Wednesday 28 September 2016

Eight Habits that Improve Cognitive Function

Marigold.

Eight Habits that Improve Cognitive Function
What daily habits improve brain structure and cognitive function?
Christopher Bergland

On March 11, the New York Times published an article about the "brain fitness business" titled, 
Do Brain Workouts Work? Science Isn’t Sure. I believe the answer is no. 
Without a variety of other daily habits, these "brain-training games" cannot stave off mental decline or dramatically improve cognitive function.
Most of these brain-training games will have some benefits—but it's impossible to optimize brain connectivity and maximize neurogenesis (growth of new neurons) sitting in a chair
while playing a video game on a two-dimensional screen.
In order to give your brain a full workout, you need to engage both hemispheres of the cerebrum, 
and both hemispheres of the cerebellum.
You can only do this by practicing, exploring, and learning new things in the three-dimensions
of the real world—not while being sedentary in front of a flat screen in a cyber reality.

Digital games are incapable of giving the entire brain a full workout. These digital programs
can't really exercise the cerebellum (Latin: "Little Brain") and, therefore, are literally only training half your brain. These "brain-training workouts" are the equivalent of only ever doing upper body workouts, without ever working out your lower body.
Although the cerebellum is only 10 percent of brain volume, it houses over 50 percent of the brain's total neurons. Neuroscientists are perplexed by this disproportionate ratio of neurons...
Whatever the cerebellum is doing to optimize brain function and improve cognition, 
it recruits a lot of neurons to do it.

Brain-Training Games Increase Sedentary Screen Time
In the recent New York Times article, Tara Parker-Pope concludes that, “While there is no real risk to participating in the many unproven brain-training games available online and through smartphones, experts say, consumers should know that the scientific jury is still out on whether they are really boosting brain health or just paying hundreds of dollars to get better at a game.” I slightly disagree.
I believe these programs do have a risk because they add more sedentary screen time
to a person's day. This additional time spent on a mobile device or computer takes away from time that people could spend: breaking a sweat, exploring the world, interacting with friends and family, making art, playing a musical instrument, writing, reading a novel, daydreaming, practicing mindfulness meditation, etc.
I have written dozens of Psychology Today blog posts about lifestyle choices and daily habits
that improve brain structure, connectivity, and cognitive function. For this post, I did a meta-analysis of the most recent neuroscience studies and compiled a list of habits that can improve cognitive function for people from every generation. These eight habits can improve cognitive function
and protect against cognitive decline for a lifespan.

Eight Habits that Improve Cognitive Function
Physical Activity
Openness to Experience
Curiosity and Creativity
Social Connections
Mindfulness Meditation
Brain-Training Games
Get Enough Sleep
Reduce Chronic Stress

Physical Activity
Last December, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) discovered
more evidence that physical activity is beneficial for brain health and cognition.
 The study found that certain hormones, which are increased during exercise,
may help improve memory. The researchers were able to correlate blood hormone levels
from aerobic fitness, and identify positive effects on memory function linked to exercise.
In October of 2013, researchers at Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical School
released a study showing a specific molecule released during endurance exercise
that improves cognition and protects the brain against degeneration.
 I wrote a post about this called "Scientists Discover Why Exercise Makes You Smarter."
In their breakthrough discovery, scientists honed in on a specific molecule called irisin 
that is produced in the brain during endurance exercise through a chain reaction.
Irisin is believed to have neuroprotective effects. Researchers were also able to artificially increase the levels of irisin in the blood which activated genes involved in learning and memory.
A 2013 study from Finland with children investigated the link between cardiovascular fitness,
motor skills, and academic test scores. The researchers found that first graders
with poor motor skills also had poorer reading and arithmetic test scores.
Across the board, children with better performance in fitness and motor skills
had higher cognitive function and scored better in reading and arithmetic tests.

