That One Time I Tried To Save A Cat...

I used to have a cat.

She was a slight little thing, mottled white and grey, with an oddly colored pink nose and delicate pointed ears.

She was an 'indoor' cat, rarely let out because at the time we lived quite near a large road that I didn't credit her with enough sense to successfully cross.

Right off our dining room, there was a sliding glass door that led out into our back garden, and one day, about seven or eight years ago now, there appeared a chubby brown tomcat, with moth-eaten ears and a face like a stone.

He sat just outside my sliding glass door, making what were clearly indelicate proposals toward my feline, who, to my horror, appeared to be encouraging these advances.

I chased him off on more than one occasion, and, though he fled, there was a sort of bumbling dignity about the way he scampered toward the property line. And he always favoured me with a sour look that communicated quite clearly that I was beneath him.

The effect was that while he was obviously a disgusting creature of base moral standing, he was somewhat likeable in his own way.

His appearances became more and more frequent, until it was clear that he had no permanent home and had finally decided to establish his base camp in my back yard, just beneath a dogwood tree.

Every morning, I expected him to leave, but he carried on courting my brainless cat for at least 45 days until I realized that I had to put a stop to it.

Now, I had been very careful up to this point not to offer any food to the creature, knowing full well that it represents the thin end of the wedge, and that, for any animal, the first act of subjugating a human host is to entice it to feed you.

I resisted valiantly, expecting this chubby little ball of cheese to clear off as a result. However, other, more revolting needs kept him lurking perpetually close.

In the end, I resolved to offer him the food, but only by way of luring him into a trap. Setting out a cat carrier (a plastic box with a sort of barred door set into it on a hinge), I opened a can of tuna fish and placed it inside, nodding enticingly toward the cat as I did so, and assuring it, in a soothing tone, that I meant to trap it and convey it to the authorities, making it someone else's problem.

I then busied myself around the corner, feigning disinterest as to whether this creature ate the offered food or ignored it.

I have yet to meet a cat that does not register an immediate and irresistible interest in a freshly opened can of tuna fish. Nobody's fool, he of course lingered for a few minutes, eyeing me suspiciously.

However, in the end, he stealthily scampered over to the trough and began to fortify himself with evident relish. Such was his distraction that he did not notice that I had crept up behind him and closed the bars on the carrier until after he had finished his meal.

Upon discovering his predicament, however, I can tell you that he was not amused.

He began to make a hideous bawling noise that made my face pucker. But I remained firm in my plan, and moved on to the next stage.

You see, I am not entirely without a heart and I was reticent to simply take this misguided animal to the pound as I know that the poor unfortunates that end up there very frequently find themselves on the precipice of an awful doom.

I figured that this cat had to belong to someone. I would therefore do my utmost to establish a reunion betwixt master and wayward pet.

And so, I turned to that bastion of free advertising on the internet: Craigslist.

I took several pictures of this unhappy tabby, by then resigned to his place in the crate, and posted them online, with a bit of text that read something like:

“Is this your cat? He has been living in my back yard for over a month now and I'm going to leave this ad online for five days before I take him to the pound, where his life will most certainly be forfeit. Heck, even if this ISN'T your cat, you're free to have him. I'd prefer not to deliver him into mortal peril, so as long as he goes to a decent home, I'm cool with that.”

At this point, I'm sure I leaned back from the keyboard, thoroughly satisfied by the good deed I had done and imagining the cat either cautiously exploring his new and decidedly suitable home, or being squeezed tightly by some tearful toddler while I received a joyous handshake and thankful smile from this youth's guardian, lost for words when contemplating my generosity of spirit.

I was somewhat disheartened, therefore, when a beep on my phone alerted me to an email in response to my ad.

It was from some other anonymous internet do-gooder, entirely ignoring the subtext of my internet ad – vis, that I wanted to ditch this cat entirely – and suggesting that I could keep him as a much loved pet.

I ignored the email, tutting to myself that some people could be such numbskulls, and went about my business.

I soon learned, however, that this lunatic was not alone in the world, as my phone beeped repeatedly at me over the next several hours, each time, it was some new loon making a similar suggestion.

I cast a jaundiced eye over each successive message, disdain slowly spreading across my face.

All these hippy dippy weirdos were happily suggesting that I keep the beast myself, many going so far as to delineate the negligible costs of having the animal inoculated at the vet and suggest that my life would be one of inexplicable joy from that day onward, should I only choose to make this creature my trusted friend and companion.

Days passed.

