All posts tagged: decide

Whether you’re an introvert or extravert may decide how you should use AI

Whether you’re an introvert or extravert may decide how you should use AI

Published by Miika Tikkanen

More than a century ago, the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung made introversion and extraversion central to his theory of psychological types. Today, we tend to use “introvert” and “extrovert” as shorthand for how sociable someone is. Jung’s preferred spelling was “extravert”, and his distinction went considerably further than whether someone enjoys a party or likes to be around others. Jung’s original distinction raises a question in the age of generative AI. If people differ in how they naturally orientate themselves towards their inner and outer worlds, should they also use AI differently? In Psychological Types, published in 1921, Jung described introversion and extraversion as different orientations. He distinguished them by the direction of our interest: towards the subjective, inner world or towards objects and events outside ourselves. Contemporary personality research does not simply reproduce Jung’s types. Recent studies examining personality and AI generally measure extraversion as one of the Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. This means that they should not be read as direct tests of Jung’s original theory. For …

I Just Can’t Decide. What Should I Do?

I Just Can’t Decide. What Should I Do?

Published by Jenni Sidey

It’s pretty common in my practice to have clients come in with what feels to them like life-or-death decisions. A medical student is trying to decide whether to do residency in pediatric neurosurgery or psychiatry. He doesn’t want to close the door on working with kids, but he also knows he may have a more flexible schedule as a psychiatrist—and that matters to him if he wants to have his own kids. A single dad is texting with a romantic interest. She doesn’t respond. Should he reach out again? Will she think he’s desperate if he does? Will she disappear if he doesn’t? How do we decide the best path when we are ambivalent? A part of us wants this. A part of us wants that. And we don’t want to miss out on either. When my clients are stuck in the middle and don’t know what to do, I see it as the perfect opportunity for psychological flexibility. Because the truth is, there is no one right path for any of us. No matter …

Florida can’t decide if its official saltwater mammal is a dolphin or a porpoise

Florida can’t decide if its official saltwater mammal is a dolphin or a porpoise

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. States have a surprising number of official symbols. While most people would expect them to have an official motto, seal, and flag, there can also be a state beverage, muffin, soil, fossil, and poem, to name a few.  The animal kingdom seems to be well represented among state symbols, with Florida having everything from an official bird to an official reptile as well as both an official saltwater fish and official freshwater fish. The Sunshine State has just updated its official state bird and songbird to the American flamingo and the Florida scrub-jay, respectively. However, Florida’s state saltwater mammal, seems to be a bit of an enigma. The same statute that says the manatee as the Florida state marine mammal also reads that “the porpoise, also commonly known as the dolphin, is hereby designated as the Florida state saltwater mammal.” Source link

The One Variable that Could Decide the War

The One Variable that Could Decide the War

Published by Daniella Wilson

When General Mark Milley outlined the U.S. Army’s future priorities in 2017, he said that new long-range missiles, improved tanks, and better-armed, better-trained infantrymen were vital to America’s domination of the next major conflict. But those plans, the then–Army chief and soon-to-be chairman of the Joint Chiefs said, came with an important caveat: The upgrades would be useless unless the military came up with a more effective air defense. “None of the above,” he noted, “will matter if you are dead.” The Trump administration is finding out just how much air defense matters in its war with Iran. The open-ended campaign poses the biggest-ever test of America’s 21st-century sky shield, a network of weapons to protect against incoming missiles, drones, and ordnance. So far, that system has mostly held up against the barrage of drones and missiles that Iran has fired at U.S., Arab, and Israeli targets since Saturday morning. But that won’t remain true indefinitely. U.S. military leaders may soon be forced to choose between protecting troops and civilians near Iran and maintaining U.S. …

Considering a home battery? These 3 factors can help you decide

Considering a home battery? These 3 factors can help you decide

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Home batteries can cut bills by avoiding peak-rate electricity. Pairing batteries with solar boosts self-use and savings. Battery value depends on outages, pricing swings, and solar credits. The recent bout of snow and ice storms that left millions without electricity reminded us how fragile the utility grid can be, and how valuable backup power has become. Even when the power is on, though, so many of us face a different onslaught from rising energy costs that somehow feel even less predictable than before. While solar panels have always been a formidable hedge against price volatility, states with time-of-use pricing or reduced crediting for exported solar energy are making the addition of a home battery system more economically attractive. Also: The best home battery and backup systems of 2026: Expert tested for emergencies and more Not to be confused with a portable battery, home battery storage systems are hard-wired into the home’s electrical system and can run anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 or higher after …

Do you need a VPN? How to decide if it’s right for you

Do you need a VPN? How to decide if it’s right for you

Published by Sam Flores

Concerns about online privacy, security and access have reached an all-time high. It’s not hard to see why, with internet service providers routinely tracking browsing habits, advertisers building detailed profiles for targeted ads, and geo-restrictions limiting what you can access from different locations. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have emerged as a popular solution, but do you actually need one? A VPN is a service that creates an encrypted connection between your device and the internet, routing your traffic through a secure server. This masks your IP address and makes your online activity more difficult to track. While VPNs offer compelling benefits, they’re not necessary for everyone. * * * What Does a VPN Do? Before deciding if you need a VPN, it’s important to understand what it actually does (and what it doesn’t do). What a VPN Does: Encrypts data traveling between your device and the internet, making it unreadable to anyone intercepting it Hides your real IP address by routing your connection through a VPN server, masking your location Creates a secure tunnel for …

How You Decide If Something Is Expensive

How You Decide If Something Is Expensive

Published by Jenni Sidey

Human beings are fascinating creatures. Our belief in our own rationality is patently absurd. Poker players will tell you that if you can’t spot the sucker at the table, it’s probably you. Similarly, it’s obvious when someone else is a hypocrite, yet we are usually blind to our own blindness. What qualifies in our minds when our mouths pronounce the word “expensive” shifts with every purchase. Our judgments are influenced by the situation, the urgency, the values with which we were raised, and most importantly our subconscious financial anchors. These are scales and spectrums developed over a lifetime, from what we witnessed our parents complain about to the current salaries of our former college roommates. Comparison as a Thief of Joy Comparison is the thief of joy and we are masters at it. Behavioral economists such as Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky, Richard Thaler, and Dan Ariely have documented the foibles of human financial reasoning: we judge prices by comparing them with hidden benchmarks and creating contextual stories that we tell ourselves. Let’s talk about our …