Psychologist Mimi Road Tripping the World

This blog documents my business travels around the world, including my visits to hundreds of agencies a year, attendance at kooky conferences and my love of local eateries. Check out my other site www.psychologistmimi.com. Cheers!

[psychologistmimi]

New York’s Newest Psychological Experiment: The Mutant Ninja Turtle Problem

At approximately 2:00 a.m., which, clinically speaking, is the hour when good decisions go to die, a group of six individuals reportedly emerged from a manhole in Brooklyn.Let me repeat that.They didn’t open the manhole and go down. They came up.Like a plot twist.Like a metaphor.Like unresolved childhood trauma but wetter.It appears that they may have been underground for nearly two hours, the…

[psychologistmimi]

Psychic Spies, Ancestry.com, and the Alien Cousin You Didn’t RSVP To

You really can’t make this stuff up anymore. Or rather, you can, and apparently people are doing so with admirable commitment and a suspicious amount of PowerPoint.This week’s dispatch from the “Is This Real Life or Did I Fall Asleep on the Remote?” files includes a story I found regarding an army veteran has come forward claiming he was part of a secret psychic spy program (already a strong…

[psychologistmimi]

Dark Traits, Bright Screens, and the Art of Avoiding the Hallway

Lately, I’ve been reading about so-called “dark personality traits.” Not villains-with-capes dark. More like everyday-people-with-good-lighting dark.Psychology tends to group them into a familiar trio: narcissism (I’m the main character), Machiavellianism (I’ll move the pieces), and psychopathy (I don’t feel much about it either way). Collectively, they’ve earned the charming nickname: the Dark…

[psychologistmimi]

If You’re Going to End It, Maybe Don’t Pack Snacks?

I recently fell down a very specific internet rabbit hole, courtesy of a quick, suspiciously casual blurb about something called “alpine divorce.” The premise? One partner takes the other on a scenic hike and gently (or not so gently) bumps them off a cliff. We’ll, dumps them. Let me say this clearly. This is not a thing. This is not a lifestyle category. This is not a niche relationship strategy…

[psychologistmimi]

Goodbye to My Birthday Month (You Glorious Overachiever, You)

And just like that May is over.My birthday month. My personal New Year. My annual, slightly delusional belief that the universe revolves, briefly but meaningfully, around me.May, you were glorious. You showed up like a main character that was blossoming, dramatic and slightly unhinged in your optimism.You whispered, “Anything is possible.”And I, naturally, believed you.There is something…

[psychologistmimi]

Monday and the Audacity of Questionable Decisions

Monday’s clinically questionable to-do list1. Bite off more than I can chew. (Because self-awareness is for Tuesday.)2. Build Rome in one day. (Surely they just lacked proper project management.)3. Poke a bear with a stick. (My core competency. My brand, really.)4. Beat a dead horse. (Actually, this feels more like a Wednesday activity. Let’s circle back.)5. Skate on thin ice. (Less “I do this”…

[psychologistmimi]

The Curious Case of the Emotionally Well-Adjusted Soap

I had a small existential crisis in a restaurant bathroom recently.Not the dramatic kind. There were no tears, no life reevaluation. It was just a quiet, philosophical pause while staring at a dispenser labeled “Healthy Soap.”Now, I’m no contrarian. I’m broadly pro-health. I support vitamins. I hydrate. I have, on occasion, stretched voluntarily.But I found myself wondering about what, exactly,…

The Curious Case of the Emotionally Well-Adjusted Soap

[psychologistmimi]

The 37% Rule, Dumplings, and Other Questionable Life Strategies

I recently learned about something called the 37% rule, which sounds less like a mathematical theory and more like a suspicious diet plan.Apparently, it comes from the optimal stopping problem, which is a very polite, academic way of saying:“How long should I keep scrolling before I commit to something and stop ruining my own life?”The rule goes like this. Reject the first 37% of options. Then…

[psychologistmimi]

Flip-Flops and Other Questionable Breakthroughs

I took a last-minute trip to St. Lucia because life, lately, has been “character-building” (which is code for mildly chaotic with a side of existential fatigue).St. Lucia, as it turns out, does not care about your problems. It is 84 degrees, unapologetically beautiful, and fully committed to rum punch. Spicy rum punch. The kind that says, you’ll be fine while quietly rearranging your nervous…

[psychologistmimi]

Zemblanity, or How We Accidentally Build Our Own Bad Luck

There is a word (because of course there is a word) for when life doesn’t just happen to you, but slowly organizes against you with your quiet, unknowing participation.It’s called zemblanity.Which sounds like a country you don’t want to vacation in. Or a skincare condition.It is, in fact, the opposite of serendipity. Where serendipity is “I stumbled into something wonderful.” Zemblanity is “I…

[psychologistmimi]

Tiny Arms, Big Appetite

There is something deeply comforting about the fact that the most terrifying apex predator to ever walk the earth looked like it couldn’t clap.The T. rex, nature’s original overachiever, shows up to the evolutionary party with a skull the size of a studio apartment, teeth like artisanal daggers, and arms that feel emotionally unavailable.And scientists are still trying to explain why.The latest…

[psychologistmimi]

Trust Issues: When Even Your Own Voice Isn’t Proof Anymore

I recently sat through a quick cybersecurity training at work.You know the kind that you generally click through about how you shouldn’t reuse passwords or wire money to strangers named “Steve from Finance.”Except this one hit differently.Because this time the message was: “Even if it sounds like you… even if it looks like you it may not be you.”Pause.Not “don’t trust strangers.”Not “don’t trust…

[psychologistmimi]

Should I Be Hoarding Snacks or Holy Water?

Apparently, about one in three adults believes the world is ending within their lifetime.One. In. Three.Which means statistically, if you’re in a meeting, a subway car, or a heated group chat, someone in there is quietly thinking, “Well, this is all about to end anyway.”Comforting.This little existential gem comes from research by Matthew I. Billet and colleagues, published in the Journal of…

Should I Be Hoarding Snacks or Holy Water?

[psychologistmimi]

The physics of good intentions

There are posts you scroll past.And then there are posts that make you stop mid-scroll, mid-thought, mid-I was just checking one thing before bed.This one, about Banksy, “good intentions,” and the physics of pushing people toward better, did exactly that.Because it sneaks up on you.It starts innocently enough.Lovely. Noble. Practically embroidered on a pillow somewhere.We like to believe we are…

[psychologistmimi]

Exorcism Is Booming

I recently stumbled upon a “fact” floating around social media that exorcism is now a booming business.A booming business.Like tech. Like wellness. Like artisanal sourdough.Somewhere between oat milk and AI, we’ve apparently made room for demons.Now, before we all start side-eyeing our neighbors and clutching sage bundles, let’s pause.Is it actually booming?Sort of. In a very specific, niche,…

[psychologistmimi]

Intelligence Is Curiosity

We tend to treat intelligence like it’s a fixed asset. Something you either have, like good hair or a tolerance for small talk, or you don’t.But I’ve been thinking.What if intelligence isn’t a possession?What if it’s a posture?What if intelligence is simply curiosity in motion?Not the loud, performative kind. Not the “let me tell you everything I know about this obscure topic” kind (although,…

[psychologistmimi]

How I Reclaimed My Life One Mismatched Sock at a Time

I have a confession.I don’t sort things.Not my socks. Not my cutlery. Not even my laundry.Somewhere, a Type A personality just clutched their label maker.Let me explain.My sock drawer is a lawless land. A democratic free-for-all. Patterns mingle with solids. Athletic socks cozy up to dress socks. Occasionally, I emerge wearing two socks that are not identical but emotionally aligned. Close…