Psychologyspeaking topic
Conceptual metaphor theory: why do we always think about abstract things through concrete ones? When we say 'I'm out of time' or 'that saved me an hour', why do we treat time like money?
— Lakoff and Johnson, conceptual metaphor theory
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- The Zeigarnik effect: why do we remember unfinished tasks better than completed ones? How does an unclosed file stay active in the mind?
- You live through something painful, and years later you tell it laughing; you even say 'it was for the best'. The event never changed, only its story did. Is our past a fixed recording, or a tale we rewrite from the present every single time?
- In a loud, crowded room you can't make out any single conversation, but let someone at a back table say your name and your ear locks onto it instantly. So your brain was listening to those conversations you thought you couldn't hear. How much are we constantly scanning without knowing it?
- Theory of mind: when do we start to grasp that other people know, believe, and want things different from us? At what age does a child discover this?
- Pluralistic ignorance: everyone is privately uncomfortable, but each person stays silent thinking 'I must be the only one who feels this way.' How does a false norm stay standing like that?