The Melting Pot #1: Neuroscience, Negotiation, Finance, Psychology, and more
Welcome to my new series called The Melting Pot. This is essentially an excuse for me to pick five things I’ve learned recently on podcasts and share at once with you. The topics will include negotiation, psychology, neuroscience, self-improvement, anatomy — they can be anything really.
Without further ado let’s get started.
Clarification on the role of the Amygdala within the brain
The amygdala is a watch tower neural structure constantly looking for new stimuli: sounds, people, environments, etc.
Unlike what is commonly discussed, the amygdala will react to both positive and negative stimuli — i.e., both rewards and fear. In other words, the amygdala can act as the trigger for biological processes within the body to pursue rewards and to react to a negative situation.
References: Dr. Kay Tye: The Biology of Social Interactions and Emotions
Leverage Focused and Diffuse modes of thinking to handle different cognitive loads
The brain has two main modes of operation: focused mode and diffuse mode.
Focused mode is what you engage with during deliberate problem-solving.
Diffuse mode is a less concentrated state, associated with mind-wandering and relaxing activities. It turns out, in diffuse mode, your brain makes broader connections, increasing the chance for creative insights
So when you need to think, to process some information, try to experiment with maybe tackling monotonous tasks or activities don’t require much brain power — so you can leave the brain running in the background.
If you do need to expend brain power to complete the task at hand then by all means engage your CPU to your heart’s content.
References: gathered from various podcast episodes I’ve listened recently
Use the Ackerman model to negotiate the price or value of something
Step 1: define a target price in your mind
Step 2: present an initial offer at 65% of the target
Step 3: increase your offer three times and gauge the other party’s reactions (85%, 95%, and 100% = your target price)
Step 4: use empathy and different ways of answering with “No” to increase the probability the other party will counter before you have to raise your offer.
Step 5: your final offer offer should be an exact to demonstrate thoroughness and weight (e.g. € 1598 instead of € 1600).
Step 6: include a nonmonetary item with your final offer to show you’re at your limit — even if this is an item of no interest to the other party.
References: Never Split The Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
Your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE, is the total number of calories your body burns in a day to function and stay alive. It’s like a personal calorie budget. This burn rate is broken down into several components:
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): This is the largest chunk, accounting for around 70% of your TDEE. It’s the number of calories your body burns at rest to perform essential functions like breathing, circulation, and cell repair. This will vary based on body size, namely heavier people will expend more BMR energy
- Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): This covers calories burned through all your daily movements that aren’t planned exercise. Think fidgeting, walking around, standing, and even things like typing. NEAT can make up about 25% of your TDEE. Use step count, hand gestures, fidgeting to maximise expenditure
- Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): This is the energy your body uses to digest, absorb, and store the food you eat. It’s about 10% of your TDEE. Eat a lot of protein to maximise this expenditure
- Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): This is the least significant contributor, at around 5% of TDEE. It refers to the calories you burn specifically through planned exercise sessions like running, weightlifting, or cycling. Maintain regular gym attendance to maximise this expenditure
References: Why & How A Calorie Deficit STOPS WORKING — A No BS Guide to Adaptive Thermogenesis
Stop hiccups
Perform 3 inhales in a row, followed by 10 seconds hold of holding breath — then exhale.
References: How to Get Rid of Hiccups
