Month: April 2017

Why Does Music Evoke Emotion?

People love music. The exact type of music might change from person to person, but it seems like the interest in making music and listening to music is baked in to our DNA.

Music can have a powerful effect on people. It can make people laugh, provoke fear, bring them to tears, or make you tap your foot. Hearing a particular song can instantly bring back a memory from long ago.

But why? What is it about music that speaks to us as a species? Why does music make us feel anything at all?

Related questions: How is music like a language? How does learning music change the way we think? How can music be bad or harmful?

How Important Is Intuition?

We all have intuitive feelings about things. Sometimes these intuitions can be right, and sometimes they can be wrong. In some cases we need to overrule these feelings with logic, but in some cases it seems that our intuition adds value to our lives.

How can we determine which is which? How important is intuition?

Related questions: How can we improve our intuition? How does our intuition change as we age?

How Does Your Vocabulary Influence How You Think?

It seems clear that your word choices impact how you express yourself to others. But I wonder if it might be true that the words you know can influence how you think about a particular topic.

How does your vocabulary influence how you think?

Related questions: How does the language you speak shape you? How can you grow your vocabulary? Why do accents exist?

 

How Can We Turn Ideas Into Actions?

I have plenty of ideas. In fact, I have so many ideas that it is often difficult to focus on just one, and so I never take action. Or a plan seems so big that it can be overwhelming to try to accomplish. Or laziness gets the best of you and nothing ever happens.

There are many reasons why a plan might never come to fruition. But how can we avoid that fate and turn our thoughts into reality?

Related questions: Where do ideas come from? How can we be more productive?  How important is the repetition in our lives?

Is Happiness The Most Important Purpose In Life?

Most people prefer being happy over being sad.  In fact, happiness makes us healthier.  It boosts our immune system, is good for the heart, and likely helps us live longer.  So why wouldn’t happiness be the most important purpose in life?

Related: Listen to an episode of the Intellectual Roundtable Podcast, where Lee and Michael discuss this question: ‘Is happiness the most important purpose of life?’ We also discuss another question as well, ‘How do you define success?’

But are other emotions just as important?  Are other goals in life just as essential?

Have at it, dear readers: Is happiness the most important purpose in life?

Related questions:  What is true happiness?  Why is achieving it so difficult?  Is there a limit to how happy you can be?  Why do we put up with unhappiness?