Hans Rosling: Debunking Third World Myths with Visual Statistics

In 2006:

In 2007: New Insights on Poverty and Life around the World

Obama vs. McCain: Swing States

The old paradigm of red states and blue states may have become less relevant. "We are going to have a lot of states in play," Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe said. "And we have a lot of different paths to get 270 [electoral votes]."  Barack Obama began his campaign in the 18 battleground states with his first general election advertisement, a 60-second spot emphasizing his biography and professing his love for the country. One of the keys of Obama's strategy is putting the Republicans on the defensive in red states. By competing in these historically red states it will bleed McCain's lack of money dry, without allowing him to play offense in blue states. Here's a state-by-state look: 

Arkansas(EV 6): Arkansas has favored the winning presidential candidate since 1972. Socially conservative than general America, although Democrats tend to have a comfortable advantage in statewide races. Bush won 51% and 54% in 2000 and 2004 respectively. With a large African American population which may put Obama over the top. 

SurveyUSA 02/26 - 02/28 McCain +20.0

Rasmussen 06/12 - 06/12  McCain +9.0

Colorado(EV 9): Holding its second Democratic National Convention in Denver after 100 years. Elected Ken Salazar (D), a Hispanic-American to U.S. Senate; Bill Ritter (D) to Governorship in 2006 and a Democrat pick-up a seat in U.S. House in 2006. Which lead Howard Dean to claim that the West holds the key to victory in 2008. Republicans claim this state on the bases of gun rights and their stance on social conservative issues. However, a strong Hispanic-American concentration on the issues on immigration reform, labor union support and minimum wage have made this a possible Democratic state.

Quinnipiac/WSJ/WP 06/17 - 06/24 Obama +5.0

Rasmussen 06/17 - 06/17 Obama +2.0

Florida(EV 27): As part of the Big Three including Pennsylvania and Ohio, Florida has attracted the candidates for heavy campaigning. Florida's electorate is balanced by the Democrats in Miami, Orlando and Tampa; the Republicans in Jacksonville and the Panhandle. The critical votes are the Cuban-Americans, which gave Bush the edge over Al Gore in 2000. 

Rasmussen 06/18 - 06/18 McCain +8.0

Quinnipiac 06/09 - 06/16 Obama +4.0

Indiana(EV 11): Traditionally a Republican stronghold, however in 2006, Democrats won three U.S. House seats and gained control of the Indiana House. An unpopular Republican Governor and you have a possible swing state in November.

SurveyUSA 06/21 - 06/23 Obama +1.0

Downs Center 04/28 - 04/30 Obama +1.0

Research 2000 04/21 - 04/24 McCain +8.0

Indy Star/Selzer 04/20 - 04/23 Obama +8.0

Iowa(EV 7): A true swing state. Gore in 2000, Bush in 2004; both by razor thin margins. In 2006, Democrats won the Governorship, two U.S. House seats, gained control of the state legislature for the first time in four decades. 

SurveyUSA 06/13 - 06/16 Obama +4.0

Rasmussen 06/10 - 06/10 Obama +7.0

Michigan(EV 17): A fairly safe bet for Democrats in recent decades, however with each election, the margin of victory has narrowed, opening a window for Republicans that will cause Obama to play defense. Democratic governor Jennifer Granholm was soundly re-elected in 2006. 

Quinnipiac/WSJ/WP 06/17 - 06/24 Obama +6.0

PPP (D)  06/21 - 06/22 Obama +9.0

SurveyUSA 05/27 - 05/27 McCain +4.0

Missouri(EV 11): Historically a Republican state, however Democrats have won state-level elections. An effective gauge of the national climate, Missouri has voted for the winner of every Presidential election since 1904, with the exception of 1956. 

SurveyUSA 06/20 - 06/22 McCain +7.0

Rasmussen 06/03 - 06/03 Obama +1.0

SurveyUSA  05/16 - 05/18 McCain +3.0

Nevada(EV 5): Historically  leaning Republican, while trending Democratic in recent years. Presence of a strong labor-union and Hispanic voters in Las Vegas and Reno swaying the districts towards Democratic candidates with the balance of mostly rural Republicans.

