Are You Rational or Emotional? Wise Mind Requires Both

Sherlock Holmes, the genius detective created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, once said this about emotions:

But love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things.

Another famously smart character, Mr. Spock, First Officer on the Starship Enterprise, had similar feelings towards feelings:

May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with Humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.

Holmes and Spock declared emotions as foolish, frivolous things that cloud judgment and mess up the quest for truth.

On the other hand, real-life genius Albert Einstein took a kinder view of emotions:

Feeling and longing are the motive forces behind all human endeavor and human creations.

And Helen Keller, in true poetic form, said:

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.

So, who's right? Is it better to be rational or emotional?

What if the answer is “both”?

Your “wise mind” is the intersection of your rational and emotional minds that allows you to make the most grounded, useful, and fulfilling life choices.

Today, we borrow again from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of the University of Washington and founder of the Linehan Institute. We will learn a skill for using your “wise mind,” the intersection of your rational and emotional minds that allows you to make the most grounded, useful, and fulfilling life choices.

Let’s start by looking at each of rational and emotional mind by themselves:

What is your rational mind?

Your rational mind is cool. It is logical, methodical, pragmatic. It operates based on facts, and it’s task-focused.

When you’re in your rational mind, you respond to reason. Values are not necessarily in focus right now, and emotions are not in play. This is a very useful state to be in during a crisis moment that requires you to stay narrowly focused and cool-headed. For example, if you’re defusing a bomb, it’s a good time to be in a rational mind state. The rational mind is also useful in many other situations, like when a scientist interprets data, a lawyer reviews a contract, or a parent considers a painful but life-saving treatment for their child.

This is a very useful state to be in during a crisis moment that requires you to stay narrowly focused and cool-...

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You Have a Responsibility to Write Clearly, and We Have Advice on How to Do It

Roy Peter Clark has been teaching writing at the Poynter Institute since 1977 and regularly offers up some of the best writing advice I see. Today, we talked about 

• Writing differently during the pandemic
• Living up to your duty as a writer to achieve civic clarity
• Creating his new book, "Murder Your Darlings"
• Learning that one of his best writing tips (putting the most important part at the end of the sentence) is as old as Roman times
• Being a putter-inner instead of a taker-outter

Find Roy on Twitter, Poynter Institute, Nieman Storyboard, and Facebook.

You can listen to the interview using the player at the top of this page or read a complete rough transcript.

 

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An Interview with Roy Peter Clark: Transcript

Grammar Quirks: Ann Cardinal on Stuffy Language

Grammar Girl: What’s your favorite word and why?

Ann Cardinal: In English? "Deciduous." I love saying it, and I live in Vermont where the new growth and shedding of leaves breathes life into me. We’re about to go into that time of spring where there are limitless shades of greens when you look at the mountains. In Spanish, it’s "mofongo." My favorite food in the world and so much fun to say because it has the percussiveness of a curse word, yet it’s anything but. Say it with me: "mofongo." Fun, right?

GG: What’s a word you dislike (either because it’s overused or misused) and why?

AC: Oh, that’s easy: “utilize.” People use it in place of, well, “use,” but it is supposed to signify something that is used for an intention other than its original purpose. Like, “I utilized my high heel shoe as a hammer.” (Which, if my carpenter husband asks, I’ve never done.) But I find that people use “utilize” to sound more dignified, however it has the opposite effect if you’re using the word incorrectly. Me? I like simplicity, to use straightforward language.

GG: What word will you always misspell?

AC: "Deciduous."

GG: What word (or semblance of a word) would you like to see added to the dictionary? Why?

AC: “Shatnering.” A style of speaking based on the…singular…and...halting…delivery of "Star Trek" icon William Shatner. My brother and I have been doing it for years.

GG: Any grammar pet peeves we should know about?

AC: Well, with all that’s going on in the news about the pandemic, I’ve heard way too many people (who should know better) use the expression that we’re in “unchartered territory.” It is “uncharted territory,” people! Okay, I feel better now.

I like simplicity, to use straightforward language.

GG: To what extent does grammar play a role in character development and voice?

AC: Oh, I think a big role. For example, when I was writing "Five Midnights," my editor asked me why I had the older character, tío Esteban...

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17 Tips to Transform Your Outdoor Space

Whether it's improving your garden or making your patio BBQ-friendly, these clever tips will have you taking your space to the next level, all for practically nothing.

Beautiful Natural Spaces

1. Bring in the Birds
Don’t throw out those net bags that onions and citrus fruits come in! In early spring, fill them with anything that might appeal to nest-building birds: pet hair, human hair, lint, plant clippings. Then tie off the bag and hang so birds can help themselves and nest nearby. You can use the same bags to serve suet to your feathered friends in the winter.

2. DIY Birdbath
Want to try a birdbath but don’t want the expense and commitment of those heavy commercial types? Simply use a sturdy tomato cage as your base, topped with a round drainage tray for potted plants. It’s easy to move and very affordable! Place some colorful marbles or pebbles in the tray before adding water—the brighter the color, the better to attract birds.

3. Get Reddy for Hummingbirds
These fast fliers are attracted to red. But if your garden color scheme is less fire engine and more pastel, you can fake it. Just wire some red silk flowers around the garden until they discover nectar-filled flowers you’ve offered in other colors.

