Category: ideas

Theoretical physicist Marcelo Gleiser explains why “we have to do away with this idea for once and for all.” First of all, it isn’t really about “everything”; more importantly, the very idea is, in a sense, antithetical to the ethos of science.

“A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology corroborates the hip-hop and Internet truism that you just can’t win with some people. (No word yet on whether playas gonna play or ballers gonna ball, but we’ll probably find out soon. Researchers gonna research.)”

“Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights. Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe.”

The app-based temp agency Gigwalk “scrupulously gathers performance data on it each of its temps, with the goal of being able to better match them with future gigs. It tracks how long it takes a person to respond to a job alert on their app – too slow and you ding your rating. It tracks the GPS on a temp’s phone see how long they spend on a job and takes that into account in measuring his or her productivity.”

When Europeans first found up about ke-chap, it was made from fish guts fermented in salt. After centuries of changes and adaptations of ingredients (walnut ketchup was Jane Austen’s favorite), the tomato made its way into the recipe. But that’s not why Henry J. Heinz decided that clear glass bottles were good for business.

“Somehow the researchers there are subtly more pressured than elsewhere in the world to make strong discoveries. This very idea that you do science to make strong discoveries is natural but it’s a problem to science itself. Science should be about doing good, precise studies. Not necessarily about getting exciting new results every time.”

A look at three types of the “Jerusalem syndrome” which occasionally strikes certain visitors to the city.

“An unquenchable passion for work might be a panic-stricken way of concealing the fear of a lack of passion for life itself. If you are what you do, what are you when you stop doing it and you still are?”

Groups of animals that move to cities and towns eventually end up with brains up to 6 percent bigger than those of their country relations.

“Rituals are deeply rooted and they emerge early. Surprisingly young children are already sensitive to the difference between purposeful actions and rituals, and they adopt rituals themselves.”