2. Openness to Experience
A study from October 2013 titled, "The Impact of Sustained Engagement on Cognitive Function
in Older Adults: The Synapse Project" found that learning new and demanding skills
while maintaining an engaged social network are key to staying sharp as we age.
The findings reveal that less demanding activities, such as listening to classical music or simply completing word puzzles, probably doesn’t provide noticeable benefits to an aging mind and brain. Older adults have long been encouraged to stay active and to flex their memory and learning
like any muscle that you have to "use it or lose it." However, this new research indicates that
not all mind-engaging activities improve cognitive function.
Lead researcher Denise Park of the University of Texas at Dallas says, “It seems it is not enough
just to get out and do something—it is important to get out and do something that is unfamiliar
and mentally challenging, and that provides broad stimulation mentally and socially.
When you are inside your comfort zone you may be outside of the enhancement zone."
Another study, from January 2012, found that a training program designed to boost cognition
in older adults also increased their openness to new experiences demonstrating for the first time that a non-drug intervention in older adults can change a personality trait
once thought to be fixed throughout a person's lifespan.

3. Curiosity and Creativity
In October of 2013, a study from Michigan State University found that childhood participation in arts and crafts leads to innovation, patents, and increases the odds of starting a business as an adult.
The researchers found that people who own businesses or patents received up to eight times
more exposure to the arts as children than the general public.
“The most interesting finding was the importance of sustained participation in those activities,”
said Rex LaMore, director of MSU’s Center for Community and Economic Development.
“If you started as a young child and continued in your adult years, you’re more likely to be
an inventor as measured by the number of patents generated, businesses formed,
or articles published. And that was something we were surprised to discover.”
Last year, neuroscientists discovered multiple ways that musical training improves the function
and connectivity of different brain regions and improves cognitive function. Practicing a musical instrument increases brain volume and strengthens communication between brain areas.
Playing an instrument changes how the brain interprets and integrates a wide range of sensory information, especially for those who start before age seven.
The findings were presented at the Neuroscience 2013 conference in San Diego.
In a press briefing Gottfried Schlaug, MD, PhD—who is an expert on music, neuroimaging
and brain plasticity from Harvard Medical School—summarized the new research
from three different presentations at the conference. He said, "These insights suggest potential
new roles for musical training including fostering plasticity in the brain; have strong implications 
for using musical training as a tool in education; and for treating a range of learning disabilities."
Another study published in July of 2013 found that reading books, writing, and participating
in brain-stimulating activities at any age may preserve memory. Neuroscientists discovered
that reading a novel can improve brain function on a variety of levels.
This study on the brain benefits of reading fiction was conducted at Emory University.
The study was titled, “Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain,"
and was published in the journal Brain Connectivity.
The researchers found that becoming engrossed in a novel enhances connectivity in the brain
and improves brain function. Interestingly, reading fiction was found to improve the reader's ability to put themselves in another person’s shoes and flex the imagination in a way that is similar to the visualization an athlete would do while mentally rehearsing a motion in sports.
"Our study suggests that exercising your brain by taking part in activities such as these across a person's lifetime, from childhood through old age, is important for brain health in old age," concluded co-author Robert S. Wilson, PhD.

4. Social Connections
In February 2014 Professor of Psychology, John Cacioppo, from University of Chicago, presented findings which identified that the health consequences of feeling lonely
can trigger psychological and cognitive decline.
Cacioppo's researcher found that feeling isolated from others can: disrupt sleep,
elevate blood pressure, increase morning rises in the stress hormone cortisol,
alter gene expression in immune cells, increase depression, and lower overall subjective
well-being...all of these factors conspire to disrupt optimal brain function, connectivity,
and reduce cognitive function.

5. Mindfulness Meditation
A 2013 pilot study by researchers at Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
identified that the brain changes associated with meditation and subsequent stress reduction
may play an important role in slowing the progression of age-related cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. 
First author Rebecca Erwin Wells, MD, MPH, explained, "We were particularly interested
in looking at the default mode network (DMN)—the brain system that is engaged
when people remember past events or envision the future, for example—and the hippocampus—the part of the brain responsible for emotions, learning and memory—because the hippocampus
is known to atrophy as people progress toward mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. We also know that as people age, there's a high correlation between perceived stress
and Alzheimer's disease, so we wanted to know if stress reduction through meditation
might improve cognitive reserve."

6. Brain-Training Games
Scientists are beginning to better understand the specific mechanisms of how patterns of electrical pulses (called “spikes”) trigger a cascade of changes in neural circuits linked to learning and memory. In a report published in April of 2013, researchers from Tel Aviv University found that
"stimulant-rich" environments and problem solving puzzles could be a contributing factor
in preventing or delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in some people.
Researchers at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have created a specialized video game that may help older people boost mental skills like handling multiple tasks at once. Dr. Adam Gazzaley of UCSF and colleagues published their findings in the September 2013 journal Nature.
In January of  2014, researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported that as few as 10 sessions
of cognitive training improved an older person’s reasoning ability and speed-of-processing
for up to a decade after the intervention. If someone received additional "booster" sessions
over the next three years, the improvements were even more dramatic.

