Strange Symphonies The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Finding Commonalities

We all share certain commonalities with each other:

1. We all like to feel unique
2. We all love to hear about ourselves
3. We all see what we want to see
4. We all seek that feeling of belonging
5. We all like being alone sometimes, but we all hate the feeling of loneliness
6. We all need some private time.
7. We all like certainty, though at the same time we all like some uncertainty/mystery in our lives
8. We all like to dream about the future
9. We all escape from reality in one way or another
10. We all want to be happy
11. We all want to feel in control, and sometimes that means putting others in control
12. We are all trying our best to live life, but other's don't believe we are doing so

What else do we all have in common?

Note:
Exceptions do exist, but there is a 99.9% chance you aren't the exception. I pulled that number of out thin air, proper research hasn't been conducted to give an exact number.

Think you are the exception? See point 1.

I'll update this list from time to time, and release a series of blog posts to elaborate further on each point.

Stating the Obvious

Some may say I am stating the obvious. But the obvious is sometimes unnoticed, it may be right under our nose, but we may miss it. Perhaps due to our familiarity with it. Likewise, do not make assumptions, that it seems obvious to others.

Books

Some books that have contributed to my analysis on people, though not a comprehensive list.

• Ender's Game Series ( Wikipedia ) by Orson Scott Card ( Wikipedia )
• Stumbling on Happiness ( Official Site, Wikipedia ) by Daniel Gilbert ( Wikipedia, TED, TED Talk - Why are we happy? )
• A General Theory of Love ( Official Site ) by Thomas Lewis
• The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil ( Official Site ) by Philip Zimbardo ( Wikipedia, TED, TED Talk - How ordinary people become monsters ... or heroes )
• Freakonomics ( Official Site, Blog, Wikipedia ) by Steven Levitt ( TED, TED Talk - Why do crack dealers still live with their moms?, TED - Are children's carseats necessary? ) and Stephen J. Dubner
• Malcolm Gladwell ( TED, TED Talk - What we can learn form spaghetti sauce, Wikipedia )
  • The Tipping Point
    ( Official Site, Wikipedia )
  • Blink
    ( Official Site, Wikipedia )
• egonomics ( Official Site ) by David Marcum and Steven Smith
• Naked Economics ( Wikipedia ) by Charles Wheelan
• Jared Diamond ( Wikipedia, TED, TED Talk - Why Societies Collapse )
  • Guns, Germs, and Steel ( Wikipedia )
  • Collapse ( Wikipedia )
• Jim Collins ( Wikipedia )
  • Built to Last ( Wikipedia )
  • Good to Great ( Wikipedia )

Some may disagree on the quality of the books, but I think they provide an interesting read, and give you something to think about, if not, just for a while. Don't take them for face value, think about it, let it simmer in your mind, and challenge it.

Are you a close friend of mine, want to borrow these books from me? Just drop me a message.

Have some book recommendations, please do list them down for me. Even better, let me borrow them!