Sometimes, spaces look playful... but you can't actually play in them. image: reddit​

Don't get me wrong. I love ball pits as much as the next guy. I spent pretty much every afternoon of my childhood at Chuck E. Cheese (and, unlike kids today, I actually got to run around and play by myself while the parents drank pitchers of beer). I'm all about play, and I'm stoked that so many Silicon Valley startups want ball pits.

But here's the thing: many designers and office managers think their job is complete once they've got that ball pit installed.

Creating a playful office space requires more than that.

"It is a happy talent to know how to play," Ralph Waldo Emerson once said. And, unlike many well-known adages that were later proven wrong ("money can't buy happiness"; "don't compare yourself to others"; "don't praise your daughter's looks"), Emerson was exactly right. 

Playfulness is a skill -- not a trait. Yet, because of changes in parenting styles and culture, many children no longer learn how to play.

In fact, thanks to helicopter parenting, children are no longer learning a lot​ of things. 

I came to Southeast Asia for two reasons: surfing, and scuba diving. But, totally unexpectedly, the highlight of my trip so far has been a two-day slow boat cruise down the Mekong River, from Thailand to the center of Laos.

Let me start by saying that I was LaCroix for Halloween, and that was the best possible costume for 2016. Young, urban professionals are obsessed with LaCroix -- even though, honestly, it’s not that good.

I do enjoy drinking it, though, and LaCroix is the closest I’ve ever come to liking a soft drink. Which sets me apart from many other Americans, who, collectively, consume over 10 billion gallons of soft drinks per year.

That’s a lot of gallons -- which begs the question, what are the environmental implications of these beverages?

Video games are addictive -- literally. Kids have died, gotten obese, or contracted scurvy from this addiction. Others spend enough time at their console before the start of high school... that they basically could have completed several college degrees, had they spent that time reading, learning and discussing.

So why don't they?

Because, although many teachers are great educators... they just don't understand motivation the way video game companies do.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: ambivalence is a beautiful thing. I think smart people are actually more likely to be ambivalent about a given topic, because they are rational enough to have examined both sides before leaping to an emotional conclusion.
 
Vox is one publisher I’m ambivalent about. On the one hand, they write great articles about political issues that touch on key points and provide background information for readers who aren’t already knowledgeable about this topic.
 
On the other hand, they also write biased, bizarre social justice crap that undermines their legitimate articles.
 
Take their recent masterpiece, ’Ugly sweater parties’ are a form of cultural elitism.

Fun fact: the other day, some crazy lady on the internet went haywire (or should I say... sleigh-wire?) at me because of a Facebook comment... about Santa. It wasn't the kind of "holiday cheer" I normally feel this time of year... but it did make me chuckle. 

​It also made me think -- should parents tell their kids about Santa? And as a psychologist, I'm pretty sure the answer is yes. Here's why:

Let me start by saying: I lied. Kind of. Psychology research shows that Unless You're a Psychopath, You Are OBSESSED With What Others Think of You. Because the ability to cooperate and form large societies is one of the biggest evolutionary advantages ever, we are hardwired to care tremendously when people think bad things about us.

BUT! We can absolutely decrease how sensitive to and aware of others' opinions we feel. Here are three scientifically proven ways to liberate yourself, and just be you.

Tim Gunn is trending on Facebook again. This time, it's for a video that reiterates some of the points he made in his recent op-ed: inclusivity is good, more women are plus size than ever, there's money to be made, designers "should" start designing more and better plus sized clothing, and retailers "should" call up Marc Jacobs and demand that he either design for plus size women, or they'll boycott his clothes.

Everyone who's been paying attention knows that if anything mattered in 2016, it was La Croix. 

​LaCroix is a lightly flavored, sugar-free carbonated water wrapped in a garish can. It was a favorite drink of Midwestern moms in the 1990s -- but suddenly exploded in popularity and ubiquity in the last year. The New York Times published an essay raving about it. The Awl and Time Out New York ranked its flavors. Young urban professionals everywhere can't stop talking about it.

​In short, it's become an obsession.