Things I Learned From MOOCs

The most fascinating facts from free online courses

[thingsilearnedfrommoocs]

You can stick that placebo right up your ...

While it’s fairly well known that placebos can make pretty powerful painkillers, a surprising experiment was conducted by Professor Donald Price from the University of Florida at Gainesville.

He took three groups of patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and in all three groups a balloon was blown up in the patients' rectums.

Yes, you read that right.

Before the balloon was blown, the patients in one group were given anesthetic, and their pain levels were much lower than the group that were given no anesthetic.

However, the third group were given a placebo - Vaseline - and told that they had been given a powerful painkiller.This group experienced the least amount of pain - even lower than those given the anesthetic.

So we now know that placebos are pretty powerful. It’s just that most other researchers test this without sticking things up people's bums.

Learned at: A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment (Indian School of Business/Coursera) Extra credit: Vase, L., Robinson, M. E., Verne, G. N., & Price, D. D. (2005). Increased placebo analgesia over time in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients is associated with desire and expectation but not endogenous opioid mechanisms. Pain, 115(3), 338-347.

For a review, see: Price, D. D., Finniss, D. G., & Benedetti, F. (2008). A comprehensive review of the placebo effect: recent advances and current thought. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 565-590.

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Want to succeed? Go with the Flow

Flow is the state where the challenge is slightly beyond your experience, but not totally above your capability. You have to stretch and persevere, but you can achieve it. It's a challenge, but not one so difficult that you feel discouraged. If you want to master anything, you need to spend 10,000 hours in that Flow state - not just repeating things you already know, but facing off against the level 11 boss when you're a level 10 player.

Benefits of Flow "Flow enhances happiness levels for three reasons. First, Flow states are inherently enjoyable. Second, we become more charismatic and likeable when we exhibit Flow. And, finally, Flow helps us progress towards mastery. And because Flow leads us to mastery, it not only enhances happiness levels, it also enhances our chances of success. Because the best way to succeed at something is to master it." - Dr. Rajagopal Raghunathan

"When I spoke to Professor Csikszentmihalyi recently, I asked him why is it that we like others who exhibit Flow? Here's what he said to me: one advantage of Flow is that it is not a zero sum game, you know? All the other rewards that we work for are zero sum. In other words. If I have a lot of money, somebody has less, probably. Or, the only way I can feel good is by having more than others,  and the same thing with prestige. The same thing with most extrinsic rewards are zero sum, and so to be able to get enjoyment and meaning from Flow means that you are not dependent on other people being worse off than you are. ... Flow can be contagious. It seems that an important reason why people find you more attractive when you exhibit Flow is because Flow is not a finite resource." - Dr. Rajagopal Raghunathan

Learned at: A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment (Indian School of Business/Coursera) Extra credit: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990)  Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row

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There's no such thing as a "creative personality".

The Big Five personality traits have very little impact on creative output with mild positives from conscientiousness (less likely to give up), openness (more likely to tell people) and extroversion (more likely to express ideas). There's a minor penalty for neuroticism (more likely to worry about what people think).

What really matters is your level of motivation, whether you have relevant skills, and - most importantly - whether you use a creative process.

Working out a disciplined, structured framework for getting your ideas out is more important than any other factor, so stop worrying about whether you're "naturally creative" and get on with making your dreams come true!

Learned at: Leading Strategic Innovation in Organizations (Vanderbilt/Coursera)

Extra credit: Creative People Must Be Stopped (David A. Owens - website)

Taggar, S. (2002). A multi-level model of creativity in intact workgroups. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 315-331.

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Prejudice is often not treating the "other" person worse, but your "own" type better. In a Lancaster University study, loosely based on the Parable of the Good Samaritan, British soccer fans answered surveys about their home team, and then walked to a nearby building. An actor for the experiment appeared jogging, tripped in front of them and called out in pain. 12 out of 13 times, if the jogger was wearing a home team shirt, the soccer fan would help. Just 30% of fans would help the jogger wearing a rival team shirt, and 33% helped if no team shirt was helped - leading to the conclusion that the soccer fans were not prejudiced against the rival time, merely that they favoured those that they felt were more like themselves. In a second experiment, the survey asked questions about being a soccer fan rather than being a fan of a particular team. That led to the jogger being helped 7/10 times if he was wearing a rival team shirt, but only 2/10 times if he wore no team shirt. Learned from: Social Psychology (Wesleyan University/Coursera)

Extra Credit: Levine, M., Prosser, A, Evans, D., & Reicher, S. (2005). Identity and emergency intervention: How social group membership and inclusiveness of group boundaries shape helping behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 443-453

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Graduate student Christina Maslach persuaded psychology researcher Philip Zimbardo to stop the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment after just six days, horrified by the speed at which ordinary youngsters turned into sadistic guards and hopeless prisoners. Impressed that - out of over 50 people to witness the experiment - Maslach was the only one to object, Zimbardo decided that this student was very special indeed. He later married her. Learned from: Social Psychology (Wesleyan/Coursera) Extra Credit: Stanford Prison Experiment

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You're more likely to tell the truth when nobody is asking you the question.