Many more emails came in.

Each followed this same theme.

My patience, sorely tested, eventually gave way and I saw that I would have to apply more pressure to these legions of cat-lovers who didn't want to own this particular edition.

Seeing little choice in the matter, I amended my ad. It now read:

“Is this your cat? He has been living in my back yard for over a month now and I'm going to leave this ad online for five days before I take him to the pound, where his life will most certainly be forfeit. Heck, even if this ISN'T your cat, you're free to have him. I'd prefer not to deliver him into mortal peril, so as long as he goes to a decent home, I'm cool with that.

Some FUN facts about this cat:

• He can hold his breath for nearly two and a half minutes.
• He can survive falls of over 28 feet.
• He is HIGHLY flammable.
• He can go at least 8 days without food.
• He can tell if you mix gasoline in with his water and won't drink it (anymore).
• He is NOT a strong swimmer, but he made it nevertheless.
• He is now, due to a string of misunderstandings, HIGHLY suspicious of human beings."

I want to emphasize that none of the above 'fun facts' were true. They made me laugh as I wrote them, but they weren't true. Or, they may have been at least, but I had taken no steps to test their veracity. I simply wanted the reader to exclude from their reasoning the possibility that this cat could conceivably enjoy a happy life in my company. Once life with me was excluded as an option, I figured I could look forward to a series of emails from people eager to offer safety and peace of mind to this animal.

I was dismayed to find that my ironclad logic again failed to yield the anticipated results.

Inexplicably, subsequent to this amendment in my advertisement, the tone of the emails I received changed. Instead of excited offers to welcome this furry little monster into a new and happy home as I had hoped, the emails were mostly threats, laced liberally with intensely graphic swears.

I mean it.

The sort of imaginative profanity that is reserved for the worst people on the planet.

Apparently, deep down, hippies are angry people.

I replied to each with a simple, “Do you want the cat or not?”

The responses I received were unprintable.

And so, eventually, the fifth day passed and my ad expired – along with my hopes of finding its owner.

Still, I could not bring myself to deliver the thing into the hands of the government. And so I put it in my car, drove it across the bridge, and set it free in a quiet neighbourhood near a very nice park near where my parents lived.

I don't know who eventually adopted him, but I saw him intermittently for years afterward when I'd drive out to visit family. I'm pretty sure I thought to myself that one day I'd write a blog post about him.

And now I have.

And Suddenly, I'm Somewhen Else

Looking down at my tiny hands, the sun beating down on my back, the green grass a cool contrast on my bare feet to the hot blacktop a few feet away.  Fruit trees everywhere - I've been up in their boughs, my face smeared with peaches, plums, apricots and cherries, a halfhearted breeze briefly lifting my hair out of my eyes.

Friends everywhere.

The world is a different place when you're five.

I grew up in the desert at the base of the Rocky Mountain range, and I never remember those easy days so clearly as when I catch the familiar refrains of the songs that used to play as I drove with my mom in our station wagon down to the bank, where I'd be rewarded for my patience with a cherry red sucker or a snow cone.

Music transports you in the same way that smells do, catapulting you from the here and now to a different place entirely.

These are the songs that transform my reality, however briefly.

I know.  The Neil Diamond piece in the list above is an unusual choice - it isn't one of his better known songs.

But I remember seeing my little feet as I squatted against the wall next to a little record player that my dad had given me.  It was made of grey plastic with black rubber turntables and this little record would be on it, with its blue sleeve rested carefully next to me as I listened to this song over and over again.

It reached me.

The words made complete sense to how I felt.  My dad was my special friend and my parents had split up and I couldn't see him anymore and these words articulated perfectly how I felt, the words that I felt but that the grown ups refused to hear from me:

Come back again.
I want you to stay next time.
Cause sometimes the world ain't kind
When people get lost like you and me
I just made a friend.
A friend is someone you need.

But now that he had to go away,
I still feel the words that he might say:

Turn on your heartlight.

And I felt that my heartlight was that special place in my heart that nobody could find but me, where nobody could come to take my dad away.

And in the blistering rhetoric that accompanies divorces, it was this hidden inner mutiny that gave me strength and refined and shaped me.

I saw through the lies.

This was the reason I've never had a problem not following the crowd, the reason I've been willing to stand against the tide, to do what I felt was right, the reason I was successful.  And the seeds of this understanding were there in that song at that moment.

I have a special respect for those who have the ability to distil an experience into a piece of compelling poetry set to music, transcending spoken language and communicating in an unique way to all cultures across the world, despite gaps in age, gender, race, or whatever else we think divides us.

