Well… we missed it again! International Day of Happiness was March 20, 2017, according to the United Nations High Level Meeting on happiness and well-being. But, perhaps, missing it was not such a bad thing. According to the report, Norway ranks first followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. The United [Read More]
Imagine this scenario: “Jack” is having a conversation with “Jill” about whether to go up the hill to fetch a pail of water. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_Jill_(nursery_rhyme)) From out of nowhere, Jill makes an offhand but biting remark to which Jack responds negatively. The ensuing conversation gets totally off track on whether they [Read More]
Recently, I posted a blog about “alternative facts.” Since then, I have come upon two more articles discussing why alternative facts, are, indeed, true. It all comes down to who is in charge, sociability and/or to our cognitive biases. In an article entitled “Seeking truth among ‘alternative facts’” by Peter [Read More]
In recent years, much has been made of the fact that we are living in the digital age: we are tethered to our smartphones, iPad, laptops and other devices and are heavily dependent on them. Much like Pavlov’s dogs, whenever our smartphone beeps, vibrates, rings et cetera, we check it [Read More]
Often in negotiating, a party may make a monetary demand without providing any reasoning behind it. I have often found that such a tactic does not work well because the other party will ask me “why”. She wants to know the reasoning behind the monetary demand. So- I return to [Read More]
Several times in the past, I have written on the power of an apology, including the right and wrong way to do it. When I saw an article by Jane Brody (entitled, “The Right Way to Say, ‘I’m Sorry’”) in the New York Times (January 31, 2017) discussing this topic, [Read More]
In the context of a marital dissolution proceeding, is there (or should there be) an exception to mediation confidentiality (California Evidence Code section 1119) for financial disclosures “prepared for the purpose of” and used “in the course of … the mediation?” (Evidence Code section 1119). The Legislature believes so; On [Read More]
A few weeks ago, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway used the phrase “alternative facts” during a Meet the Press interview to defend President Trump’s assertion that the attendance at his inauguration was “huge”, the “largest” ever etc. despite aerial pictures of the crowd size showing the contrary. Several months [Read More]