Rasmussen 06/18 - 06/18 McCain +3.0

Mason-Dixon 06/09 - 06/11 McCain +2.0

SurveyUSA 02/26 - 02/28 Obama +5.0

New Hampshire(EV 4): Bush in 2000, Kerry in 2004. Becoming a swing state in the 1990s, with a past as a reliable Republican state. In 2006, Democrats took control of the state legislature and both Congressional seats. 

Rasmussen 06/18 - 06/18 Obama +11.0

Dartmouth 04/28 - 05/02 McCain +3.0

U. New Hampshire 04/25 - 04/30 McCain +6.0

New Mexico(EV 5): In 2000, Gore won by a razor-thin margin and in 2004, Bush won by a small, yet safe margin. With a large Hispanic and Native American populations that tend to vote Democrat, which could tip the balance in November. 

SurveyUSA 06/17 - 06/19 Obama +3.0

Rasmussen 06/18 - 06/18 Obama +8.0

SurveyUSA 05/16 - 05/18 Tie

Ohio(EV 20): "I think 2008 is very likely to be a hotly contested race in Ohio," stated Eric Rademacher, director of the University of Cincinnati's Ohio Poll, for the Cincinnati Enquirer. In 2006, Ohio elected Democrats, Ted Strickland for Governor and Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senator. Trending to Democrats in part because Republicans are still reeling from a big scandal to do with re-drawing congressional districts.

SurveyUSA 06/20 - 06/22 Obama +2.0

Rasmussen 06/17 - 06/17 McCain +1.0

Quinnipiac 06/09 - 06/16 Obama +6.0

Virginia(EV 13): Once a reliable Republican stronghold, in recent years Democrat Tim Kaine's won the Governorship and Jim Webb's narrow victory in the 2006 Senate race has caused Virginia has become a battleground state. Additionally, Northern Virginia,  the fastest-growing region in the state, tends to lean Democratic. Virginia also has a large African-American population, benefiting a Democratic candidate. 

SurveyUSA  06/20 - 06/22 Obama +2.0

PPP (D)  06/14 - 06/16 Obama +2.0

Rasmussen 06/12 - 06/12 Obama +1.0

VCU 05/12 - 05/18 McCain +8.0

West Virginia(EV 5): A state that a Democrat may not win, although a state that will be essential in putting Republicans in a defensive position to drain money. Registered Democrats in the state outnumbered registered Republicans, although Bush narrowly won the state in 2000 and 2004 election with 52% and 56% respectively. President Clinton won the state in 1992 and 1996. 

Rasmussen 06/02 - 06/02 McCain +8.0

SurveyUSA 02/26 - 02/28 McCain +18.0

Hat tip to realclearpolitics for polls.

Kelly Brook

First Lung Cancer Vaccine developed in Cuba

At news conference at Cuba's Center of Molecular Immunology, Cuban scientists announced they have developed the first vaccine the extend the lives of lung cancer patients. The drug, CimaVax, has been shown to increase survival rates on average of four to five months and much longer in some patients. 

Few side effects, they said, because it is a modified protein that attacks only cancer cells. "It's the first vaccine for lung cancer registered in the world," said Gisela Gonzalez, who headed the development of the vaccine, which began in 1992. 

Tania Crombet, director of the clinical investigations at Havana's molecular immunology center, said people from the outside Cuba can come to the island for treatment. The exception would probably be Americans, she said, "Even though there is a new therapeutic tool approved in Cuba they probably wouldn't be able to come to Cuba to receive it because of the embargo," Crombet said. 

Contrary to the strict embargo and limited resources, Cuba has a start-run biotechnology sector which includes around 50 research and development centers and is considered one of the most advanced in the developing world. 

Hot Brazilian Girl or Sand Structure?

Outdoor Lounger

By Designer Nicolas Thomkins. 

Manufactured by DEDON, a German luxury outdoor furniture company.

Porsche Moving Engine Dyno

Porsche has designed a special moving dyno to test g-loads of the new dry sump oil system for the 2009 911 Carrera and Carrera S, in virtual 'Ring. 

Kill that Desperation!

One evening in 1882, the thirty-two-year-old Prussian philosopher Paul Rée, living in Rome at the time, visited a house ran by an older woman who ran a salon for writers and artists. Enchanted by a newcomer, twenty-one-year-old Russian girl named Lou von Salomé, introduced himself and began a conversation which lasted well into the night. She talked with intensity about God and morality, ideas which reflected Rée’s own, yet at the same time her eyes seemed to flirt with him. He’s intrigue compounded in the following days during their long walk through the city, and yet confused by the emotions she aroused. Salomé was startled when Reé asked to meet his close friend Friedrich Nietzsche. 