7. Get Enough Sleep
Scientists have known for decades that the brain requires sleep to consolidate learning and memory. At the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego in November of 2013,
sleep researchers from Brown University presented groundbreaking new research 
that helps explain the specifics of how the sleeping brain masters a new task.
“It's an intensive activity for the brain to consolidate learning and so the brain may benefit from sleep perhaps because more energy is available, or because distractions and new inputs are fewer,” said study corresponding author Yuka Sasaki, a research associate professor in Brown University’s Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences.
"Sleep is not just a waste of time," Yuka Sasaki concludes. The extent of reorganization that the brain accomplishes during sleep is suggested by the distinct roles the two brainwave oscillations
appear to play. The authors conclude “that the delta oscillations appeared to govern
the changes in the SMA's connectivity with other areas of the cortex,
while the fast-sigma oscillations appeared to pertain to changes within the SMA itself.”
A February 2014 study from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) found
an association between poor sleep quality and reduced gray matter volume in the brain's frontal lobe, which helps control important processes such as working memory and executive function.
"Previous imaging studies have suggested that sleep disturbances may be associated with
structural brain changes in certain regions of the frontal lobe," said lead author Linda Chao, associate adjunct professor in the Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and Psychiatry at UCSF. "The surprising thing about this study is that it suggests poor sleep quality
is associated with reduced gray matter volume throughout the entire frontal lobe
and also globally in the brain."

8. Reduce Chronic Stress
Neuroscientists have discovered that chronic stress and high levels of cortisol can damage the brain. A wide range of recent studies have affirmed the importance of maintaining healthy brain structure and connectivity by reducing chronic stress, which lowers cortisol.
Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, found that chronic stress triggers long-term changes in brain structure and function which can lead to cognitive decline.
Their findings might explain why young people who are exposed to chronic stress early in life
are prone to mental problems such as anxiety and mood disorders later in life,
as well as learning difficulties.
The "stress hormone" cortisol is believed to create a domino effect that hard-wires pathways between the hippocampus and amygdala in a way that might create a vicious cycle
by creating a brain that becomes predisposed to be in a constant state of fight-or-flight.  
The researchers found that hardening wires, may be at the heart of the hyper-connected circuits associated with prolonged stress. This results in an excess of myelin—and too much white matter—in some areas of the brain. Ideally, the brain likes to trim the fat of excess wiring through
neural pruning in order to maintain efficiency and streamlined communication within the brain.
Chronic stress has the ability to flip a switch in stem cells that turns them into a type of cell
that inhibits connections to the prefrontal cortex, which would improve learning and memory,
but lays down durable scaffolding linked to anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Yoga has been proven to lower cortisol levels and reduce chronic stress.
I wrote a Psychology Today post about this titled, "Yoga Has Potent Health Benefits."

Conclusion:
Brain Fitness Programs Should Flex Every Brain Hemisphere
The secret to optimizing cognitive function can be found in daily habits and exercises
that flex both hemispheres of the cerebrum, and both hemispheres of the cerebellum. 
The eight habits I recommend here exercise all four brain hemispheres. If performed consistently, these habits can improve cognitive function and protect against cognitive decline.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201403/eight-habits-improve-cognitive-function


Turbo Charged Reading:  Read More>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR specialist and language dictionaries that are spontaneously accessed.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube 
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com        gives many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.ourinnerminds.blogspot.com              which takes advantage of the experience and expertise of others.
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com       just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Thursday 22 September 2016

Should You Take Notes on Paper or on a Computer?


Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR software and engineering manuals for spontaneously recall – or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com        gives many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.ourinnerminds.blogspot.com              which takes advantage of the experience and expertise of others.
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com       just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.

