by david allan van nostrand | Feb 9, 2026 | Human Behavior, Psychology, The world around us, Trivia
The big event of the 14th century was the Black Plague. After killing off half the population of Europe, the Black Death (its street name) left the other half living with hunger, fear, and poverty. Regular people had to make do with scraps while the elites lived in...
by david allan van nostrand | Mar 31, 2025 | Experiments, Human Behavior, Psychology
Scientists say high-emotion memories are triggered by familiar surroundings and events. You and I think of that as having a feeling of déjà vu — or as our table overheard when a Young Modern loudly proclaimed she was having a zsa zsa de va moment. Vu or va, the...
by david allan van nostrand | Jan 27, 2025 | Human Behavior, Psychology, The world around us
Physicians sometimes tap patients’ knees with a small rubber mallet. Their name for the quick, automatic kicking of the leg that results is the patellar reflex, an involuntary and instantaneous response. A physiology textbook published just after the Civil War said:...
by david allan van nostrand | Jan 29, 2024 | critical thinking, Human Behavior, Psychology
The concept of intelligence describes cognition that results in an ability to function in the world, adapt, and achieve goals. Some say human intelligence is the skilled use of knowledge and reason. Others define it as the ability to learn from experience and use that...
by david allan van nostrand | Jan 8, 2024 | Human Behavior, Psychology, Strategy
What Are Defense Mechanisms? People who are disturbed by anxious thoughts and feelings act unconsciously to protect themselves from anything they don’t want to think about or deal with. Freud called all defense mechanisms windows to the subconscious. Self-deception...
by david allan van nostrand | Nov 20, 2023 | Human Behavior, Psychology
What Is Intelligence? Human intelligence is the skilled use of knowledge and reason. It is also the ability to learn from experience, understand and apply abstract knowledge, and use that knowledge to deal with things skillfully and efficiently. Abstract knowledge...
