Category: ideas

“U.S. residents have roughly the same levels of happiness, enjoyment, and laughter–not to mention worry, sadness and anger–from Monday through Friday. The real difference lies between weekdays and weekends.”

“Most studies looking at the psychological effects of pet ownership focus on individuals experiencing health issues or overcoming hurdles in life such as recovering from an illness or injury. … Overall, researchers found pet ownership to be associated with higher self-esteem, higher levels of fitness and lower reports of loneliness among participants.”

“Bliss, both sacred and profane, shares the diminution of self-awareness, alterations in bodily perception and decreased sense of pain. And while the left frontal lobe may be linked to pleasure, the other three characteristics are bilateral.”

“In fact, the more we anticipate wagging fingers, public pillory and guilt, the worse we’re likely to do when it comes to self-control. If we focus on the pride that comes from good behavior, we make better choices. By far.”

“How should we react to such blatant examples of art whose purpose, or so it would seem, is to force viewers face-to-face with the human capacity for viciousness? … What new thoughts does it make possible to think? What new emotions does it make possible to feel? What new sensations or perceptions does it open in the body?”

The Inca “have long been considered the only major Bronze Age civilization that failed to develop a system of writing … In recent years, the question of whether these khipus [knotted cords] were actually a method of three-dimensional writing.”

“Provide people with information about their actions in real time (or something close to it), then give them an opportunity to change those actions, pushing them toward better behaviors. Action, information, reaction.”

“Designing a robot to mimic the basic capabilities of motion and perception would be revolutionary, researchers say, with applications stretching from care for the elderly to returning overseas manufacturing operations to the United States (albeit with fewer workers). Yet the challenges remain immense, far higher than artificial intelligence hurdles like speaking and hearing.”

“Working memory is our mental scratch pad, the cognitive horsepower that allows us to focus on things that are relevant to solving a problem or task, and to ignore less relevant things. In stressful situations, the ability of working memory to direct attention to what’s relevant is compromised.”