I wish I could do it.

Best,

Atlas

Even at Two Cents, You're Still Being Overcharged.

Have a look at this picture:

What do you think it is saying?

Do you find it ironic?  Why?

Have a watch of this little video clip:

What do you think it is saying?

Do you find it ironic?  Why?

Everyone has opinions.

Some are held quietly by those who are reticent to share them publicly.

Others are extremely vocal about theirs and frequently challenge contrasting views, robustly armed with statistics and figures which prove their perspective.

It sometimes seems as though the side that shouts the loudest wins the day.

Which is as good an approach to take as any, as most people's "well-studied" opinions are hilariously self-deceiving.

That's right.  We all just lie to ourselves all the time.

It's called a cognitive bias.  Essentially, it means that we are more likely to see what we look for, adding weight to facts and data that underline, rather than undermine, our previously held beliefs.

And there are some very clever things out there that demonstrate this fact.

Both of the above are great little pieces of media in which a viewer's cognitive biases can be drawn out.

Look at the picture above again.

The Native American tells the Pilgrim that they aren't allowing refugees.

On the one hand, it is ironic because the Pilgrims are migrants and now an awful lot of their descendants are opposed to allowing more immigration.  As none of these people would be here if not for immigration, it appears to highlight the absurdity of their position and uncover a selfishness and lack of awareness.

On the other hand, it is ironic because the Native Americans were systematically wiped out by the migrants.  Arguably, they would have been much better off had they uniformly adopted an anti migrant policy and that idea reinforces the argument which those in the anti-immigration lobby are making.

Let's turn our thoughts to the video.

On the one hand, it highlights that the willingness to accept evolution and scientific conclusions without first acquiring the level of education necessary to test them yourself requires the same sort of faith that religious people observe.  It is just a faith placed in men whose conclusions you are willing to believe based on precedents and their education.

On the other hand, it points to the fact that people mired in their beliefs seldom change them for facts and reason, not matter how the theories evolve or are refined and proven over time.  Regardless of conflicting data that you might be presented with, you can play the man and not the ball, and point out that due to the nature of scientific theory and evolving ideas, things which men once believed to be true was later proven to be false, and therefore a scientist is as fallible as a religious leader. Surely then, it would be folly to abandon your beliefs for science, with its patchy track record?

The nice thing about both the above examples is that depending on your cognitive biases, you'll have likely seen only one side of the argument in each instance.

If you saw both sides of the issue, congratulations on being so perceptive, but I still bet you agreed with one side of the argument more than the other.

What I like best about the above is that they do such a good job of portraying both sides of a complex issue in much the same way that a simple optical illusion allows you to see a duck or a rabbit at the same time, or a young or old lady at the same time.

It is only with thought and study that the other half of the image is revealed.

If you want your opinion to mean anything, you need to recognize and switch off your cognitive bias and approach issues with an interest in seeing an issue from all angles.

This, in turn, raises the point - How often do we really seek to learn and understand another's perspective?

Too often, the way we engage with others has the effect of shutting down real communication, effectively hampering the ability of both parties to reach harmony.

I'll probably look at that next time.

Best,

Atlas

Pretentious, Moi?

I personally LOVE pretentious people.

Why?

To answer that question, I must first explain WHY they are generally such detestable people.

An explanation that is, in fact, pretty straightforward: Pretentious people abuse society's unwritten policy of general politeness - they insult your intelligence, unswervingly degrade you, and escape from the situation without any comeuppance because people are constricted by the unspoken social contract whose one rule must never be broken – be nice!

A pretentious person is one who uses their words with efficacy and genius in the achievement of one, singularly depraved goal – to demonstrate their superiority over the party with whom they interact.

I say again – I love pretentious people.

Which brings us back to the previous question: WHY!?!?!?!

Yes, these people have a tendency to be unbearably annoying, but that's only because you haven't really interacted with them in the right way.

Think about it!

Their very posturing is often predicated upon farce, and this can be used to hilarious effect – should you be willing to surprise them by breaking the one rule society has as regards being unwaveringly polite.

For instance, I recently decided to visit a local restaurant – widely recognized as the undisputed territory of the pretentious – that had advertised that they had a new chef and new menu.

Despite these recent changes in staff and operations, apart from a few beleaguered patrons, the place was deserted – save for one flawlessly dressed hipster with tight trousers and a neatly trimmed chinstrap beard. His greasy hair was slicked back and tied into a tight, yet short ponytail, and his shirt appeared to be too small for his slight frame, the fabric straining at the ivory buttons.

