Sometimes the "getting-to-know-each-other" part could be difficult and misleading. Your date could be trying so hard to impress you that he ends up showing all the "good personality traits" that are not entirely his. What he says can be lies, and his demeanor could be faked.

Neurologist Dr. Alan Hirsch presents an interesting take on a person's personality being revealed through his favorite food flavor. In his book, "What Flavor Is Your Personality?", Dr. Hirsch helps you determine if that a guy is the perfect match for you, or if you need to beg off the next time he asks you out.

Going out with that cute guy you met at the convention? Try ice cream.

According to Dr. Hirsch, your favorite ice cream flavor tells who you are; and can help you determine if that guy across the table is compatible with you through the ice cream flavor he orders.

Chocolate Chip - competitive, accomplished, competent and ambitious; generous and life of the party. Compatible with those who like Butter Pecan or Double Chocolate Chunk.

Coffee - dramatic, flirtatious, loves new adventures, and gives his best in the things they do. Compatible with people who loves Strawberry flavored ice cream.

Butter Pecan - introverted, sensitive to the feelings of others, devoted, conscientious, budget conscious. Compatible with Mint Chocolate Chip.

Mint Chocolate Chip - ambitious, confident but a bit skeptical about life. Close to family, honest, and plans for the future. Compatible with someone who also likes Mint Chocolate Chip.

Rocky Road - goal-oriented, outgoing and aggressive. Likes being pampered and appreciates the finer things in life. Compatible with another Rocky Road lover.

Vanilla - relies on intuition over logic, emotionally expressive, aims high, likes to stay busy and accomplish things, prefers secure romantic relationships. Compatible with Rocky Road.

Strawberry - logical, doesn't mind working behind the scenes, loyal and supportive. Compatible with Vanilla, Rocky Road, Mint Chocolate Chip, Strawberry.

If, for some reason, ice cream is out of the picture on your first date, you may still get a glimpse of his personality by checking out the type of food he craves for.

Salty food - If the guy says he craves for salty food, he is the type that goes with the flow. Dr. Hirsch says this guy may believe that external factors, not their own actions, determine his fate.

Sweets - this guy veers towards the wild side, hedonistic, likes to stand out and feel special.

Dark chocolate - great at parties, and good for team work.

Milk chocolate - this is your quiet and introspective personality.

Spicy foods - the perfectionist type, gives attention to details, loves order and hates to waste time.

Sweet and salty flavor combined - the loner, creative type.

This sounds just like your light and fun weekend magazine quiz that no one takes seriously, but Dr. Hirsh, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Research and Treatment Foundation in Chicago, stands by his book that is based on over 24 years of scientific study and tests on more than 18,000 people's food choices and personalities.

Taste and personality are developed at the same time and are both found in the limbic lobe of the brain. Dr. Hirsch says that this is a strong basis for linking the two.

Does your personality and food preference combination match one of the descriptions above? If it did, won't you want to use this test to that boy next door?

In a report at Scientific American, former President George W. Bush, cited for his "clumsy speech, immense overconfidence, heavy reliance on intuition rather than factual evidence" - characteristics that convinced many people that the former president "is a man of inferior intelligence." Surprisingly, Bush's IQ score is above average: estimated to be 120.

Stanovich explains that IQ tests, while measuring only a part of our cognitive abilities, they do not include measurement of critical thinking qualities. He said, "some people can have very high IQs but be remarkably weak when it comes to the ability to think rationally."

In his book, "What Intelligence Tests Miss," Stanovich says, "we need to put more emphasis on measuring and teaching critical thinking skills."

Read it, and have a better understanding of why some intelligent people that we know, from family members to academics, and, er... George W. Bush, behave the way they do.

This brings to mind David Letterman's "Bush Top 10 Moments"

 

 

It is not so much the book, but the author whom I find interesting. The first time I saw Joel Osteen was on CBS' 60 minutes with the reporter describing him as someone who preaches "prosperity gospel." Believed to be the most popular preacher in the country today with 42,000 people attending his church plus another seven million viewers watching him on TV every week service, Osteen's service (which is about empowerment and inspiration) is described to be "part rock concert, part spectacular."

The book, as the title suggests, is about the 7 keys to improving your life:

1. Keep pressing forward.
2. Be positive toward yourself.
3. Develop better relationships.
4. Form better habits.
5. Embrace the place where you are.
6. Develop your inner life.
7. Stay passionate about life.

Here's what one reviewer has to say, "At the heart of Osteen's message is that achieving a successful, prosperous life of fulfillment can only occur when we stop worrying about the past or future to make the most of each present moment by using our God-given strengths and talents to achieve our goals. The key to doing so is the seven steps Osteen outlines: Enlarge Your Vision, Develop a Healthy Self-Image, Discover the Power of Your Thoughts and Words, Let go of the Past, Find Strength Through Adversity, Live to Give, and Choose to Be Happy."

I may try the audio download ... could be good material for my iPod while I do my afternoon jog. If you don't dig any reference to Christian scriptures or any of that religious stuff, this might not be your cup of tea.

If that is the case, I would recommend one read that I keep on going back to: Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People."