People tend to lie, exaggerate or fudge answers in questionnaires administered in person because they're afraid of being judged by the person asking the questions. This particularly applies to questions where taboos or laws are concerned, like "have you ever taken drugs?" or "have you ever cheated?"

Add a layer of separation by getting people to fill out a form on their own, and it all comes tumbling out.

Learned from: Questionnaire Design for Social Surveys (Michigan/Coursera)

Extra credit: Tipsheet - Sensitive Questions (Miller, Duke DISM)

Photo: Whisper

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Mac users have more money than sense - according to travel agents

In 2012, online travel site Orbitz.com worked out that Mac users spend 30% more on hotel rooms.

Orbitz started to offer users who browse with Apple's Safari pricier hotel options than users with PC browsers.

Following an outcry, Orbitz said that it did not actually charge different prices - it just showed more expensive options to Mac users.

Learned from: Advanced Competitive Strategy (LMU Munich/Coursera)

Extra credit: Mac Users Have Money to Spare, Says Orbitz (Forbes, 2012)

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Bad news is easier to accept if it is all delivered in one go. Good news is more beneficial if it is spread out over a period of time.  Example: Mr A received a letter from the IRS saying that he made a minor error on his tax return and owed $100. He received a similar letter the same day from his state income tax authority saying he owed $50. There were no other repercussions from either mistake. Mr B received a letter from the IRS saying that he made a minor error on his tax return and owed $150. There were no other repercussions from his mistake. Even though the amounts are the same, Mr B will be happier than Mr A.

Learned from: An Introduction to Marketing (Wharton MBA Foundation Series/Coursera)

Extra credit: watch video, above

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Learning to cook made humanity smarter.  

The invention of cooking allowed the body to use fewer resources in eating and digesting food. The digestive tract shrank, and the brain grew. Primates usually spend half the day chewing tough raw food, but we don't need to, so early humans could spend the time on other things.

Learned at: A Brief History of Humankind (Hebrew University of Jerusalem/Coursera)

Extra credit: Invention of cooking drove evolution of the human species, new book argues (Harvard Gazette, 2009)

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Distant stars appear red because, as the universe expands, the light itself is warped.  

Stretched out light waves have a lower frequency, and since red is at the low-frequency end of the visible spectrum, it appears red.

Learned at: From the Big Bang to Dark Energy (Tokyo/Coursera)

Extra credit: Redshift and the Expanding Universe (Exploratorium)

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From the size of the ocular cavities and the proportions of the skull, paleobiologists can say, with a fair degree of confidence, that baby dinosaurs were "really cute".

Yes, that's a technical term.

Learned at: Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology (Alberta/Coursera)

Extra credit: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/oct/22/beautiful-baby-dinosaur-delights-palaeontologists

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Mental Health professionals are apparently incapable of distinguishing "sane" from "insane".

Eight mentally healthy "pseudopatients" gained secret admission to 12 different institutions across the US. They behaved normally, and took copious notes of their experiences. Despite the immediate and pronounced suspicion of their fellow inmates ("you're a journalist!"), none were detected by staff. Their actions were pathologised as "writing behaviour", and on release were described as "in remission", despite having presented no symptoms to hospital staff during their stay. Following the experiment, the researchers warned the hospitals that at some point during the following three months, one or more pseudopatients would attempt to be admitted into the psychiatric hospital, and staff were asked to identify them. Out of 193 patients, 41 were alleged to be pseudopatients and 23 were suspected by at least one psychiatrist. There were actually no pseudopatients at all.

Learned at: Social Psychology (Wesleyan/Coursera) Extra credit: Rosenhan, D. L. (1973, January 19). On being sane in insane places. Science, 179, 250-258

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Scam letters are deliberately ridiculous to weed out all but the most gullible. 

Learned at: A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior (Duke/Coursera)

Extra credit: Why do Nigerian Scammers Say They Are from Nigeria? (Herley/Microsoft)