“[Psycologist Baruch] Fischoff calls this phenomenon ‘creeping determinism’ — the sense that grows on us, in retrospect, that what has happened was actually inevitable — and the chief effect of creeping determinism, he points out, is that it turns unexpected events into expected events.” Malcolm Gladwell, What the Dog Saw The idea of creeping determinism explains the expression “hindsight is 20/20.” When we look back on events, it always seems so obvious that things would turn out the way they…

We spent last night in Tulsa, Oklahoma for our video series for Route 66. If you’ve ever been here before you know there isn’t much to do (don’t even get me started on the worst buffet I’ve ever had…compliments of Mark Miller. Our waitress refilled our drinks by pouring a full cup into our empty cup. I’ve never seen anything like it.) But we saw something that is a rare jewel for those of us that live in Arizona…fireworks! We…

I just finished Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book Outliers. It is absolutely fantastic. As soon as I got into chapter one I was reminded of why I enjoy Gladwell’s style so much. It is rich with case studies, stories, and ideas that cause your brain to process things like you’ve never done before. This book is loaded with incredible ideas on why certain people succeed and others don’t. Is it as simple as the best rising to the top? Gladwell argues…

For those of you who read my previous blog on this topic, or have had the unfortunate situation of sitting and staring at my nail while I teach, here is an update for you. Today was a big day!

A few weeks ago I messed up my index finger pretty bad while I was cutting a piece of wood with a miter saw. The next day, the nail turned purple and my finger began to swell. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it from the beginning (probably because it would have made me pass out to look at it long enough to take a picture). It was so bad that I ended up draining the blood out of…