You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself

 We like to believe that we are rational, logical beings who make decisions based on objective facts and see the world as it really is. But we are not. According to David McRaney, we are all deluded.

 Our most vivid memories are mostly made up, we are easy targets to manipulation, most of our Facebook friends are not real friends, we reach for the same brand not because it's good and we trust its quality but because we want to reassure ourselves that we made a smart decision the last time we bought it... David McRaney's blog-turned-book is all about the many ways our minds plays tricks on us.

 Let me tell you up front, this book can be somewhat terrifying. You might find out too much about yourself and about human beings in general. Nevertheless, I would still recommend it to everyone. It's just so fascinating and liberating. The Stanford Prison Experiment shows that anyone, given enough power, could become brutal. Yes, it's not ideal. But it's the truth. It's the way we have born to be.

Well, I'm going stop writing now... because as we live in the second decade of the 21st century, we can simply watch the trailer.

Click here to watch the video.

 I mentioned earlier that You Are Not So Smart is a blog-turned-book, so for those of you who don't want to spend money and buy the book, here is a link to the blog. Have a good read!

Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form

Geriatric Depression Scale short form (GDS-SF) is an adequate substitute for the original 30-item scale (GDS) that is commonly used to identify depression in the elderly.


Instructions: Choose the best answer for how you have felt over the past week.

1. Are you basically satisfied with your life? YES / NO
2. Have you dropped many of your activities and interests? YES / NO
3. Do you feel that your life is empty? YES / NO
4. Do you often get bored? YES / NO
5. Are you in good spirits most of the time? YES / NO
6. Are you afraid that something bad is going to happen to you? YES / NO
7. Do you feel happy most of the time? YES / NO
8. Do you often feel helpless? YES / NO
9. Do you prefer to stay at home, rather than going out and doing new things? YES / NO
10. Do you feel you have more problems with memory than most? YES / NO
11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now? YES / NO
12. Do you feel pretty worthless the way you are now? YES / NO
13. Do you feel full of energy? YES / NO
14. Do you feel that your situation is hopeless? YES / NO 
15. Do you think that most people are better off than you are? YES / NO

Scoring Instructions: Score 1 point for each bolded answer. 

1. YES  /  NO
2. YES  /  NO
3. YES  /  NO
4. YES  /  NO
5. YES  /  NO
6. YES  /  NO
7. YES  /  NO
8. YES  /  NO
9. YES  /  NO
10. YES  /  NO
11. YES  /  NO
12. YES  /  NO
13. YES  /  NO
14. YES  /  NO
15. YES  /  NO
    
    A score greater than or equal to 5 suggests depression. Scores greater than or equal to 10 are almost always depression.

Too Much Junk Food Can Lead to Depression

A lot of people in today's world love to eat junk food. Is it because our lives are so fast-paced we don't have the time to cook healthy dinners or do we simply love the taste of hamburgers and hot dogs. Who knows! All we know is that junk food is unhealthy and expands our waistline. But could the consumption of junk food also be linked to depression? A study suggests exactly that. The study indicates people who regularly eat commercial baked goods like doughnuts and croissants, or fast foods such as pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs, are at greater risk for depression.

In the study, done by researchers from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Granada, researchers looked at nearly 9,000 people for six years. Participants were asked to report how frequently they ate certain foods - especially fast foods such as burgers, fries and baked goods.

At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had been diagnosed with clinical depression, but by the end of the study, almost 500 had depression. Participants who ate the most fast food were 51 percent more likely to develop clinical depression than those who ate the least.

Contributor Dr. Holly Phillips said on an interview given to CBS that the findings of the study are really, really shocking.

I don't really find it that shocking. The fact that omega-3 fatty acids are essential building materials for the brain during development and crucial to proper brain function and maintenance, has been proven years ago. Joseph R. Hibbeln even linked the deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids to violent behaviour.

Anyways, eat fish and stay away from those burgers!