Life and business often gives us the opportunity to make decisions. Buying a car, taking a new job, getting a loan, how we spend our day. It is estimated that we will make 35000 decisions a day. That’s a lot of thinking that goes on and just thinking about all that thinking is giving me a headache and a little anxiety. Most of the decisions are inconsequential and Hobson choices (maybe that will make you feel a little less anxious or more), however some of the choices are of consequence especially when that choice is made continually. If we read for thirty minutes a day, we become smarter, happier and get better sleep. That decision is of consequence and not many of us read that much. The average person reads 16.8 minutes per day. Reading thirty minutes a day would be a good decision to make and something good to do but how do we know that?
We know that reading thirty minutes a day will help us because researchers engaged in six simple steps.
Step 1: They made an observation, research is good.
Step 2: They asked a question(or a few questions), in what ways is it good.
Step 3: They formed a test table / hypothesis, reading 30 minutes a day improves brain function
Step 4: They make a prediction, if a person reads for thirty minutes a day they will experience more improvement in brain function than an individual who hasn’t or if a subject reads thirty minutes one day and 0 minutes the other day the amount of brain function improvement will be higher on the read days.
Step 5: They test the prediction, A person reads one day has a brain scan, doesn’t read the next has a brain scan
Step 6: They evaluate the results and make adjustments, Brain function did improve in readers not non readers. Read more
The steps used to discover that reading improves brain functions was the scientific method. Scientists use this method all the time to prove or disprove theories and basically make decisions. Why shouldn’t we do the same when faced with choices? One thing to remember though is that scientists are using and have used this method often and published many of their findings so….. We may be able to skip to step 6 and read the scientists results. Time saver life hack but when we cannot and those situations will arise lets act like the scientists.
Science s willingness to accept facts even when they are opposed to wishes
BF Skinner
The Corrigan Encore 