Author: Douglas McLennan

The Science Behind Gratitude

There is a strong correlation between gratitude and well-being. Researchers have found that individuals who report feeling and expressing gratitude more report a greater level of positive emotions such as happiness, optimism, and joy. At the same time, they have a lower level of negative emotions such as anger, distress, depression, and shame. They also report a higher level of life satisfaction. – Fast Company

What Scientists Learned From Analyzing 24,000 Chess Matches

Over the last century or so, chess players, the study shows, have been getting better as well as younger. This parallels the so-called Flynn effect in intelligence, or a notable rise in raw cognitive scores. “Performance increased steadily over the course of the twentieth century,” the researchers write, “but the data also reveal a steepening of the performance increase during the 1990s.” – Nautilus

“Reimagining” Your Orchestra Season? Really?

“When, over the summer, orchestras began making known their fall plans, the operative word was “reimagined.” At least twenty orchestras, from Albany to St. Louis, announced reimagined seasons. Yet, because so many institutions were using identical language, it didn’t seem that anything particularly imaginative was going on. A certain herd mentality also surfaced in the programming.” – The New Yorker

In Virtual School Test-Taking, Surveillance AI Is Intruding On Students

“In the swift and chaotic pivot to virtual test-taking, companies like Respondus — along with competitors including Honorlock, ProctorU and Proctorio — have stepped in to help schools keep watch on students. Because the new digital tools are required in certain courses, students are being forced to subject themselves to surveillance inside their own homes and open themselves up to disputes over “suspicious activities,” as defined by an algorithm.” – Voice of San Diego

Our Mythology Of Failure On The Road To Success Is Wrong

“Tech companies have created a “fail-fast” system; a culture in which there is no room for what could be genuinely called failure, but only a series of experiments which lead inevitably and inexorably to the conclusion of success. I find it all exhausting. Failure once allowed you to stop trying – that was, famously, the one good thing it has going for it. Having agonised over a doomed project for years, at least you might have the cathartic relief of finally and permanently throwing it away. You were allowed self-pity. You were allowed, crucially, silence.” – New Statesman