Don’t Believe Everything You Think
Who else is fascinated by the La Brea Tar Pits?
Just me? OK. I read about them when I was a kid growing up on the East Coast and it’s never lost its allure for me. I couldn’t figure out why, after the first animal got stuck, the rest came running in after it. Short answer: that’s not exactly how it works!
The first business trip I took to LA I made sure I got to see the tar pits. (If you haven’t been, you should.) I was the only adult not accompanied by a child in the museum on my second visit. (That’s not the first museum where that’s happened to me.) Later on they opened up part of the dig so you could see the bones in the tar and some of the animals that the researchers had identified.
On my first visit, they were still referring to the saber-toothed tiger that used to roam the area. But on a later visit, the name changed to saber-toothed cat (I think DNA testing removed it from the tiger category.)
Also, when I was a kid, everyone thought that brain cells just die and can’t be replaced. Turns out that was wrong too - the human brain can rewire itself and generate new neurons, which is known as plasticity.
Good news! Everything you think is wrong!
OK, maybe not everything. March 15th is Everything You Think is Wrong Day, and it’s a good time to reflect on things you think and what could convince you that they’re wrong. What proof would you need to change your mind about certain things?
Some ideas turn out to be wrong because as science acquires new and more powerful tools, it overturns previous thinking. Such as saber-toothed tigers and dead, never-to-be-replaced brain cells. Or that alcohol is actually good for you. (It isn’t – sorrynotsorry. This wine moms thing needs to die a horrifying death and never be spoken of in polite company again.)
But other things might just be in the culture for one reason or another. And still be wrong, or at least wrong for some people. This 4:00 am wake-up idea, for one thing. If you’re a lion sleep chronotype, have at it. But for the rest of us – bears, wolves, and dolphins – it’s complete sh*t.
I’ve been having a good laugh at all the people who are upset at the news that a 4-day workweek actually helps people be more productive and happier. They’re so angry that people don’t want to work a 5-day week and are making ominous predictions about the world if we all go to a 4-day workweek.
The crazy thing is that a 5 day workweek has absolutely no science or evidence to back it up. It’s a concession that unions won for their workers back in the day, but it’s essentially entirely made up. And yet people are upset about it.
Here are some more myths about productivity in the workplace (and beyond) that are simply wrong
Multitasking makes you more productive.
Working longer hours accomplishes more.
There’s no reason to take a lunch break.
Your family will still be there after you work 14-hour days consistently, but your job might not be if you don’t.
There’s nothing distracting about email notifications.
Social media helps you be social.
Human brains are like computers and vice versa.
Want a more productive day? Putting your head down and working without breaks is not the way to do it. If you want a productive workplace, you have to look to brain science and away from popular culture to make it happen.
Recap
Lots of things people believe turn out to be wrong. There are a lot of myths about how to have a productive day that just aren’t true.
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