Friday 16 September 2016

How to Use Auxiliary Verbs in Conversations




Turbo Charged Reading: Readmore>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR music, poetry or self development material for internal knowing.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com         gives many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.ourinnerminds.blogspot.com               which takes advantage of the experience and expertise of others.
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com        just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Saturday 10 September 2016

10 Tips to Study Smart and Save Time

Orchid.
10 Tips to Study Smart and Save Time
 Scott H Young

I recently got my marks back from University.
My grade point average was a 4.2 out of a possible 4.5, resting between an A and a perfect A+.
In itself, this isn’t an incredible achievement. But I managed to do this
while spending only a fraction of the time studying than many of the people I knew.
Is it just natural talent? Perhaps. I’ve always had a knack for understanding concepts
and learning new ideas. But I also believe the way I learned the information played a role.
Instead of cramming last minute or memorizing details,
I try to organize information in a way that makes it easier to recall.
This strategy of organization I label holistic learning.
Holistic learning is simply the process of organizing information into webs, that interconnect ideas. Instead of forcing ideas into your skull, you focus on the relationships between information.
Linking ideas together to see the whole, instead of just the parts.

Building an Understanding
Learning is a process similar to building a house. You aren’t fed the complete picture.
Limitations on communication prevent the instantaneous transmission of knowledge.
Instead you listen to lectures, read textbooks and take painstaking notes
to try and comprehend a subject.
You are fed building supplies, bricks, mortar and glass. It is up to you to assemble the building.

Unfortunately, most learning strategies fall into two basic types:
Memorization – Instead of building anything you simply stare at each brick for several minutes trying to record its position.
Formulas – This is the equivalent to being blind, fumbling around a new house. You can’t see t
he building itself but you learn to come up with simple rules to avoid walking into walls.
There is nothing particularly wrong with either of these strategies, assuming they aren’t your entire strategy. The human brain isn’t a computer so it can’t memorize infinite sums of knowledge
without some form of structure.
And formulas no longer work if the questions they are designed to solve change scope.

Learning Holistically
The alternative strategy is to focus on actually using the information you have to build something. This involves linking concepts together and compressing information so it fits in the bigger picture.

Here are some ideas to get started:

Metaphor – Metaphors can allow you to quickly organize information by comparing
a complex idea to a simple one. When you find relationships between information,
come up with analogies to increase your understanding. Compare neurons with waves on a string. Make metaphors comparing parts of a brain with sections of your computer.

Use All Your Senses – Abstract ideas are difficult to memorize because they are far removed
from our senses. Shift them closer by coming up with vivid pictures, feelings and images
that relate information together. When I learned how to do a determinant of a matrix,
 I remembered the pattern by visualizing my hands moving through the numbers,
one adding and one subtracting.

Teach It – Find someone who doesn’t understand the topic and teach it to them.
This exercise forces you to organize. Spending five minutes explaining a concept
can save you an hour of combined studying for the same effect.

Leave No Islands – When you read through a textbook, every piece of information should connect with something else you have learned. Fast learners do this automatically,
but if you leave islands of information, you won’t be able to reach them during a test.

Test Your Mobility – A good way to know you haven’t linked enough is that you can’t move
between concepts. Open up a word document and start explaining the subject you are working with. If you can’t jump between sections, referencing one idea to help explain another,
you won’t be able to think through the connections during a test.

Find Patterns – Look for patterns in information. Information becomes easier to organize
if you can identify broader patterns that are similar across different topics.
The way a neuron fires has similarities to “if” statements in programming languages.

Build a Large Foundation – Reading lots and having a general understanding of many topics
gives you a lot more flexibility in finding patterns and metaphors in new topics.
The more you already know, the easier it is to learn.

Don’t Force – I don’t spend much time studying before exams.
Forcing information during the last few days is incredibly inefficient. Instead try to slowly interlink ideas as they come to you so studying becomes a quick recap rather than a first attempt at learning.

Build Models – Models are simple concepts that aren’t true by themselves, but are useful for describing abstract ideas. Crystallizing one particular mental image or experience can create a model you can reference when trying to understand. When I was trying to tackle the concept of subspaces, I visualized a blue background with a red plane going through it. This isn’t an entirely accurate representation of what a subspace is, but it created a workable image for future ideas.

