One of my kids recently asked me why the moon “shrinks,” as it gets higher in the sky. By the time I had finished explaining the science behind perceptual aberrations and bias, she had moved on to more stimulating and fluffy topics. Momma Gump, it seems, I am not. The conversation did, however, get me thinking about just how important perception is when it comes to constructing our own, unique understanding of reality, and how fallible that reality can be. One of my favorite

As with many perpetuated myths of the mind, we have Freud to thank for the origins of this unfortunate debate. You see, Freud not only coined the term “introvert”, but also inspired generations of misguided angst because he defined introverts as, “emotionally stunted narcissists.” Complex, anyone? With all due respect to the OG shrink-meister himself (the lens of history is not always kind to pioneers, you know), his greatest contribution to introversion is probably limited t

I get to know folks pretty quickly, and it turns out that Roy Rogers was right—most people are pretty likable, even if they have a few unique “qualities” sprinkled in for good measure. In fact, when it comes to climbing the corporate ladder, success often favors the “bold”—a term which reminds me of when my pediatrician (and later the school psychologist) encouraged my parents to think of me as “spirited” instead of something less, shall we say, refined. Unfortunately, howeve