Learn to Think in Color

What kinds of decisions get worse before you notice you’re sleep-deprived? Why “I’m fine, just a bit tired” is quietly steering your choices off-course. Big picture framing Before you realize you’re sleep-deprived, the first thing to slip isn’t your IQ—it’s your judgment.  Sleep-deprived decisions  tend to degrade in subtle domains: how you read people, weigh risks, and prioritize your time. You still  feel  more or less normal, which makes these shifts easy to miss and hard to correct. This post breaks down the early, invisible decision costs of lost sleep—plus what research suggests, why people differ, and how to build safeguards—so you can spot problems sooner and avoid “how did I think that was a good idea?” moments. The invisible cost of being “just a little tired” Most people imagine sleep loss shows up as obvious mistakes: nodding off in meetings, forgetting basic facts, making glaring errors. In reality,  the earliest damage is to decisions that rely on ...

Why Are We So Confident in Memories That Are Quietly Wrong? How your brain turns fuzzy footage into a high-definition story Framing the Question (and how to use this post) We trust our memories the way we trust a favorite old sweater: a little worn, maybe, but basically reliable. Yet psychology shows that many “crystal clear” memories are partly—sometimes totally—wrong, even as our confidence soars. In this post, we’ll unpack  why we feel so sure  about memories that quietly drift from reality. We’ll look at how memory actually works (more like Wikipedia than a hard drive), why emotion and repetition boost confidence but not accuracy, and what this means for conversations, leadership, and decision-making. By the end, you’ll understand how to question your own “I’m sure of it” moments without becoming cynical or paranoid. How Memory  Actually  Works (Spoiler: It’s a Story Engine) We imagine memory as a video archive: hit “play,” and you get a replay of what happened. ...

What kinds of love are hardest to recognize—because English has no name for them? How “untranslatable” love words expose feelings you’ve had all along Big-picture framing Many of the  kinds of love English has no word for  are not exotic new emotions; they’re feelings you’ve already had but never learned to name. When language only gives us “romantic,” “friend,” “family,” or “it’s complicated,” the emotional in-between spaces get blurred or dismissed. Other cultures label those spaces precisely—with single words for pre-love, aching love, and interdependent love that English needs full sentences to explain. When you borrow those words, you’re not being pretentious; you’re giving your own experience a clearer mirror. The more accurately you can name a feeling, the more wisely you can act on it. Why some kinds of love stay invisible in English English is rich in love  content —songs, shows, TikToks—but surprisingly poor in love  categories . We basically get: Romantic ...

What communication skills can be learned by an organization? How teams turn scattered messages into a shared language Framing the question Organizational communication skills are the difference between a company that feels like a coordinated orchestra and one that sounds like a crowded subway platform. When leaders ask what  organizational communication skills  can actually be  learned , they’re really asking: “What can we intentionally improve versus what we’re stuck with?” A quick lens In this post, we’ll explore how an organization can learn to listen as a system, create clear shared messages, give and receive feedback, navigate conflict, and communicate across silos. Think of your organization as a nervous system: the better the signals travel, the faster and smarter the whole body reacts. The skills below are trainable, repeatable, and measurable—no charisma required. The shift: from “good communicators” to a communicating system Most people think of communication as...