Liars, Psychopaths & Insomniacs

Lance Armstrong Latest Heroic Liar To Visit Oprah

Oprah Winfrey’s confessional couch is not big enough to house all of the cheaters in sports that used steroids. While interviewing Lance Armstrong to tell us his seven biking titles came as a result of cheating she could have invited Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens and most of those listed on the recent Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Bonds has seven tainted MVPs and Clemens has seven fake Cy Young Awards. It seems the number seven comes up often here. That Armstrong did steroids is not new though it is nice to have confirmation of all the rumors. But the public should be disgusted by this latest revelation. We are reminded, at least with sports, that the competition and victory we crave, is as staged as a play or modern-day wrestling.  What we view on the field is tainted. Professional sports is already influenced by the money athletes and teams make. They also are impacted by sports gambling. And now drugs, from steroids to cocaine, dirty the sports world and tarnish the accomplishments of everyone. What we see at a sporting event may be no more real and believable than when an escort claims she loves her client. Sports may fill a lust in us, but there is no love to be found on the field of cheaters.

11 Days Without Sleep

We all seem to need more time in the day to get to a never-ending to-do list, but what would you do if you had extra time available to you? The longest documented period of time one has gone without sleep is 264 hours – or 11 straight days, according to Scientific American Mind Jan/Feb issue. How many books would you read in that time? If you typed just one page per hour, you would have a 264-page book. I would rather take time from another activity – like waiting on lines -- than from sleep. Nothing feels better than when my head hits the pillow – or couch cushion.

Are You a Psychopath?

A new study of the British workforce, according to Scientific American Mind Jan/Feb issue identified the professions most and least likely to be comprised of psychopaths. The results were based on a survey that identified psychopathic traits in 5,400 respondents. The least psychopathic professions were care workers, nurses, therapists, and craftspeople. Creative artists ranked eighth least psychopathic. However, the top spot for the most psychopathic profession is CEO. Lawyers were number two and those working for TV and radio media ranked third. Salespeople were fourth and journalists are sixth. One ranking seemed contradictory: whereas doctors were on the top 10 least psychopathic list, surgeons were on the top 10 most psychopathic.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This blog is copyrighted material by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2013 ©