Reé made the invitation to please and impress Salomé and when Nietzche arrived, he was clearly smitten by her presence. Instead of of the three of them sharing intellectual conversation together, Nietzsche seemed to be conspiring to get the girl alone. Shivers of jealousy came over Reé when he caught glimpses of Nietzche and Salomé talking excluding him. In the year that followed, Reé moved back and forth between the two men which consumed Reé with doubt and anger. Wallowing in despair; he felt he had lost her for good. To Reé surprise, Salomé decided to she wanted to live with him.

At last Reé had what he wanted, or so he thought. They settled in Berlin where the old patterns repeated to Reé dismay. Salomé continued to be courted on all sides by young men. She dazzled Berlin’s intellectuals, who admired her independent spirit, her refusal to compromise, she was constantly surrounded by a harem of men, who referred to her as “Her Excellency.” Once again Reé found himself competing for her attention. Driven to despair, he left her a few years later, and eventually committed suicide. 

Men did not just fall in love with Lou Andreas-Salomé; they were overwhelmed with the desire to possess her, to wrestle her away from others, to be the proud owner of her body and spirit. Our desire for another almost always involves social considerations: we are attracted to those who are attractive to other people. The illusion that you are desired by others will make you more attractive than your beautiful face or your perfect body. Envelop yourself in an aura of desirability. Fail to make yourself an object of desire right from the start, and you will end up the sorry slave to the whims of your lovers--they will abandon you the moment they lose interest.

If a man emits an aura of desperation and neediness; always giving them attention, calling all the time, taking every opportunity to talk to them, always available and most importantly NEVER willing to walk away, will soon find himself alone. Imagine if a woman was obsessed with you, calling at all hours of the day and night, wrapping her life around yours and not living hers. You might think, “No one else must want her,” wouldn’t you? 

Desperate men don’t believe that they are the prize. Seeing women as the prize instead creates a belief that emanates in his behavior creating an unhealthy infatuation. Not because the woman is so great, but because he believes if he passes this woman by, who knows when another girl will give him a chance. 

Now, imagine if you had a harem of women clawing to be with you, would you feel such despair for one woman?

Many men have been socially conditioned to be supplicating and submissive. They fail to notice the continual pattern in their lives where they treat a woman like precious gold and once she believes that she is precious gold, they dump him. He has given her the sense that she is better then him. Replacing you with someone better, because you have given her good reason to believe that you are unworthy of her greatness.

Enjoy a sense of impermanence. Express that if you are disrespected, unsatisfied or unappreciated, that you are willing to walk away in a moments’ notice. When you begin to think you are the prize, you realize that it is ridiculous to treat a relationship as walking on eggshells. Too often men think they need a girlfriend to have their life ‘complete.’ The consequence is that these men will emit signs of desperation. 

Women are attracted to confidence and strength, they are repelled by the “yes dear, no dear” pussy-whipped so-called ‘men.’ You can’t wrap your whole world around a woman without sacrificing your individuality. Women adore a man who asserts himself and honors his ideals and values. Don’t change yourself to her liking. Now, a woman doesn’t want a man to tell her what to do, she wants to be respected. But how is a man going to respect another without having self-respect? No woman will respect a man who doesn’t respect himself first. 

Challenge a woman from time to time by NOT giving in. Assert your own preferences, assert your presence, stand firm on what you believe. Stop the passivity. Show some backbone and she will adore you for it. There is nothing attractive about being submissive. 

The nice guy who wants a woman to like him tries to do things to make her like him, changes his beliefs, his behaviors, what he values, censors what he says, always agreeing...This is a chump in a nutshell. The chump feels compelled to align with whatever he anticipates she will approve of. Nice guys think, "Does she like me? How do I get her to like me?" Real men think, "Should I like her? Should I go for her?" 

Tolerating her disrespect or bitchiness kills attraction and your own self-respect. What she really wants is a strong man to snuggle up to instead of a good little boy. Most women would rather their man to be a little more on the difficult side--who may even disagree and cause a little friction--than to have a wimpy man playing the perpetual game of “Mommy, May I?” This shows your woman that--when things get difficult--you will not hesitate for a second to stand up for what you believe in.

