' differences.

Do you see what I see? - Sagiv and Ward, UCL
Is Wednesday red? Take part in our experiment to test whether your senses overlap.

Do you hear what I hear? - Sagiv and Ward, UCL
Do melodies have a color? Take part in our experiment to test whether you hear colors.

The 'What am I like?' personality test
A test where you discover if you are a Big Thinker, an Idealist or another of 16 personality types.

Disgust - Dr Valerie Curtis
What makes you squirm and say "yuck"? Test your sensitivity to disgust.

Spot the fake smile - Prof Paul Ekman
Can you tell a real smile from a fake one?

Personality - Neil Scott
Who do you think you are? This psychology test scores you on five aspects of your personality.

Morals - Dr Keith Coaley
Are you a pillar of society, or do you look after number one? Find out how moral you are.

Lonely hearts - Prof Robin Dunbar
Make your lonely hearts advert to reveal the hidden message of attraction.

Careers - Neil Scott
What style of work suits your personality?

Self-control - Paul Rincon
Are you a slave to your habits? Test your self-control against the rest of the nation.

Perfectionism - Dr Randy Frost
Do your friends tell you you're fussy and meticulous? Find out if you're a perfectionist.

Articles

For those who use urinals, have you ever thought about how long it takes to urinate in relation to how personal space is violated? Check out this study.

Cognitive Dissonance is the tendency to deal with things that don't fit into our norm. For instance how we might be Catholic but support abortion. How do we deal with this? Find out more, here.

Isn't it a scary thought to think that if you decide to get with someone, or are with someone, you're probably going to end up looking like your partner? Hahaha, I think it's scary at least. Check out this study.

War technology is pretty complex nowadays, but what about Pigeon-Guided Missiles?

Are we programmed to laugh when tickled? I don't know what I think, because whenever I'm tickled I don't really laugh... it's more vocalized anger... but then again, I am slightly awkward :P

Fear and panic are really interesting matters, especially with regards to politics (remember 9/11?). Heheh, here are two studies that might strike a fancy.
Alien Invasion
Stop Staring at Me!

There are so many antidepressants out there, why not use semen as well?

Switching gears... the Agentic Shift is a pretty big deal in Political Psychology, coming out of Milgram's various experiments. It really helps reveal why Professor Zimbardo's experiment to emulate a prison setting, went so wrong.

...Awww, how I miss Political Psychology :P