Category: ideas

“In early September, ‘occupy’ signaled on-going military incursions. Now it signifies progressive political protest. It’s no longer primarily about force of military power; instead it signifies standing up to injustice, inequality and abuse of power. It’s no longer about simply occupying a space; it’s about transforming that space.”

“They learned to rank groups of one, two and three items in various sizes and shapes. When tested, they were able to do the task even when unfamiliar numbers of things were introduced. In other words, having learned that two was more than one and three more than two, they could also figure out that five was more than two, or eight more than six.”

“Social media gives ordinary people unprecedented power to broadcast their taste in movies, books and film, but for the most part those tastes don’t rub off on other people, a new study of college students finds. Instead, social media appears to strengthen our bonds with people whose tastes already resemble ours.”

Dan Ariely: “Many of my economist friends have a problem with gift-giving. They view the holidays not as an occasion for joy but as a festival of irrationality, an orgy of wealth-destruction.” Yet for behavioral economists, “gifts aren’t irrational. It’s just that rational economists have failed to account for their genuine social utility.”

“The idea that the mind exists separately from the body has a long history; Descartes invoked it during the 17th century. But in recent years opinion has shifted somewhat behind the notion that people are constrained by their physical embodiment. Individuals are suspected of being predisposed to eat compulsively or drink excessively, and various other characteristics are thought to have a genetic basis.”

“Those who value curating as an actual practice are generally loathe to see it harnessed by commercial culture, and conversely, feel sheepish about some deep-set pretensions this move has brought front and center.”

Four award-winners explain what it means to have that golden ticket. (Hint: It’s not always as nice as you might expect.)

“The Internet likes you, really likes you,” writes Steve Lohr. “But now — nothing personal, mind you — the Internet is growing up and lifting its gaze to the wider world.” Yep: Here comes Skynet.

“Some evidence suggests that those who are ignorant or naïve are subject to manipulation by a loud, opinionated minority. If this is true, uninformed individuals are detrimental to democratic decision-making, since they can turn over power to a minority. However, a new study in this week’s Science shows that, under certain conditions, uninformed individuals actually shift the balance toward the majority, enabling a democratic process where the majority rules.”