As this man swaggered toward me, he managed to exude a palpable bravado which oozed a mixture of confidence and condescension. I was acutely aware that his eyes had turned me over with the efficacy of a looter at an electronics store, and he was confident that he had successfully taken the measure of me.

He eventually reached me and, standing next to the maître d's podium amidst a vast sea of long abandoned and neglected tables, drawled out, in an insufferably arrogant tone devoid of any hint of self-consciousness or embarrassment, the following words:

“And have we booked a table this evening?”

His tone made it evident that should I fail to answer his query in the affirmative, I would indeed be taking a grave risk and might not be able to enjoy, with the other guests, their evident misery.

So there we were.

An unbelievably pretentious man, asking me an unbelievably pretentious question in an unbelievably pretentious tone, confident that no rebuke could possibly be forthcoming. He was safely shielded by society's unspoken, unwritten social contract.

His question was so patently ridiculous that this was clearly pretension as an art form.

I had little invested in this encounter – there was a perfectly wonderful place down the road whose food was unparalleled and whose door was always open to me – and so my response went something like this:

“Have I booked? No, I regret to say that I did not take that precaution. I have evidently been swindled by observation and logic, whose application on my part led to an assumption I made concerning all these empty tables. The fault is entirely mine. Nevertheless, I would be deeply indebted to you if you could find somewhere for me to enjoy a small repast – I know it is an inconvenience to squeeze me in, but it would be much appreciated. I shall greatly relish watching your fine establishment fill to the brim over the next hour or two as the vast horde of people who did have the foresight to make a reservation – making them undoubtedly cleverer than myself - begin to flood into the place. I only worry that when all is said and done, we'll have enough room for everyone. In fact, I feel guilty now – clearly my presence here would stretch capacity beyond breaking point and deprive those who did have enough sense to book their tables of the space that they will clearly require. On second thought, I'll save you the trouble and just go.”

One look at the man told me all. His bluster was gone, his social contract – unwritten, unspoken and therefore unenforceable – was not worth the paper it was written upon. He was frozen in a mixture of disbelief and dismay.

“Get the door for me, would you?” I asked, and, as the man scrambled to open the door for me, I made an exit that was decidedly more satisfying than any meal that would have crossed my table.

I had a similar experience at a restaurant – I told you, that's where all these people work – wherein I was delivered a pat of butter with a hair on it.

Unsatisfied by this unexpectedly spouting blob, I called our waiter over, pointing out the hair.

He examined the butter with an unimpressed eye, and then, rather unexpectedly, took its side and argued its cause with the dedication of a lawyer whose own brother was appealing his conviction on death row.

“It is,” he deigned to inform me in a drawling tone, “not a hair – it is a fibre.”

I glanced down at the tray of butter in his outstretched hand, and than back at his face. He was in earnest. He did not see that my objection was not related to the nature of the foreign object in my food, but rather its presence entirely.

Again, this was pretension practised solely for its own sake.

“Ah!” I exclaimed. “Well, that's a different matter entirely.”

He nodded and began to lower the plate back down to the table.

“Asbestos, is it?” I asked airily.

He froze and looked perplexed.

“I don't understand,” he said.

“Yes, I can see that,” I replied. “What brand of fibre am I being treated to this evening? That's my question. You see, some are quite tasty – no examples readily spring to mind at the moment, though undoubtedly that's a failing on my part – but some are less desirable. You clearly serve only the freshest, locally sourced ingredients at this venerable establishment – could you go and inquire of the chef the provenance of this delightfully unexpected surprise in my butter? You see, now that I know it isn't a hair, I'm wondering if I'll be able to afford a luxury such as butter with fibres in. I'm on something of a fixed income at the moment, and I'm unaccustomed to this sort of extravagance. On second thought, gracious though it was of you to offer me such an unexpected treat, I might just prefer plain old, regular, pure butter instead. Please don't think me ungrateful – I'm just not used to eating things that aren't food. And look on the bright side: I know that sometimes when dishes get sent back, they let staff enjoy it so that it doesn't go to waste... I'm sure you'd enjoy eating this instead.”

And now you know why I love pretentious people.

They are society's comedy wing men.

Adept at keeping an intensely straight face whilst simultaneously creating bizarrely ridiculous circumstances that mock reality, they set you up for a personal situational sketch.

