Mark Larson, PhD
LightNews LightNews
markwlarson.bsky.social
Mark Larson, PhD
@markwlarson.bsky.social
33 followers 22 following 92 posts
Mediator (Qualified Neutral), Coach, Keynote Speaker, Educational Consultant. Information available at www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
Posts Replies Media Videos
markwlarson.bsky.social
Regarding our political landscape, there is a reason the book "Profiles in Courage" is so short. I think we deserve better.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
January 6th and Cowardice — M/J Larson
After becoming a consultant and working from home I can proudly state that I only watched daytime television three times: Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing, The USA World Cup semi-final game and the insurrect...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:41 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
We used to think the world was flat, but knowledge surpassed belief. Are we stepping back?

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Belief Is Stronger than Knowledge — M/J Larson
Happy New Year! There is a lot of research about the idea of a “fresh start” and how a Monday, the first of the month, a birthday, and most commonly, New Year’s Day can inspire change. That’s true, bu...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
January 1, 2026 at 3:19 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
I'm thinking a lot about outlooks and what it may mean...I think the answer lies with "intent" in addition to the results.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Optimism and Pessimism — M/J Larson
It felt like the last one was a little negative and I don’t want to necessarily convey that, so this seems like a good chance to explain some thoughts on being an optimist or being a pessimist. The ...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
December 28, 2025 at 11:23 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
We're moving backwards on public health and I have some hypotheses about that. It's especially relevant in the Age of the Heart.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
We're Not Knowing Better and Doing Better — M/J Larson
I don’t know anyone who had polio and tuberculosis is a thing of the past. Diseases like smallpox are eradicated because vaccines work. Measles, a disease once eliminated, is now on the rise because s...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:23 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
We really should be able to learn from our mistakes and experiences. And yet...

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
When You Know Better You Do Better Part I — M/J Larson
I’ve long been fond of saying, “when you know better you do better.” However, in so many micro aspects of one’s life that isn’t the case. In a macro sense we have both known better and done better. It...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:49 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
I am hoping "our better nature will prevail" but in the Age of the Heart, our current circumstances don't seem like we will...

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Our Better Nature Will Prevail — M/J Larson
I believe we’re in the Age of the Heart (moving from the Information Age where the most successful work with their brain, to the Age of the Heart where the most successful work with their heart) and o...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:24 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
The John Henry doesn't only apply to individuals, but it can to groups. Being more nuanced and considered when looking at experiments makes sense.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
John Henry Effect Part II — M/J Larson
Simply put, the “John Henry Effect” posits that humans will put forth more effort and energy in order to “beat” a machine. It’s about competitiveness, but also about unintended consequences where peop...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
December 14, 2025 at 9:31 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
We're entering into some uncharted waters with AI and how we deal with it. A famous legend lends some insight.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
The John Henry Effect — M/J Larson
How can humans compete with AI and emerging technologies? I believe that people are more forgiving of human error than machine error. If we switched entirely to driverless cars, thereby no chance of h...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:19 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
The origin stories of superheroes/villians in the comic books etc. are interesting, but the Christmas origin story is more intriguing...

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Some Christmas Origin Thoughts... — M/J Larson
There is so much Christmas themed stuff these next few weeks that it can get exhausting. We have moved from a “minor”  religious observation in the early centuries to a full blown commercialized ...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:54 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
In our own silos, we can't see another's perspective because, too often, we twist or distort "facts" to fit our narrative. A short joke brings home the point:

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Who Are You Going to Believe? — M/J Larson
We live in divided times. People often stick to information that supports what they already believe. We often twist facts to fit our own ideas and stories. In Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar… ...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:41 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
It's time to embrace "generosity of the spirit" as we move toward the holidays.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Thanksgiving Thoughts — M/J Larson
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and it’s not because no gifts are involved. It’s a time of family and friends, some fellowship and fun, and since I’m looking for another word that starts with an “...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:36 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
There are always trade-offs; we have made some about driving and automobiles. There was a very unusual set of circumstances about early cars.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
14 MPH and a Red Flag — M/J Larson
The evolution of cars and driving is nothing short of amazing. Somehow, we have come to accept automobile fatalities as inevitable and really not that big of a deal. According to the National Highway ...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:59 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
Maybe I was just too young to appreciate cognitive dissonance and strange juxtapositions and wanted things to be more black and white. A lot has changed in fifty years.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Horses? I Didn't Get It Then, But.... — M/J Larson
Patti Smith is 78 years old. It doesn’t quite seem possible. Her debut album was Horses in 1975 and I am a little chagrined to admit that I didn’t like it then; I just didn’t get it. I learned she w...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:23 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
It's hard to separate accomplishments and character...are the achievements a part of or a part from the explorer?