Learning is in Your Head – Having beautiful notes and a perfectly highlighted textbook
doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the information in it. Your only goal is to understand
the information so it will stick with you for assignments, tests and life.
Don’t be afraid to get messy when scrawling out ideas on paper and connecting them in your head. Use notes and books as a medium for learning rather than an end result.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/10-tips-to-study-smart-and-save-time.html

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR specialist and language dictionaries that are spontaneously accessed.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com        gives many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.ourinnerminds.blogspot.com              which takes advantage of the experience and expertise of others.
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com       just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”    

Sunday 4 September 2016

How to criticise without starting a witch hunt

Rhododendron

How to criticise without starting a witch hunt

I’ve been writing about schools being ‘shamed’ in the press or on social media.  
In my latest post I had promised to look at how we, the users of social media, can avoid starting
or prolonging the type of hate campaign I have been describing in previous posts:
…when it comes to how people should behave on social media, I really can’t think of any hard
and fast rules. I am the last person on earth to advocate refusing to criticise schools.
I am also hardly likely to suggest that social media is not a good way to whistle blow
when things are going on in schools that the public should be aware of. 
But I do not think a hate campaign achieves anything other than to silence debate.
And, at the very least, we can all consider the possible consequences of criticising.
I think the following points are all worth considering when criticising something.
 And, please note, these are a series of suggestions about how to judge one’s own behaviour,
which I hope will influence my future behaviour, not a set of standards by which to judge others,
or a claim to have always got these right in the past.

What are your motives for criticising? 
I think this question is always worth considering. It seems fair to give examples of things happening in schools because people have denied that such a thing happens, or claimed they are uncommon. 
At times it may be fine even just to illustrate. If people make false claims about schools,
I think it’s more than okay to correct them, even if that may reveal a less positive picture
of the school. But while such things might upset individuals, upsetting should never be the aim. Deliberate intimidation, such as in Twitter storms, is even worse. I’d also warn against
“virtue-signalling” as a questionable motive, i.e. condemning others in order to gain the approval
of the like-minded. Sometimes somebody’s behaviour is so bad that it is worth saying it is disgusting, but do so because the person should know, not in order to vent,
so save that for exceptional cases not just things you disagree with.

Are your criticisms based on accurate information? 
In my descriptions of shaming, I didn’t want to restart the witch hunt, so I cut out any information about the actual concerns of the shamers. If I hadn’t though, I could have included as many tweets and emails that were factually incorrect as ones that were insulting. Never assume that the account of one disgruntled parent is accurate. Never assume that a newspaper story is accurate.
Always try to check facts and find out the context.
If that means contacting the person you are criticising first, so be it.
Also be willing to admit the error, and make corrections when you have got your facts wrong.

Are you criticising public behaviour? 
I should be careful here to state that I am not saying we should never discuss what goes on
behind the school gates. Schools receive public money and should expect to be scrutinised.
But I do think there is a difference between criticising what schools and teachers proclaim publicly, and weighing in on what is brought to light by their critics. In the first case, making something public invites (reasonable) responses and people should know if something they are saying in public is widely considered objectionable. Also, if it’s something you have posted online you always have the opportunity to remove it if there is a backlash you hadn’t anticipated. We should feel free
to openly criticise the content of tweets or blogs, although I would suggest that deleted tweets
or blogs should be forgotten about unless the author tries to pretend they never happened,
 or tries to misrepresent what happened (most commonly by claiming to be the victim in a row
they started). In the second case, where the school has not put the information in the public domain, we can still criticise. However, when criticising we need to accept that we are now responsible
for the consequences of sharing that information. It is not good enough to say
“well, it was in a newspaper” or “it was already out there”,
if the information is then misused, or prompts a hate campaign.

Can those being criticised defend themselves? 
This is the “witch hunt” clause. Too many people claim they just want to debate what has happened in situations where nobody can express the opposing view without being insulted.
When it comes to accusations about individuals, it is worse. If people have been genuinely forced off social media, (and I mean by weight of abuse, not because they flounced off) it is not fair
to make accusations about them on social media. Don’t join in with a chorus of hostility when you know those at whom it is aimed cannot possibly reply. Also, if somebody is defending themselves, address the content of their defence. Don’t start changing the accusation to something different.
I would also be careful against tweeting, or blogging about individuals who can be identified,
but haven’t been named, or notified that you are talking about them.  Some people seem to think that criticising somebody in public without identifying them is a way to make debate less personal (see point 6) but the usual result is that the criticised person feels they are being slagged off
behind their back in order to stop them defending themselves.
With regard to avoiding Twitter storms, you can try to involve others in discussions that criticise,
but back off if it could be intimidating. You may want to make people aware of somebody’s objectionable opinion, but try not to send the message: “let’s all pile in now”.