They are the playfully uncomprehending straight man who sets up the hero of the double act, and together, the pair of you can romp home to uproarious laughter.

And so, when you meet one of life's absurdly caricature buffoons, enjoy them. After all, that's what they are there for.

Best,

Atlas

The General Election Turmoil and the Polls

Having spent a lot of time over the last year performing as a mental magician in Nottingham, I have met a lot of people recently.  I'll drive to and from gigs and I'll often listen to the radio as I travel.

As the recent general election in Britain loomed, one thing was certain.  This was going to be yet another hung parliament.  Every pundit agreed on that.  There were poll leads for one party or the other very early on, but as it came down to the wire, everyone agreed that it was going to be a tie with up to a month of wrangling and jockeying for position before a government would be formed.

And then, rather extraordinarily for everyone who hadn't read my blog, the Conservatives crushed Labour and won an outright majority.

Why do I think people who read my blog wouldn't have been shocked by this news?  Simply because I've talked extensively in the past about the polls and how thoroughly unreliable they are.

These polls were recently discussed in an interesting article, which I'll leave you with - and I encourage you to search through my blog and find my posts on polls:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11695816/Why-did-the-polls-get-it-wrong-at-the-general-election-Because-they-lied.html

Best,

Atlas

Road Rage - A Life Hack From A Mind Reader

I've seen countless road rage videos pop up on various online news outlets.  Without fail, some fool-in-a-hurry ends up bobbing and weaving dangerously through traffic, sometimes causing accidents, sometimes ending up in confrontations with people who have been endangered by the thoughtless stupidity of the buffoon behind the wheel.

Having been a driver for over twenty years now, I am rarely surprised that these videos tend to do well.  All of us have at one time or another been frustrated by the inane actions of these oblivious maniacs, and the appeal of watching a video in which they instantly receive their comeuppance is tantalizing.

How many of us, doing the speed limit, have watched in frustration as a vehicle cuts out from immediately behind ours and then subsequently haphazardly bobs and weaves, speeding dangerously through traffic, only to end up two or three stop lights later being only one or two car lengths ahead of us?

What is the point of this lunacy?  

What do these drivers gain?  

Very little.

Studies have shown that in normal traffic, a driver who speeds and weaves through traffic gains something like 40 seconds overall.

That's it.

There is also a human element to the problem.  These people gain very little in the way of time, but they cause a great deal in the way of negative emotions.  In the same way that people dislike seeing someone cut into a queue ahead of them, people who are obeying the rules of the road become outraged when they see someone arbitrarily break the etiquette that both makes us civilized and keeps us safe.

In a fit of pique, they chase these people down and begin confrontations in which they inevitably further upset themselves - largely because they've abandoned their civilized roots and find themselves becoming as barbarous as the person they despised.

You've heard the phrase 'Never argue with an idiot - they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.'  That's what happens:

You get up next to the guy in the car and begin to ask him what his 'deal' is.  He bristles and asks you what your 'deal' is.  You try to explain your 'deal', only to discover that the guy in the car didn't really care what your 'deal' was, and he wasn't asking to be polite either.  Stronger and stronger language is used, and either the light goes green and the bad driving recommences - this time on the parts of both parties (infuriating the drivers behind you) - or someone gets out of their car.  If this happens, then things really get bad and the offended driver now realizes that this meathead he was chastising believes he should solve this argument not with logic and reason, but with brute force.

Road rage, huh?  You just can't win.

So, having seen a number of pretentiously labelled 'Life Hacks' online, I've decided to share one of my own.  My method of dealing with these bad drivers.

When considering bad drivers, let's look at the facts:

• These people are in a hurry and so value their time above yours and safety in general.
• When you confront them, you are likely to take simmering resentment and turn it into boiling fury.
• Typically either belligerent in nature or generally aloof to your concerns, they will not see the error of their ways and you will not get an apology from them.
• Their inherent volatility suggests that the situation is likely to escalate beyond your control.

With these facts in mind, what is needed is a solution which is both subtle and elegant, and which (solely to be ironic) violates a small measure of another aspect of the broader implied social contract that they've just broken.  

So what do we do?  We use this broadly implied social contract to their disadvantage, and take advantage of the fact that as humans, we generally expect others to be honest with us.