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
The Artist and the Art — M/J Larson
Even though Christopher Columbus was heinous about a lot of things (slavery, mass murder, general brutality and more) he was a talented explorer. And that is part of what makes things a little tricky…...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:08 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
Life is a tragedy or is it a comedy? Charlie Chaplin has some ideas...

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Life is a tragedy/comedy... — M/J Larson
“Life is a tragedy to those who feel, a comedy to those who think.”  It’s been attributed to several thinkers like Moliere and Albert Camus (who I thought it was). But not to Charlie Chaplin. We...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:06 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
While going down a Rabbit Hole I cam across an interesting history of the expression. Read it at:

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Down the Rabbit Hole — M/J Larson
A thought experiment for the famous book,  Alice in Wonderland, is this: If insanity was a place, what would it be like? This is not to minimize mental illness, but to pose an interesting juxta...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:55 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
Things have changed. Thinks have stayed the same. But the fact is that when we choose the people to lead us, we might have better results

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Elections Have Consequences — M/J Larson
The quote, “Elections have consequences” is largely attributed to Barack Obama. Others may have said something similar prior to that, but President Obama used it to highlight Minnesota and that by ele...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:13 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
You hear the expression, "read the room" every now and again and knowing your audience is important. But a fictional story (that has been repeated so often we think it is true) is instructive.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2025/11/2/dont-be-tone-deaf
Don't Be Tone Deaf — M/J Larson
There is a stereotype that “commoners” have of aristocrats and elites. We believe that they are out of touch with the needs of the people they are supposed to serve. One example leaps to mind about th...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:39 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
It's hard to strike a balance between being true to our values and having to conform to pressures or protocols. We can learn a lesson from William Jennings Bryan.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2025/10/30/threading-the-needle
Threading the Needle — M/J Larson
Navigating difficult situations is (by definition) difficult. How do we hold our values while staying within the bounds of civil society? Do we cave in and go with the socially accepted (and expected)...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:14 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
It's important to have solid values and bearings in the tumultuous time in the Age of the Heart.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
It's Good to Know Your Bearings — M/J Larson
This famous marker in Cusco, Peru (where almost every tourist takes a picture of their feet) shows the four directions of the Inca Empire. This marker in the Inca capital was considered to be the cent...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:57 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
We may need new symbols for the Age of the Heart and this statue speaks loudly to them.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Symbols That Tell a Story — M/J Larson
We were in NYC and saw the No Kings peaceful protests. The marchers support democracy and what I would consider civility, decency, and just not being horrible. Of course, there was some snarky posters...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
​There has to be a way to acknowledge the past (warts and all) and still do better when we know better. Peru has taken steps in that direction. ​

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Peru May Have Solved It — M/J Larson
Columbus Day? Indigenous Peoples Day? What should it be? Peru has struggled with their history, but they appear to have reached consensus.
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:27 PM
markwlarson.bsky.social
People are complicated and it is easy to only see one part of their duality. But the Age of Heart requires nuance and different perspectives...

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Who Is Rebecca Felton? — M/J Larson
Apparently Harry S Truman was so displeased with the nuances and bothsided-ness of advice he was getting about the economy that he said, “Give me a one-handed economist!” Truman clearly didn’t want co...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
October 13, 2025 at 1:42 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
Even if something can't be seen, that doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist. And that provides me with some spiritual insights that Rainbow Mountain provided...

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
A Rainbow Mountain Observation — M/J Larson
Prior to the trek to Machu Picchu, we went to the Mountain of Seven Colors most recently renamed “Rainbow Mountain.” To get there, we got in a van with a dozen other people, drove two hours to a break...
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:01 AM
markwlarson.bsky.social
Sometimes not knowing is just fine. We can speculate and wonder, but maybe being able to appreciate things is the right path.

www.mjlarsonconsulting.com/new-blog-1/2...
Wondering about the Ancients — M/J Larson
We can learn a lot from the ancients. And wonder. And speculate. And appreciate. Not everything needs a neat and tidy explanation. Sometimes our imagination is enough
www.mjlarsonconsulting.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:29 AM