John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English philologist, writer and university professor, best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

A devout Roman Catholic, he was an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon language (Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon) and Merton Professor of English language and literature.

In addition his famous works (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), his son – Christopher Tolkien – published several other works based heavily on Tolkien’s notes – The Silmarillion and others. All these works, taken together, form a connected body of tales, fictional histories, invented languages and literary essays about an imagined world, Middle-Earth.

Those of you who have read The Hobbit will be familiar with the following quote. The words belong to Thorin, a proud, purposeful and sturdy dwarf warrior; a character that is also bit stubborn at times.

In The Hobbit, as the novel progresses, Thorin’s inability to formulate successful plans, his greed and his reliance on Bilbo to save him at every turn make him a somewhat unappealing figure, but he is redeemed by the remorse he shows before he dies.

Thorin speaks these wise words in the Chapter 18 of the novel, just before he dies, asking Bilbo’s forgiveness for the harsh words he told him before the Battle of the Five Armies. Here’s what he said:

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited. – Albert Einstein

In computer security, a sandbox is a security mechanism for safely running programs that is often used to execute untested code or programs from unverified third-parties, suppliers and untrusted users.

In a similar fashion, the psychological sandbox is the space within your mind which allows you to safely exercise ideas, concepts, issues and solutions, without any direct external consequences. You may not be aware that you have this psychological sandbox, but if you ever thought about something that “it can’t work”, you have used it.

The advantages of becoming aware of and consciously using the psychological sandbox are numerous. Here are some of them:

• You can solve difficult or painful situations that may appear in life more easily;
• You can test-run outlandish concepts more thoroughly;
• You can use it in brainstorming sessions to improve your changes of finding new practical ideas;
• You can thoroughly test-run any idea before applying it in your life;
• It is a very powerful imagination exercise;

As you see, the psychological sandbox is a very powerful tool that can assist you in improving yourself.

Setting up the sandbox

The psychological sandbox is basically a skill that everyone is born with. Because of its “skill” state, it can be subject to improvement. And in this case, improvement means learning to set it up correctly and then developing it through exercise.

The installation process is very simple:

Imagine an actual sandbox that has a border around it, to keep the sand in. No matter what one builds or tears down in this sandbox, it all stays inside. Anything that is in the sandbox is provisionally accepted as being real and is subject to the physical laws of the universe – and the moral laws of society, depending on the case.

Using the sandbox

Let’s consider that you face a very difficult situation in your life.

First, bring up in your mind the sandbox that you installed earlier. Now imagine that the sand in it represents the problems you are facing. As you know, you can build up anything or tear down what is already there without actually doing it. Thus, with emotional distance, intelligently use all the options you have and notice their consequences. In order for the results to be accurate, for the duration of the exercise you must accept the environment build inside the sandbox as being real, but untrustworthy – until proven otherwise.

When one idea has a valid beneficial outcome, step outside the psychological sandbox and replicate the process in the real life.

Let’s have another example.

During brainstorming sessions, the habit of thinking “it can’t work” is an abhorrant action that interferes with the process that creates new ideas. Most of us are hardwired to act this way. But an idea shouldn’t be subject to brutal attack in the instant it first comes to our mind. New ideas are delicate, their survival ability is not properly tested by beating them with wooden clubs, but by placing them in our psychological sandbox.

Too much openness and you accept every notion, idea, and hypothesis – which is tantamount to knowing nothing. Too much skepticism – especially rejection of new ideas before they have been adequately tested – and you’re not only unpleasantly grumpy, but also closed to the advance of science. – Carl Sagan

The solution is to place the new idea in the psychological sandbox – a place which is carefully kept separate from where you keep your certain knowledge. In this sandbox all the untested ideas are constantly seen as untrustworthy yet they’re all provisionally accepted as being real. So build the environment for properly testing the idea and then play with it while paying attention to the effects. Does it work, is it valid? If it does, congratulations! your brainstorming has created a new idea.

In a nutshell, the point of the psychological sandbox is to encourage thinking and imagination, while discouraging laziness of thought – saying “I can’t do that” or “that’s not possible” without proper testing.

But I was already doing this!

Congratulations then!

This is a very basic and simple concept, but the fact of the matter is that many of us only imagine that we imagine. Imagining that you imagine and believing what you imagine to imagine is a bad habit to keep.

Bringing the sandbox process of imagination in the awareness spectrum of your mind can only have great positive results. Start using it right away.