My 'Life Hack' is this (use at your own peril and discretion, I take no responsibility for what subsequently happens) :

Wait until you have a chance to pull up next to these people - don't follow them, it will usually happen naturally on its own.  Roll down your window, and with a smile and wave, get their attention and ask them to roll down theirs.  Look solicitous and concerned for them.  And when they've responded and you have the chance to address them, simply say 'I'm sorry to tell you this, but your car is dropping tons of radiator fluid'.  They will check their instruments, become worried, and thank you for telling them.  The light then changes and you drive away while they pull over.

Consider this: 

• There is no bitter recrimination that leads to an acrimonious dispute.  
• There is no arguing that leads to an even greater sense of resentment on your part.
• The dangerous driver - keen on gaining time - now loses it as he pulls over to examine his vehicle.
• The dangerous driver also has a shift of expectations as regards his schedule - a moment ago, he was trying to get somewhere quickly, but now, those plans are in the bin because his vehicle has failed him.  This adjustment of attitude will help him subsequently see his schedule with more flexibility.
• The driver is now worried about the costs of fixing the vehicle.
• The driver will be relieved that the vehicle is okay and will consider the advice of the person who warned him an honest mistake.  I mean, why would anyone pull them over and tell them a random lie - it must have been some other car they saw leaking fluid.
• You will be long gone, and out of the way of a potential confrontation.

So there we have it!  

My 'Life Hack' for road rage.  Now, I don't condone road raging in the slightest.  But I know that whether I approve of it or not, it will still happen and terrible things will come as a result.  

If you must do it, at least do it in a way that shows class, style, and sophistication - and avoids a dangerous confrontation. 

Better yet, learn to take a breath and let things go.  

Best,

Atlas

  

Atlas Brookings Nottingham Magician and Mind Reader

That's right, I've completed the international move and am now finally starting to feel a bit more settled - and that means I have time to post on the old blog once more!

It has been a strange transition, moving to the UK was not an easy feat.  Things are very different here, but overall, that is not a bad thing.  Over the last year or so, we've moved house, and I've started performing all over the UK.  One thing that I find a bit odd is that while I perform feats of mind reading, I have to advertise myself as a magician in Nottingham and the surrounding areas (Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, etc.) as people just know they are looking for entertainment and never think to Google a mind reader.

That fact has made me think a bit about HOW people tend to think.  Mind reading is a bit of a unique performance area and as such it rarely occurs to people seeking entertainment.  They love it once they've experienced it, but most people don't set out searching for it.

They tend to stick with things they know.

This phenomenon is seen all over people's lives - three routes may take you to the same place, but you tend to only drive the one.  A menu displaying varied and succulent dishes can be presented at the restaurant, but we seek only the dish we know we like.

And people are the same when around other people.  We play it safe - we all know that the nail that sticks up gets hammered down and so we accept 'groupthink' rather than plan our own paths.  Social psychologists have long theorized that humans as a species were not successful until they formed groups.  According to this theory, groups helped to ensure the safety and survival of the individual, and thus, on an instinctive level, most people tend to feel the safest when they follow the group.

This is a big reason why politicians seek out celebrity endorsements as the 'Halo Effect' of the celebrity is seen to transfer to them.  Indeed, politicians also constantly tubthump over polls that are favorable to them and their situation:  If they can steer you away from your own questions and instead guide the conversation toward how others are voting, then, due to social psychology, the odds are better than 50-50 that you will vote with the group.

As an American abroad, I have no vote in politics here in the UK.  But I watch it with fascination, partially because it is so different to what I am used to.  Recently, Scotland voted to remain a part of the UK.  The group that wanted independence from the United Kingdom was called the SNP, or Scottish Nationalist Party.

In the run up to the referendum, the SNP based the economic welfare of the new independent nation of Scotland on the oil industry and their projections for their economy were created upon the basis that oil would trade for $112 per barrel.  The SNP lost the referendum, and only four months later, Saudia Arabia's oil production decisions have forced the price of oil down below $50 a barrel.

Interested to see what the SNP had to say about this (the North Sea Oil Industry is now begging the government for help), I took to Twitter to have a look at Nicola Sturgeon's (the new head of the SNP) posts.

I could see no acknowledgement on her part that the SNP had got their projections so wildly wrong.  Instead, I saw numerous 'Halo Effect' posts regarding celebrities alongside posts telling people how well the SNP was doing in the polls.  Here are a few screen grabs:

Now, I want to make clear that I'm not picking on Nicola Sturgeon or the SNP, but my point is this: four months ago, they were insistent that Scotland was better off outside the UK, and made projections and promises to an electorate that, if the vote had gone the other way, could have crippled an entire country.  Real people losing jobs, losing homes, facing desperation, hunger and plight.