Are you being insulting? 
This is one that always amazes me online. People often have a very odd concept of “insulting”.
On the one hand there are people who see insult where there is none, and often reply with insults
to an insult that exists only in their imagination. Common examples of this are those who think
an insult can be defined by “offence”, so if they are offended by something, even just an opposing opinion, then they have been insulted. I have encountered people online who argue that you should never point out when somebody has passed on false information, even deliberate lies,
because this is the same as calling somebody a liar. Also there are those who feel that if they think the person they are speaking to does not respect them, usually judged from the “tone”
of comments, or their own insecurities, then they have been insulted. On the other hand,
there are those who start with insults and then complain about the response (or lack of response). There are those who think that if they state something true, it cannot be an insult:
“but your mother is fat and that’s just a medical fact”. There are also those who use analogies without quite realising that a comparison can be insulting: “No, I am just saying you are acting 
like a Nazi, not that you are a Nazi”. It is best not to start an argument with “anybody who disagrees is bonkers”, nor to resort too easily to the claim that somebody you disagree with
has misunderstood. A “bully” is not somebody who disagrees with you. Similarly, describing anything you object to as “child abuse” is not the way to win an argument about whether it is right or wrong; 
it is just an insult. Finally, satire should be aimed at the powerful; some of the worst insults I’ve seen online have been defended as clever parody or just a joke, yet if the “joke” is that some ordinary teacher is pure evil and might do or say evil things, it can be indistinguishable from abuse.

Are you making it personal? 
Even if you are not insulting people, arguments are not helped by making them about the people who hold the opinion rather than the content of the opinion. Some people do this so habitually
that they cannot imagine arguing with somebody who is anonymous. Online argument often consists entirely of a series of ad hominems and appeals to expertise, where people are sorted into goodies (or victims) and baddies (or oppressors) where it is a prioriwrong to disagree with the goodies,
or disagree with the baddies. Try to avoid these narratives. Be careful when using yourself,
your school, or your children as an example; if you can’t bear to see any of these criticised,
then don’t bring them up. If something is common, you do not need to provide specific examples.
If you do not agree with a policy or teaching approach, you may not need to name examples
of people (or schools) who disagree in order to discuss it, although be careful that you don’t fall
into the trap of criticising people behind their back (see point 4). People should not find that
when they search for their own name, the name of their school, or their Twitter username,
that they get your rant about them.

Are you just repeating what has been said by others? 
This is probably a good way to avoid a Twitter storm. If you want to make a point to somebody
you don’t need a 1000 others to say the same thing. Sometimes, you do want to get across the point that “this is not just me saying this”, but be careful that you are not getting dozens of people
to repeat you. Sometimes a Twitter poll will help get the point across better than asking people
to make comments. If somebody asks their timeline for their opinions, don’t bother if lots of people have already said what you wanted to say. It is okay to “like” a good argument that you agree with on Twitter, but read the responses first. Sometimes weak, or factually incorrect arguments (particularly about politics) are being liked on Twitter for days after they have been exposed
as incorrect. Finally, if something is all over Twitter,
we do not have to join in with a chorus of disapproval immediately.
 We can stop and think, look for the counter-arguments, or just wait to see how it plays out.

Are you applying the same standards to yourself, or those you sympathise with? 
This is always one of the trickiest things to consider. We naturally apply all kinds of mitigation
to ourselves and those we agree with that we don’t apply to others. But we should try to avoid it.
If you are going to declare “nobody should ever do this”, but you know there are times when
it is acceptable, it is best to mention the exceptions up front. It is best to think through the wider principles behind what we say, just in case we have just come up with a brilliant argument against our own beliefs. Sometimes it’s better to check your previous contributions to a discussion as you add to it, rather than ending up condemning somebody for doing something you started yourself. Furthermore, if you haven’t always got things right in the past, admit it.
(P.S. I haven’t always got the things listed in points 1-8 right in the past).
https://teachingbattleground.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/how-to-criticise-without-starting-a-witch-hunt/

                              

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR software and engineering manuals for spontaneously recall – or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com         gives many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.ourinnerminds.blogspot.com               which takes advantage of the experience and expertise of others.
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com        just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.