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Best sex education video ever: “Am I Normal? A Story About Male Puberty” July 17, 2008

Posted by Niels in : Links , 1 comment so far

When I was in ninth grade, in health class, I watched the best sex ed video ever. It was called, “Am I Normal?” For the past decade, every now and then I’ve checked the internet and local libraries, trying to get a copy. Now, I’ve finally found it, and you can watch it too! Nothing I can write here can possibly do it justice. Parts 1-3 are below, about 20 minutes total. Click the “more” link to show/hide them, they mess up the formatting of my page.
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My recommended business and social psychology books March 10, 2008

Posted by Niels in : Links , 2 comments

A commenter on a previous post asked what business and social psychology books are on my bookshelf. Here are some of my favorites:

First of all, Daniel Gilbert’s TED talk on synthetic happiness is short, free, and cannot be missed. It rocked my world.

Robert Cialdini’s Influence should be read by anyone who has ever sold something, bought something, or tried to change someone’s mind. It’s both entertaining and informative. I remember reading through all the different methods he describes about how people are persuaded to do things and remember thinking for each one, “Yeah, I’ve noticed this and already guard myself against it.” Then he got to “scarcity” and I realized that explained both the $140 worth of sheets I just bought and the useless bottle of coconut syrup on my shelf. Damn.

Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick explains why some ideas are remembered and others aren’t. They illustrate the concept with a class that is asked to present a persuasive speech and rank their classmates. Thirty minutes later, they’re surprised with another request - to write down what they remembered from each classmate’s speech. Turns out speaking ability and idea stickiness are completely separate concepts, and in many cases, the latter is more important.

Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational rocks my world. His lecture here in Seattle was fantastic and the book includes all the speech’s examples plus way way more. The book is about behavioral economics - why people don’t make the rational choices that traditional economics expects us to. However, their irrational behavior is predictable and exploitable (if you choose to take that route).

Barry Schwartz’s The Paradox of Choice. I’m including it here for completeness. It’s a great book, but 75% of it is covered in Dan Gilbert’s TED talk and Dan Ariely’s book. Schwartz includes their ideas under a slightly different framework and has a few other great points (like why it’s crucial to leave on a high note), so it’s still worth a read.

Your thoughts?

“Picking up girls can be as easy as opening a beer!” February 29, 2008

Posted by Niels in : Dating coach, Links , add a comment

Well, it’s terribly manipulative and teaches you to lie to women, but I do want to know “how to get a pretty stranger at a beach to put suntan oil on you”. The Pick-Up System No Girl Can Resist

Use its techniques and you will later HAVE SEX WITH HUMAN BEINGS.

*Results not guaranteed

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I have an uncredited appearance on Buzz Feed October 3, 2007

Posted by Niels in : Links , 1 comment so far

Somehow my Beauty and the Geek photo was chosen to headline the “Dating Coaches” section of Buzz Feed. Not entirely sure why, but there’s no bad publicity, right?

Your thoughts?

Daily trends for you to monetize September 20, 2007

Posted by Niels in : Links , add a comment

Want to start a business but can’t come up with an idea? A friend just pointed me to Springwise, which updates daily with new entrepreneurial ideas. I’m particularly enjoying the marketing and advertising section. From advertising in bar handstamps to runners’ pace tattoos, there are some really clever ideas.

So many people take a look at an idea and think, “That’s amazing! But I could never do it.” You can. For example, Craig came up with the idea for a website full of entrepreneurial ideas years ago…

Your thoughts?