Do Inquirying Minds Know this?

Do Inquiring Minds Know This?

A hobby that feeds my sense of curiosity is collecting facts and definitions nobody
else knows or cares about.

Statistics

1. The human body has 60,000 miles of blood vessels for circulation.
If you Google it, scientific research papers quote this number for the past decade. How do they know? Vas You Dere Sharlie? That’s almost three-times
around the planet. We must be very important entities.

2. Our lungs are filled with Alveoli – tiny air sacs that exchange
carbon dioxide for oxygen. Good idea. According to the latest research there are 185 million alveoli (singular - alveolus) in both lungs. Wikipedia publishes
the figure of 300 million in each human lung. A dozen other reports cite 300 million.

Research

“Question: by a show of hands – how many here had a college graduate in their immediate family? Why? Research in 2009 indicates that children who have at least one parent who graduated college – were 53% more likely to graduate themselves.

Does that principle hold up?

My Mom was very proud she graduated from 8th grade before she had to go to work
to support her brother and sister and unemployed parents. She could read and write and functioned perfectly in her environment.

My Pop did not get to kindergarten, let alone 8th grade. He started employment at
age eight – please believe this was not uncommon in 1905 – even though to your ears it sounds like science-fiction. His few kopeks keep the family afloat.

He taught himself to read and write, and was a numbers wizard. Pop read the NY Times daily, and operated a profit-making candy factory.
The next thing my parents did was cram down my throat first college and next three-years of law school.

They worked long and hard at the factory so I was an easy sell to sit in school instead of sweating. It was mostly boring, but I doped it out and learned to study
and aced the Bar exam on the first crack.

What about the educated parents principle? My three kids – daughter is a lawyer,
and both sons graduated college and own their successful businesses.

New Employment Study

A survey of 6,624 executives were asked what motivates them to increase their personal productivity in an anonymous project. Four choices:

a) More money and promise of raises
b) Recognition (awards and bonuses) by their organization and peers.
c) Promise of promotions with hot perks of four week vacations etc.
d) Personal Satisfaction

Results

Promotions received 5% - Recognition won 18% - Money moved 29%, and
Personal Satisfaction – being creative and doing interesting projects received
49% of the votes. The sponsor was Monster ca. largest personnel organization.

True Story

I want to a family affair when I was about 12 years old and sat facing Albert
Einstein, a third cousin once removed. He spent his time speaking to a 9 year old
kid seated next to him who was a math wizard. And I listened and was jealous.

Boy: “Professor, I intend to be a scholar like you, and discover something valuable.”

A.E. “Excellent indeed.”

Boy: “Professor I just discovered a long Hair in my soup.”

A.E. “What are its length, width and color?”

Boy: “I do not have the instruments to take precise measurements.”

A.E. “Make an probable estimate and Predict. That is what scientists do.”

Boy: “It will take me some time.”

A.E. “For the present, I suggest silence or everyone at the table will want
a similar Hair to yours for their soup. That would compromise the
experiment.”

I didn’t get it for about six years, then I smiled.

End Story: For the rest of his life the man would tell this story. How he
associated with Albert Einstein in a Capillus experiment.

Capillus is Latin for Hair. No one ever laughed at him or the story. I
think it was the fancy word for Hair that intimidated listeners or A.E.
winning the Nobel in 1921. I vote for Capillus.

Einstein said these three-Cool- things:

a) “We teach to the mind – but we are shaping the brain.”

b) “Not everything that counts can be counted. And not everything
that can be counted – counts.”

c) “Two things are infinite – the universe and human stupidity.
And I am not sure of the universe.”

He passed over 4. 18. 1955 at age 76. The autopsy of his brain revealed 40%
more Glial (brain cells) than is normal. Cool.

Endwords

Five Enemies

1. Cynicism is Skepticism with hardening of the arteries.
2. Negativism is listening that still, small voice that says no you can’t. Shut up.
3. Defeatism – “if you don’t know you can – you probably won’t try.”
4. Escapism – watching T.V. and videos 12 hours daily may be excessive.
5. Delayism – procrastination is from Latin (cras) for tomorrow.

More Avoidances

a) Blaming others is as bad as blaming yourself.
b) Bribing with gifts raises the ante the next time.
c) Complaining is talking to the wall.
d) Criticizing always makes lifelong enemies.
e) Threatening is giving up the edge of surprise.
f) Punishing takes too much emotional effort.
g) Nagging is finding one bedbug and waiting for the invasion.

Can you remember these seven avoidances? It can change your mind forever.

Q. Would having a major competitive advantage help your career escalate?
If you could read and remember three (3) books, articles and reports in the
time your peers can hardly finish one – is that a major competitive advantage?

Ask us for our free speed reading report – it is for college students and
executives. Did you know college graduates earn up to one-million dollars more
during their work career than high school graduates?

See ya, copyright © H. Bernard Wechsler see: speedlearning.org and
hbw at speedlearning.org
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