The average man never really thinks from end to end of his life. The mental activity of such people is only a mouthing of clichés. - H.L. Mencken

The Socratic method is a very valuable tool in building self-confidence, as it makes people think.

Born 2500 years ago, Socrates is seen by many as the greatest of ancient philosophers. Noted for his ugliness, he never wore sandals or washed his cloak. An individual by today’s standards, but an annoying and frustrating man according to most who encountered him in his lifetime. Socrates taught his students in a manner that was beyond some of the conventions of the time. The Socratic method derives from the Socratic Dialogues of Plato, in which Socrates made people jump through intellectual hoops trying to defend a “truth.” He would ask a progression of seemingly innocent questions that ultimately led the respondent to a logical conclusion that was incompatible with that person’s originally stated belief.

Even though Socrates used his method more to shred people than to educate them, we can apply this technique in a kinder, gentler way, in order to build self-confidence.

These are the 5 steps of the Socratic method of inquiry:

1. Wonder. Pose a question.
2. Hypothesis. Suggest a plausible answer (a definition or definiens) from which some conceptually testable hypothetical propositions can be deduced.
3. Elenchus; “testing,” “refutation,” or “cross-examination.” Perform a thought experiment by imagining a case which conforms to the definiens but clearly fails to exemplify the definiendum, or vice versa. Such cases, if successful, are called counterexamples. If a counterexample is generated, return to step 2, otherwise go to step 4.
4. Accept the hypothesis as provisionally true. Return to step 3 if you can conceive any other case which may show the answer to be defective.
5. Act accordingly.

Before taking in any concept, belief or idea, filter them using the Socratic method.

What is self-confidence?

Self-confidence is an attitude which allows individuals to have positive yet realistic views of themselves and their situations. Self-confident people trust their own abilities, have a general sense of control in their lives, and believe that, within reason, they will be able to do what they wish, plan, and expect.

Having self-confidence does not mean that individuals will be able to do everything. Self-confident people have expectations that are realistic. Even when some of their expectations are not met, they continue to be positive and to accept themselves.

People who are not self-confident depend excessively on the approval of others in order to feel good about themselves. They tend to avoid taking risks because they fear failure. They generally do not expect to be successful. They often put themselves down and tend to discount or ignore compliments paid to them. By contrast, self-confident people are willing to risk the disapproval of others because they generally trust their own abilities. They tend to accept themselves; they don’t feel they have to conform in order to be accepted.

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” - Mark Twain

Climate change is widely recognized as the most serious environmental threat to our planet, and if we ignore it, it could have an increasing effect on weather patterns on a global scale.

The scientists studying these issues have become increasingly convinced that human actions are changing the world’s climate. As the demand for power in our homes and work increases, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into our atmosphere also rises – carbon dioxide is the main gas responsible for climate change.

Now, I’m sure that most of you know what a screen saver is. But what most of you are probably not aware of is the fact that a Windows PC running a screensaver consumes more energy than a Windows PC in “Sleep” mode – according to a statement from Dean DeWhitt, director of Microsoft’s Windows Kernel team. If that isn’t news material for you, then hear this: a screensaver-running PC consumes the same amount of electricity as a 100-watt lightbulb left on around the clock for one year. That is about $80 in power that releases about 1,350 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere (according to Microsoft). Not too friendly for the environment, is it?

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should turn off your screen saver. No! You could use the idle time time of your PC to help scientists investigate the approximations that have to be made in state-of-the-art climate models. What is a climate model and how do these investigations help?

“Climate models are numerical representations of various parts of the Earth’s climate system.

By running the model thousands of times (a ‘large ensemble’) we hope to find out how the model responds to slight tweaks to these approximations – slight enough to not make the approximations any less realistic. This will allow us to improve our understanding of how sensitive our models are to small changes and also to things like changes in carbon dioxide and the sulphur cycle. This will allow us to explore how climate may change in the next century under a wide range of different scenarios. In the past estimates of climate change have had to be made using one or, at best, a very small ensemble (tens rather than thousands!) of model runs. By using computers, we will be able to improve our understanding of, and confidence in, climate change predictions more than would ever be possible using the supercomputers currently available to scientists.”

What can you do? Download a small piece of software used by many distributed computing projects – BOINC – and then go to climateprediction.net and read the participation instructions. Instructions for running the BOINC software can be found by visiting this page.

The minimum requirements that your computer must meet are very low: 800Mhz CPU, 128MB RAM, 600MB free space, any type of internet connection; so anyone can participate.