Disaster.

A critical thinker might subsequently question the credibility of this group of politicians.

But they don't want to talk about how they got it so wrong - and only FOUR months ago too. That's exactly why they are doing all they can at the moment to shut down your critical faculties by telling you what the polls say the group is going to do.

It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Now, as I said, I'm not particularly anti-SNP, I'm anti-groupthink and anti-manipulation - which is why politicians seem to so often crop up in this blog (in fact, next week, we'll look at a recent episode from the Conservative party).

I guess my point is that groupthink is a concept that is outmoded.  Humans are now the dominant species on the planet, and this need to follow the group is anachronistic and has led to some of the greatest atrocities in history.

People like the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ghandi said 'NO' to groupthink and challenged the status quo.

Critical thinking builds the future.  It sees through falsehood, self-serving agendas, and manipulation.

It gives you freedom.

Best,

Atlas

Forewarned, But Not Necessarily Forearmed

My friends, let me begin by apologizing for not posting for the last few weeks.  I've released another book in the intervening weeks and was pushed to meet that deadline.  In addition to this, the main water line to our house broke underneath the concrete slab and we've spent the last few days moving everything out and repairing the damage.  It was ugly, but I am beginning to find more time.

Now, anyone who has been following this blog has noticed that over the last few weeks, we've addressed and examined how the words a person chooses to employ can effect what others believe and perceive.

I've found a video that I think illustrates this point perfectly.  I don't necessary have an opinion on the lecturer's content, though I find him engaging and think he puts his case admirably. 

What I'd particularly like to call your attention to occurs at the following timestamps on the video.

Begin at 1:53 into the video and watch until 2:56 - you will see that the lecturer presents a challenge to his audience.  

If you then skip forward to 18:15 and watch until 19:33, you will be able to take the test he intimates that he will administer.

I'd just like to ask that you will do me a small favor - once you've taken the test (and if you've found the link to this blog post through Facebook) please click like on the link so that I have some idea how many of you failed the test.  

I'll report back next week on my findings, as well as break down what happened and why.

And now, here is the video:

Best,

Atlas

More.

Most people never get to a place in their lives where they think about saving for their retirement.

Part of the reason for this is that people are never really sure how much money they will need for themselves in their old age and so they find it difficult to know exactly how much they should try and save. People also naturally feel like there is more time to build enough savings than there really is.

Due to a lack of savings, some people wonder if they will ever be able to retire.

Take a moment and think about this.

Are you still thinking?

I bet you were thinking about yourself and how the above statements applied to you!

In fact, I'd bet you started thinking about your own retirement situation as early as the first sentence of this post.

Why?

It is because of the words that I chose to use. I showed you last week that words mattered. This week, I thought I'd show you another way in which the words we use make a difference.

When someone communicates a message that is unspecific, a listener's mind tends to clarify the message FOR the speaker. It does this by making assumptions about the generalized, non-specific portions of the message that has been expressed – and it tends to do that from the personal perspective.

Let's look again at the first sentence of this post. When the term “most people” was used, your brain quietly thought “HEY! I'm most people! This might apply to me.”

Then when it encountered the idea of “a place in their lives”, that was also sufficiently vague and your mind began to contemplate that idea in a context of your personal situation. From there on out, every subsequent sentence was sufficiently vague that your mind filled in the blanks in a way that the ideas were about you exclusively.

And yet, I never specifically said a word about you or your situation.

I've just demonstrated another simple way of controlling a person's thoughts, but doing so in a way that seems quite innocuous and harmless. And it uses only words.

Sales and marketing gurus know this technique and use it all the time. And so do journalists and politicians.

In fact, this technique can make urgent messages for those stubborn people in our lives palatable, resulting in real and meaningful change.

Imagine that I was a friend of yours and I wanted to give you some important warnings about your need to save for your future. If I'd directly said to you:

“Look my friend, I am concerned that you won't have enough money for your retirement because you aren't making it a priority, you aren't saving any money, and I don't think you ever will until it is too close to too late for you. Then, by that time, you'll never be able to retire.”

The above is essentially the same message, but because it was about you and it came from an external source, it is very likely to be rejected. It won't pass the defensive structure of self-perception erected over the years by your conscious mind. You'd dismiss me entirely.

The very best way (and trust me, I have EXTENSIVE knowledge of this) to get someone to do or not do something is to create the illusion for them that their decision in the matter was entirely independent both in conception and execution.

So, how is this done?

