3) Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think

What is it?

Brian Wansink studies our behavior around food. And his work is fascinating. You eat for a lot of reasons — and hunger is rarely the primary one.

What did I learn from it?

• Dessert tastes better on fine china than a paper plate.
• Big plates make you eat more.
• Wine from California tastes better than wine from North Dakota — even if it’s the same wine with different labels.
• And a lot more.

Wansink discusses his research here.

Check out the book here.

eric barker has mentioned this book before.  maybe it's time i check it out...

It's a short book and a fast read. 

2) Creativity

What is it?

For his book Creativity, noted professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi did interviews with 91 groundbreaking individuals across a number of disciplines, including 14 Nobel Prize winners. What do they have in common? What does it take to be a successful creative professional?

What did I learn from it?

They weren’t stars in school. Almost all have IQ’s over 130 — but once past the 130 threshold, all that mattered was effort. They were all curious and driven. They take their intuition seriously. More here.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi studies creativity, happiness, and flow. Here’s his TED talk:

Check out the book here.

the chart at the end of that tedtalk that breaks down challenge and skill to create flow is very interesting.

This one?

yes!  and that's much prettier than the doodle i made!  :)

I'm sure your doodle is pretty, too. :)