Women are on this earth to enhance your life, not to become it. 

“It will be greatly to your advantage to entertain the lady you would win with an account of the number of women who are in love with you, and of the decided advances which they have made to you; for this will not only prove that you are a great favorite with the ladies, and a man of true honor, but it will convince her that she may have the honor of being enrolled in the same list, and of being praised in same way, in the presence of your other female friends. This will greatly delight her, and you need not be surprised if she testifies her admiration of your character by throwing her arms around your neck on the spot.” —Lola Montez

Mercedes-Benz rolls out iPhone integration

The feature will include a docking cradle in the center armrest between the driver and front passenger seats, with the device's phone and audio functions navigable via controls on the steering wheel. The kit will be offered starting in August, can be retrofitted to previous model-year vehicles and will be offered on new vehicles as an option. Although US pricing has yet to be announced, the feature costs the equivalent of $389 in Europe.

Hat tip to Kickingtires

Ferrari California

Like other modern Ferraris, this one is fabricated from aluminum to keep mass under control. The 460 hp 4.3L V8 is the first from Maranello to use direct injection while following the racing tradition of using a flat-plane crankshaft. This car of firsts also debuts the production application of a dual clutch gearbox from Ferrari. The 7-speed unit is mounted in a rear transaxle configuration and should provide smoother shifting and even better performance than the existing hydraulically-actuated units that Ferrari currently uses. Acceleration to 60 mph should come in under 4.0 seconds. 

The California is also Ferrari's first retractable hardtop convertible. From the shape of the hood scoop and headlights to the sweep of the rear fenders and vents behind the front wheels this car obviously draws on the heritage of the original 1960s 250 GT California

Hat tip to Autoblog

Dubai's Dynamic Skyscraper

Video here

Simply Elegant.

Designed by Project A01 Architects.

Location: Vienna, Austria.

Pussy Whipped by Lucky Dollar

World’s fifth richest man builds $2 billion high-tech home

Via Forbes

Hydro Physio

Product Page

A North Atlanta suburb spent 60% of its police fuel budget in only five months. The final decision was to slap all speeders an additional $12 fuel charge. The added charge will raise ticket revenues up to $26,000 or more, and the costs will only be passed on to those who break traffic laws and not every citizen. The Atlanta city council has unanimously passed a similar proposal to include a $10 - $15 fine for ticketed motorists, and many more cities are sure to follow suit in short order. Yet another reason to get a really good radar detector. 

Hat tip to Autoblog

Pot 2.0

In 2002, Marijuana lost big on Election Day. Nevada’s pot legalization proposal took only 39 percent of the vote. An Arizona decriminalization initiative did little better with 43 percent. And a mere 33 percent of Ohioans voted for a measure to treat instead of incarcerate minor drug offenders. A reason for unfavorable ballot-box results may have been because of the full-throttle anti-marijuana campaign tour by White House Drug Czar John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In a September 2002 op-ed piece in the San Francisco Chronicle, John P. Walters wrote: “In 1974, the average THC content of marijuana was less than 1 percent. But by 1999, potency averaged 7 percent.” Clearly obfuscating in his mission to rid marijuana and according to the federal government’s own Potency Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi, 1999’s average was 4.56 percent. Referring to Walters’ 7 percent figure, Dr. Mahmoud A. ElSohly, who runs the project, says, “That’s not correct for an overall average.”

Last week, as part of the ongoing campaign waged against marijuana, Walters’ Office of National Drug Control Policy announced that “levels of THC--the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana--have reached the highest-ever amounts since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s.” Continuing the fear-mongering with a little more hesitation, Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA, worries that stronger pot might be more addictive, although she concedes that “more research is needed to establish this link between higher THC potency with higher addiction risk.” 

By contrast, Australian scientists’ review of research on marijuana potency in the July 2008 issue of Addiction say “more research is needed to determine whether increased potency...translates to harm for users.” John Walters falsely claims that the average THC content of marijuana was “less than 1 percent” in 1974. Avowed marijuana enthusiast Keith Stroup, head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, says: “Once percent is not smokeable. That’s really industrial hemp or ditchweed left over from World War II. All you’ll get from that is a headache.” 

