There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of Peace.  Many artists tried.  The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake.  The lake was a perfect mirror, with peaceful, towering mountains all around it.  Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.  All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of... [read more]

These days, most people have heard some form of the idea that “what we see can affect how we think.” But over a century ago, this was a new discovery. According to an article on the Observer website, in the early 1900’s gestalt psychologist Karl Duncker created an experiment known as the “Candle Problem.” Duncker led some test subjects to a table pressed up against a wall. The table held three items: a candle, a book of matches, and a box of tacks. He asked the... [read more]