4. Make Your Own Nectar
Don’t spend money on hummingbird nectar when it’s so simple to make! Just dissolve 1 part sugar in 3 parts water, then add a few drops of orange extract or orange juice. Use it immediately, or keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

5. The Butterfly Water Cooler
Butterflies like puddles to gather around and drink. Make a butterfly water station out of an old cookie sheet or big saucer lined with gravel. You can also “plant” an old mug up to its rim in the soil, and fill it with water when rainwater doesn’t keep it supplied.

6. Baby Your Garden
Got some old baby gear in the basement or attic? Make your family wonder by getting it out! Then take it outside. Baby gates, spindle cribs, and even the metal springs from cribs make easy trellises you can train flowers or vegetable vines to climb.

7. Stones From a Tree
Having a tree taken down? Put it to good use! Cut some “slices” (about 2 inches thick) to use as stepping-stones.

8. Mulch with Souvenirs
Every beach vacation, we bring home more shells and stones than we can use for decoration around the house. So we now bring many into our outdoor spaces. They make perfect mulch and accents around plants, just like purchased pebbles from home centers (without the steep price)!

...

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5 Brain-Boosting Ideas You Can Steal from Logical Reasoning Tests

Logical reasoning tests are a cornerstone of aptitude tests. They're also the inspiration for the majority of job interview reasoning skills assessments. Another common name for logical reasoning tests is diagrammatic reasoning tests. They sometimes overlap with spatial reasoning tests, too.

Developed logic skills are an asset in any job—they represent the advanced thinking capacity of a potential team-member. Logic allows us to research the world around us, draw conclusions, and accumulate the required data for creating informed decisions. We use logical reasoning to handle both day-to-day routines and spontaneous events. Every employer wants to be sure their new hires have the ability for logic and creative problem-solving. That's why logical reasoning tests are popular across the world equally in both big enterprises and small companies.

Logic allows us to research the world around us, draw conclusions, and accumulate the required data for creating informed decisions.

Logical reasoning tests are part of high-school-level national examins in a number of countries and also used as the pre-employment assessment stage of various internships, placements, and graduate schemes, especially in the UK. Despite being quite formal and intimidating in these contexts, they can be fun and super useful to apply to daily situations.

Here are 5 brain-boosting ideas you can steal from logical reasoning tests, especially during quarantine.

1. Complete a few brain-training sessions

Using mainly shapes, forms, and colors to assess one’s ability to think logically and recognize patterns, logical reasoning tests are not only popular in recruitment, but also in many brain-boosting mobile game apps. These games tend to be fun and engaging, with a sprinkle of healthy competition against other players. Consider a few of these low-commitment, stress-free brain-training sessions to kill time, but in a productive way.

2. Use them to socialize digitally

Now that socializing occurs behind a screen, communicating with friends, colleagues, and classmates can be awkward. Some people have opted to use multiplayer games and other interactive digital forms of entertainment to help them make conversations and to strengthen team spirit in spite of social distancing.

Logical reasoning tests, in the form of those brain-training games mentioned earlier, could be an interesting way to not only break the ice but also to boost the whole group’s cognitive ability. Traveling to see one another might be paused, but we can still "make moves" together...

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Grammar Quirks: Angie Kim on Dipthongs and Onomatopoeia

Grammar Girl: What’s your favorite word and why?

Angie Kim: "Diphthong." I moved to the US from Korea in middle school, and I couldn’t speak English at first. The Korean language doesn’t have an “f” sound or a “th” sound, and it was impossible for me to say that word, which was a unit in English. When I attempted to say it, it came out sounding like “dee-puh-tong,” which made the other kids laugh and make fun of me. (Middle-school kids are not kind.) I remember one day, maybe a year after immigrating, when I could say finally say the word. I remember being so happy that I said it over and over again, like a chant. Diphthong, diphthong, diphthong. It makes me smile every time I hear that word (which, sadly, is not that often).

GG: What’s a word you dislike (either because it’s overused or misused) and why?

AK: "Irregardless." One of my best friends and my husband like to use this word, and it drives me crazy. It takes a lot of self-restraint for me not to shout, “It’s ‘regardless,’ not ‘irregardless’!!!!!” (And yes, I know that a lexicographer for Merriam-Webster claims that it is a word that’s slightly different from "regardless." But, as he warned, “It’s not part of standard English and so . . . if you use 'irregardless,' people will think you’re uneducated.”)

GG: What word will you always misspell?

AK: "Onomatopoeia." Yup, I did it again. Typing it now, I saw the red squiggly line and clicked to correct the misspelling. Also, last month, posting about all my paperback events that were canceled, I had to look up 'canceled' vs. 'cancelled' (both are fine), 'canceling' vs. 'cancelling '(both fine, although I’m seeing the red squiggly line under ‘cancelling’ for some reason—hmmmm), and 'cancelation' (wrong!) vs. 'cancellation.'

GG: What word (or semblance of a word) would you like to see added to the dictionary? Why?

AK: I love this question! There are so many words I’d love to see added to the dictionary, mostly because I play this game by the New...

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