The industrial hemp intuitive that was enacted by state election officials in South Dakota in 2002 defined psycho activity worthless hemp as a plant with a “THC content of 1 percent or less.” Pot is unarguably better now than in the 70s, although Walters disingenuously compares the best pot of today with the worst of yesterday, rather than comparing the average of a generation ago and the average of now. 

To bolster the argument that marijuana is more addictive today, the ONDCP notes that “16.1% of drug treatment admissions [in 2006] were for marijuana as the primary drug of abuse,” compared to “6% in 1992.” But referrals from the criminal justice system account for three-fifths of these treatment admissions, and marijuana arrests have increased by more than 150 percent since 1990. 

This is an example of a circular argument, by arresting people for marijuana possession and forcing them into treatment, the government shows why it has to arrest people for marijuana possession. Self-justifiying drug policy in a nutshell. 

Barack Obama's New General Election Ad in Florida

"The Obama campaign today announced the release of its first television advertisement for the general election," an Obama camp press release states. "The sixty second ad, entitled "Country I Love," will begin airing in eighteen states across the country tomorrow to highlight how our shared values have shaped Senator Obama's life."

Corvette ZR1 being Built Start to Finish

General Motors released the official numbers:

PRESS RELEASE

Corvette ZR1 By The Numbers

Chevrolet announces performance results and pricing for the new ultimate-performance Corvette

DETROIT – The official Corvette ZR1 numbers are in and they're good. Very good:

• $103,300 MSRP (including $850 destination charge)
• EPA-estimated fuel economy of 14 city and 20 highway
• 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds
• 0-100 mph in 7.0 seconds
• Quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.3 seconds at 131 mph

The Corvette ZR1 also has a top speed of 205 mph (330 km/h), making it the fastest Corvette ever produced and ranking it among the global super cars of commensurate performance. None of those other super cars, however, equals the ZR1's performance-per-dollar ratio.

"The ZR1 is an incredible machine by any measure," said Ed Peper, North American Vice President, Chevrolet. "There's simply no other vehicle in the world that does a better job of balancing performance, price and fuel economy."

Performance perspective
The Corvette ZR1's 0-60 performance is 0.3-second quicker than the already-quick Corvette Z06 and the 0-100-mph performance is nearly a full second quicker - 7 seconds vs. the Z06's 7.9 seconds. It is performance that is equal to or better than many super cars costing substantially more.

"A favorable power-to-weight ratio gives the ZR1 an advantage over the competition and performance that has to be experienced to fully appreciate," said Tom Wallace, Corvette chief engineer. "Of course, on a racetrack, drivers of competitors' cars may appreciate the ZR1 in a whole different manner."

And the racetrack isn't the only place where the ZR1 trumps its super-car competitors – it beats them at the gas pump, too. According to fueleconomy.gov, the ZR1's EPA-rated 14 city and 20 highway mileage ratings beat 2008 competitors such as the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano (11 city / 15 highway); the Lamborghini Murcielago (8 city / 13 highway) and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage (12 city / 19 highway). They're competitive with the Dodge Viper (13 city / 22 highway) and the Porsche 911 GT3 (15 city / 22 highway).

Under the carbon-fiber hood
A new LS9 6.2L supercharged small-block engine powers the ZR1's performance capability. Heavy-duty and lightweight reciprocating components support high-rpm performance, while a new, sixth-generation supercharger (and complementing charge-cooling system) helps the LS9 make big power and torque across the rpm range. The engine is hand-assembled at GM's Performance Build Center, in Wixom, Mich.

In addition to the LS9 engine, the ZR1 is a technology powerhouse, designed with lightweight and unique components that reinforce its performance with a confidant feel on either a highway or road course.

Options
The standard ZR1 comes with accoutrements based on the Z06, including lightweight seats and lightweight content. The available uplevel interior package includes power-adjustable, heated and leather-trimmed sport seats (embroidered with the ZR1 logo); side air bags; Bose premium audio system; navigation system; Bluetooth connectivity; power telescoping steering column; custom leather-wrapped interior available in four colors and more. Chrome wheels are the only other available option on the ZR1. Detailed pricing noted below.

$103,300 Base MSRP including destination
$1,700 Gas guzzler tax
$10,000 Option package
$2,000 Chrome wheels

                                 

Cocaine Cowboys 2 - Hustlin' With The Godmother

To be released July 29, 2008.

Trailers:

Maxim feature on Cocaine Cowboys II:

The Worldwide Web of Belief and Ritual

Anthropologist Wade Davis muses on the worldwide web of belief and ritual that makes us human. He shares breathtaking photos and stories of the Elder Brothers, a group of Sierra Nevada Indians whose spiritual practice holds the world in balance. (Recorded February 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 19:12.) TedTalks

Angle of Repose

Tom Kundig, a partner in the Seattle firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen, says that he wanted the house to be “a small building that landed lightly on the landscape,” much like the raptors he had seen hovering over the hills.

Sara Varone

Sara Varone is one of the game show goddesses on the hit Italian program Buona Domenica. 

Beliefs

Before May 6, 1954, it was believed that four minutes was an unbreakable barrier to the speed with which a human being could run a mile. In the nine years prior to the historic day in which Roger Bannister broke the four-minute ceiling, no runners had even come close. Within six weeks after Bannister’s feat, the Australian running John Lundy lowered the record by another second. Within the next nine years nearly two hundred people had broken the once seemingly impenetrable barrier.

Our beliefs about ourselves and what is possible in the world around us greatly impacts our day-to-day effectiveness. All of us have beliefs that serve as resources as well as beliefs that limit us. As the above example demonstrates, our beliefs can shape, effect or even determine our degrees of intelligence, health, relationships, creativity, even our degree of happiness and personal success. 

Beliefs determine how events are given meaning, and are at the core of motivation and culture, as well as provide reinforcement that supports or inhibits particular capabilities and behavior. Beliefs and values are the answer to the question, “Why?” They are essentially the judgments and evaluations about ourselves, others, and the world around us.

Beliefs are notoriously difficult to change through typical rules of logic and rational thinking. And the most influential beliefs are often outside of conscious awareness. 

Neurologically, beliefs are associated with the limbic system and hypothalamus in the midbrain. The limbic system has been linked to both emotion and long term memory, as well as serving to integrate information from the cortex and to regulate the autonomic nervous system (which controls basic body functions such as heart rate, body temperature, pupil dilation, etc.). Because they are produced by deeper structures of the brain, beliefs produce changes in the fundamental physiological functions in the body, which are responsible for many of our unconscious responses. 

The three most common areas of limiting beliefs center around issues of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness. 

Hopelessness occurs when someone does not believe a particular desired goal is even possible. 

Helplessness occurs when, even though he or she believes that the outcome exists and is possible to achieve, a person does not believe that he or she is capable of attaining it. 

Worthlessness occurs when, even though a person may believe that the desired goal is possible and that he or she even has the capacity to accomplish it, that individual believes that he or she doesn’t deserve to get what he/she wants.

Now, we’re getting the juicing thing called “state.” Our internal states act as both filters upon our experience and the impetus for our actions. Our internal states are often the container or foundation supporting a particular belief or generalization, and determine the emotional energy invested in sustaining the belief. 

It is the interconnections between Internal States, Values, Beliefs, Experiences and Expectations of our life experience that form what Richard Bandler refers to as the “fabric of reality.” 

Consider, for example, a child learning to ride a bicycle. An empowering belief such as, “I can learn,” might link together key values associated with learning—such as ‘fun’ and ‘self-improvement’—with an internal state of ‘confidence’, and the expectation that, “I will get better and better.” These provide the motivation and impetus for the child to keep trying, even though he or she might fall quite frequently. As the child is able to experience longer periods in which he or she maintains balance before falling, it reinforces the generalization, “I can learn,” as well as the state of confidence, the expectation of improvement and the values of fun and self-improvement. 

When limiting beliefs and generalizations stay connected with the intentions and experiences from which they have been established, the deletions and distortions eventually become updated or corrected as a result of new experiences, changed in internal state, and revised experiences. New data or ‘counter-examples’ that do not fit with the generalization will lead the person to reconsider the validity of his or her limiting belief. 

The purpose of our beliefs is to guide us in areas where we do not know reality. That is why beliefs have such a profound influence on our perceptions and visions of the future. To reach our outcomes, we must believe that it is possible for something to occur even though we are not certain that it will happen. 

“The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs” ~James Allen