We mediators play midwife to decision making. We patiently assist in an arduous and sometimes painful process while parties labor, struggling to make the right choices in difficult circumstances. We strive to ensure that those who weigh those choices are able to reach rational decisions based on accurate and complete information.

But just how rational are the decisions that people make, whether at the mediation table or anywhere else? How much control do any of us really exert over those choices?

A new book has some surprising answers and explains why it is that we are more susceptible than we realize to the vagaries of our own minds and vulnerable to the forces of emotions and social norms. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, written by Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and a visiting professor at Duke University.

As much fun as the book (and of course more interactive) is the Predictably Irrational web site. Don’t miss the Demonstrations page with cool optical illusions and games you can test yourself with.

“A Sound Mind in a Sound Body” is the theme of the latest issue of The Complete Lawyer, an online magazine covering professional development, quality of life, and career issues for attorneys published by Don Hutcheson. It explores ways to reduce stress; a look at nontraditional careers; and the link between mind and body for better quality of life.

The last issue of The Complete Lawyer introduced “The Human Factor“, a column focusing on ADR from the perspective of four attorneys who mediate - me and three talented colleagues, Stephanie West Allen of Idealawg and Brains on Purpose, Gini Nelson of Engaging Conflicts, and Victoria Pynchon of Settle It Now Negotiation Blog.

In our latest Human Factor column, the four of us describe the different paths that led us from law school to the practice of mediation.

Recently I compared Blawg Review, the weekly review of the best in legal blogging, with a box of chocolates. You never know what you’ll reach into the box and pull out, particularly since each week a different blogger plays host, sampling many different posts across a wide range of topics.

Blawg Review #156, hosted by Benjamin Duranske at Virtually Blind, covers virtually everything you could want to know about virtual worlds and the brave new world of virtual law, and includes a short discussion on ADR in virtual worlds to resolve the disputes that inevitably arise wherever there is human interaction.

Meanwhile, Michael Fitzgibbon, a Toronto-based attorney, honors the Canadian National Day of Mourning at Blawg Review #157 at Thoughts from a Management Lawyer. It is a day established in memory of workers killed or injured in the workplace and in renewal of the pledge to make the workplace safe.