Donating computing power, along with following the many other climate saving practices that are available, will have a very positive impact on the future look of the planet. I know this may seem a bit off the topic of self improvement, but what use is to improve ourselves if we destroy our planet?

The best part in donating computing power: it’s simple and doesn’t require any changes to be made in your lifestyle. Everyone’s invited!

Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. – Mark Twain

Food is a sensual experience that combines many senses. You taste with your taste buds, appreciate the texture of the food with touch of fingers or how it feels on your tongue, and savor the aroma. But before you do any of that you eat with your eyes, appraising what’s been presented: is it wholesome? Nourishing? Interesting? Fresh? Vibrant? Creative? Colorful? Artistic? Involving? Easy to approach? Requiring of special tools? Will it be satisfying? Will you want seconds? Thirds?

It is the job of the gourmet chef to experiment with the ingredients, to find new and innovative ways to serve old favorites, and, above all else, to create a pleasant dining experience for his guests.

One thing that I’ve noticed around me is the fact that a whole lot of people are eating just for the sake of it. There’s no pleasure involved and all that is pursued is a sense of fullness. And that, when you think about it, is a shame, because food can be so much more than a mean to getting fat…

Changing food status: from “plain” to “gourmet”

It is not that complicated at all. It is a psychologically known fact that we don’t pay much attention to what we eat, but to how we eat it; so it is relatively simple to improve the quality of a food by making some subtle arrangements and changes that don’t even have to change the actual food.

Learning how to enhance a meal in order to stimulate appetite and increase overall eating pleasure isn’t difficult, but it does require a willingness to experiment.

11 tips that make plain food taste great

• When eating, think of yourself as an explorer. Sample small portions of food and try to discover the flavors contained within them. Note the reactions that your body and spirit has to them. Consider even writing them down.
• Try to figure out the ingredients of the food that you’re eating – assuming you’re not the one who cooked it. Focusing on discovering the ingredients will make you more attuned to the smell, taste and texture of the food, so you will savor and enjoy them more than ever.
• Make your food visually appealing. Obviously, eye appeal is often the first step in eating.
• Make your mealtimes pleasant. A correct mealtime atmosphere is very important in order to make the food taste better. Set the table, add candles, a good wine, and put some fine, low-volume music on. Don’t keep this only for special occasions… Also, art can really add to the creation of the mood.
• Whenever possible, eat with family and friends. This can play an important part in enjoying your meal. Friends and family meals should be something to look forward to and provide an opportunity for conversation.
• For many decades, professional chefs have used a ‘secret’ technique to enhance the visual appeal of their dishes and baked goods. What mysterious ingredient gives their creations a richer look and a darker, more appetizing appearance? It is caramel color — manufactured by cooking corn syrup. Don’t be afraid to experiment with it yourself. An experiment with discolored food presented subjects with simple American cheese melted on toast. But instead of the usual intense orange/yellow color, it was a bright, neon turquoise. Most of the participants thought it tasted terrible and a few even refused to try the stuff.
• Adjust the lighting. Lighting is really an important accent. It adds texture and color and glow to the food. There’s not a lot of knowledge about what lighting can do and most people take it for granted – it’s either on or off. Experiment with it and you’ll notice that the food might actually start looking better that you would’ve imagined!
• Experiment with different garnishes. You can turn an abject failure into a passable entrée with some chopped parsley and a few edible flowers; and you can catapult a well-executed dessert from merely sublime to truly divine with spun sugar and a raspberry coulis. Small and efficient.
• Enjoy the smell of the food you’re eating in the way you enjoy the smell of good cologne or perfume, or a wonderful smell of flowers. Smell it with your nose and not your stomach. Unlike your heart, your stomach will lie to you.
• The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor. – Chinese Proverb
• Finally, the most important aspect: everything - the above tips - has to work together.

You know how going to a favorite restaurant just feels right, like the planets are in alignment when you eat there? Chances are it’s the result of more than great food. And chances are that you could replicate that feeling right in the comfort of your home by following the above tips.

Now, I know some people will say they just eat to live, not live to eat; but for me it is a shame to search everywhere for satisfaction and pleasant feelings while overlooking something with so great potential – especially something that we regularly do multiple times daily.

For me, food has always been about quality, not quantity, and the above tips produced a sensible shift regarding the quality of my meals.

Now, all there remains for me to say is: Bon apetit!