By the use of nonspecific, general terms. Be confident that if you want a message to be personalized by an audience, you must master the art of sounding precise while the opposite is, in fact, true.

For example, if I were trying to sell you an alarm system, I would be unspecific in the following way:

“Countless lives have been lost due to preventable emergencies – there are a lot of threats out there and in society today, the smart ones protect themselves.”

It sounds specific, doesn't it? But in all reality, I have given no real data, I haven't clarified what I mean by the word 'threat' (instead, your mind is busy conjuring up what you consider a threat and feeling anxious about those terrible fantasies) and I imply that this alarm system is in the homes of everyone who is 'smart' – a demographic that we'd all like to belong to.

Now, note – I have not said a single word about you or your personal situation. But you are now terrified for yourself and your family and you also consider yourself to be smart, all of which means that you'll be wanting to buy this alarm system from me in the next few minutes. Especially if my pitch continues to employ these non-specific nouns and verbs.

The best sales pitch is one that is personalized, and the best way to personalize a message is to let you do it for me.

I could go on, but I think the point has been made.

Watch the sales pitches made to you by others, and, if you need to really communicate something important to a loved one...be careful of the words you choose.

Best,

Atlas

P.S.  I wanted to call this post "You're So Vain", but I couldn't because then you would have thought the post was about you...from the start and would have defeated what I was trying to demonstrate.  So, if you've read this far, rename the post for me in your mind!

Vanderbilt and Scott v. Rockefeller

In the 1870's, after John D. Rockefeller's formation of Standard Oil, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Thomas Scott colluded together in an attempt to get Rockefeller to pay a much higher rate if he was to ship his product using their railroads.

Rockefeller controlled the oil, but he couldn't reach his customers without using either Thomas's Pennsylvania Railroad or Vanderbilt's New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.  

For years, Rockefeller had successfully played Vanderbilt and Thomas against each other as competitors, driving his own shipping rates lower and lower.  But in a search for a competitive advantage, the two combined forces and agreed a standard rate.  In today's marketplace, this is known as 'price fixing' and is illegal.

But it wasn't in those days.

Rockefeller was stuck.

It bears mentioning that at this point in time, Vanderbilt and Scott were among the richest, most powerful men of their day.  And while Rockefeller was the undisputed king of his industry, he wasn't yet the titan that history remembers him as.  

But he was a shrewd negotiator.  He had proven that over the years through countless business transactions with the railroads.

So, faced with a rate that was nearly triple what he was used to paying, what did Rockefeller do?

He once again deployed the negotiation skills that made him so formidable.

On the face of it, Rockefeller came from a place of weakness - Rockefeller needed the railroads to facilitate the distribution of his product. 

Vanderbilt and Scott were in the stronger position - colluding together, they absolutely controlled the transportation routes. 

Rockefeller appeared to be at the mercy of these two legends.

And then he found a way to strengthen his position.

He realized that the oil that was being transported through his refineries in pipes could just as easily be transported across the country in the same manner.  He would build a pipeline and bypass the railroads altogether.  Within a decade, he brought both railroads to their knees.

So what does this have to do with you?

Well, I've promised for a while now that we would have a discourse on negotiation, and we will be looking over the topic for the next few weeks.

Whether you like it or not, you will have to negotiate for goods and services on countless occasions throughout your lifetime.  If you are good at it, times will be easier than if you are not.

I'm not suggesting that you channel Rockefeller and bring the other party to the brink of doom, but you ought to realize that not everyone you interact with is honest and seeking a win-win arrangement.

Over the coming posts, we will go into more detail, but for now, it is important that you realize that negotiations happen in a number of stages:

First, there is preparation.  Every negotiation is prepared for by assessing your side's strengths and weaknesses, similarly assessing your opponent, and determining just what it is that you'd like to accomplish.

Next, there are the early rounds of the actual negotiation process.  These are about undermining your opponent's position by questioning the facts that they present, ferreting out those which they withhold, challenging the logic by which they arrived at their conclusions, and raising issues which they are unprepared to address - all done whilst simultaneously strengthening your own position.

Finally, you reach across the aisle and reconcile with them.  This is often the hardest part, as they will not have enjoyed having their position questioned.  But remember, they are at the table because they need you, just as you need them.  Reconciliation is not as difficult as you may initially believe.

Over the next three weeks, we will examine each stage of the process.  

I think you'll find that when you add this knowledge to what you've already learned about body language, you will be a force to be reckoned with in any negotiation.

And now, a bit of fun: