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It’s Good to Be Kaiser
Pacific Standard: As the political philosopher Mel Brooks once noted, it’s good to be king. But according to a new study, it’s also good to simply have the name King. At least, that’s true in Germany. Researchers report Germans with “noble-sounding surnames” such as Kaiser (emperor), Fürst (prince) or König (king) were more likely to hold managerial positions than countrymen with names denoting more common occupations. Apparently, having a name that denotes authority is a good way to get promoted.
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Eye Contact Makes You Less Persuasive, Say Researchers
Slate: I’ve often wondered why eye contact—which is supposed to make you feel good, because your conversational partner is paying attention to you and not her phone!—can actually feel like an attempt to vacuum out your soul through your eyeballs. Unless the circumstances are exactly right, the midair meeting of two gazes can be awkward and unsettling. Better to examine a shoe. Better to only speak from within a cave, engulfed in fumes, like the oracle at Delphi. We’re told that eye contact is a powerful thing. Hypnotists (and vampires) use it to get inside your head; public speakers use it to create an emotional connection.
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Love cats, eat cows?
Los Angeles Times: We Americans like to think of ourselves as animal lovers. But is this claim true? One way to answer this question is to follow the money. According to government, industry and interest group stats, we spend about $50 billion on our pets annually and donate another $6 billion to animal-related and environmental charities. This sounds like a lot until you compare it to the amount we collectively devote to killing members of other species: $72 billion on hunting and fishing, $60 billion on animal research and $240 billion on meat, poultry and seafood. In short, Americans fork out nearly seven times more toward harming animals than toward protecting them.
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In a Mood? Call Center Agents Can Tell
The New York Times: IN a YouTube clip from one of Steve Jobs’s last interviews, he appears to be enjoying reminiscing about how he first hit upon the idea for the keyboardless tablet that eventually became the iPad. “I had this idea of being able to get rid of the keyboard, type on a multitouch glass display and I asked our folks, could we come up with a multitouch display that I could type on, I could rest my hands on and actually type on,” Mr. Jobs says, smiling slightly as he recounts his enthusiasm at seeing the first prototype.
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Do Cigarette Warnings Actually Increase Smoking?
Refinery29: We've all been susceptible to reverse psychology. But who needs those mind games when it comes to our physical health? Now, the latest confusing information we need to overcome are findings from a new study on smoking. Published in the Psychological Science journal, the experiment, conducted by experts from Tel Aviv University, New York University, and INSEAD Business School, reports that tobacco warning labels that read such things as "Smokers Die Early" actually promote cigarette buying instead of deterring it.
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Learning New Skills Keeps an Aging Mind Sharp
Older adults are encouraged to stay active to keep their minds sharp. But new findings from a longitudinal study suggests that only demanding activities — such as learning photography — will benefit cognitive functioning.
