Category: ideas

Olivia Judson observes that “the conscious, brain-based memories that we humans set so much store by are not the only memories out there.” For instance, the immune system, which remembers pathogens it has been exposed to and mounts a quicker response the next time those pathogens appear (which is why vaccines work). And sometimes these memories fade, just like conscious memories do.

“Ribbons, shimmery fluff, silk tufts and hints of red and green … have all been spotted in the webs of orb-weaving spiders, according to a new study.” Why? To get victims to come into their parlors, of course: Just as “human eyes are drawn to holiday ornaments, spider prey are drawn to their death by colorful, shimmering decorations.”

Simon Winchester: “Clocks are the real key. The whole notion of bidding formal and raucous farewell to the Old and offering optimistic greeting to the New was something that could really only occur once we in the public square knew when the exact moment of midnight was.”

“The virtual tutor takes care of the basic concepts that typically dominate lectures, leaving professors open to plan the face-to-face component of the course according to what parts of the curriculum the software tells him students are picking up more slowly, and what concepts could bear reinforcement.”

“Are we being served by these technological wonders or have we become enslaved by them? I study the psychology of technology, and it seems to me that we are sleepwalking into a world where technology is severely affecting our well-being. Technology can be hugely useful in the fast lane of modern living, but we need to stop it from taking over.”

“When people are tricked into thinking that time has ‘flown by,’ they react to their surprise at the passage of time by assuming that it means they must have been having fun, says Aaron Sackett, a psychology researcher at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.”

“It seems like such a trivial reason for murder. When God belittled Cain’s gift to him of produce from his own garden, then praised his brother Abel for offering a sheep, Cain snapped. But as you get ready to gather with your family and unwrap presents, the Bible’s first homicide starts to make sense.” Among evolutionary behaviorists studying the complicated sibling dynamic, the “prevailing theory is that it all comes down to math.”

“David Anderegg, a professor of psychology at Bennington College, says that merely mentioning terms like nerd or geek serves to perpetuate the stereotype. The words are damaging, much like racial epithets, he says, and should be avoided.” Never mind that he’s the author of “Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them.”

“For much of the last century, educators and many scientists believed that children could not learn math at all before the age of five, that their brains simply were not ready. But recent research has turned that assumption on its head — that, and a host of other conventional wisdom about geometry, reading, language and self-control in class.”

“Characters on television shows can transmit subtle cues that perpetuate racial stereotypes among viewers, new research suggests.”