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US psychologist Howard Gardner wins award in Spain for research into human intelligence
The Washington Post: Harvard University psychologist Howard Gardner has won Spain’s Prince of Asturias award for social sciences in recognition of his studies of how human intellect expresses itself in different kinds of skills. The prize was announced Wednesday by a foundation run by Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe. It said the American’s work has been “decisive for the evolution of educational models by taking into account the innate potentialities of each individual.” Read the whole story: The Washington Post
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Pursuing happiness can make you feel worse
Times of India: They say that happiness shouldn't be thought of as a universally good thing, and outline four ways in which this is the case. Indeed, not all types and degrees of happiness are equally good, and even pursuing happiness can make people feel worse. People who want to feel happier can choose from a multitude of books that tell them how to do it. But setting a goal of happiness can backfire, said June Gruber of Yale University, who co- wrote the article with Iris Mauss of the University of Denver and Maya Tamir of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It's one of the many downsides of happiness – people who strive for happiness may end up worse off than when they started.
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Men: how to play hard to get (and why it works)
MSN NZ: There is a common consensus that women who play hard to get tend to get what they want, because men can't resist the apple that stays — for a while at least — tantalisingly just out of reach. Happily, it works the other way round too. That's right, men can get results playing hard to get as well, though we'd probably call it something else. Maybe we'll feign indifference or keep her at arm's length, but it amounts to the same thing. Playing hard to get can be a devilish dating strategy. But not necessarily a simple one. There are pitfalls, and you certainly need to know when to stop. So here's how to play hard to get and, more importantly, why it works. Read the whole story: MSN NZ
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True Love May Wait—But Waiting Won’t Make You a Safer Lover Later On
Whether sex education focuses only on abstinence or teaches students about contraception and other topics as well, it all shares one main message: Wait. In abstinence-only, students are exhorted to wait for sex until they’re married. In “comprehensive” or “abstinence-plus,” the idea is to delay sexual relations until . . . later. “The underlying assumption is that delay reduces sexual risk-taking”—and with it unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, says University of South Florida psychologist Marina A. Bornovalova.
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My broken leg healed in half the time… all because I meditated
Daily Mail: Meditation is often touted as a panacea for all manner of ailments, from chronic pain to anxiety, stress and even depression. Like most sensible people, I’d always taken such sweeping claims with a large pinch of salt. However, five years ago I learned the power of meditation for myself after an accident left me critically injured and in constant pain. A freak gust of wind caught me off-guard as I was paragliding over the Cotswolds. One moment my paraglider was flying normally, the next its wing had collapsed, sending me tumbling into the hillside 30ft below. I was struck with the most agonising pain imaginable.
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You Bug Me. Now Science Explains Why.
NPR: Traffic. Mosquitoes. People who snap their gum. People who crack their knuckles. There are so many things in the world that are just downright annoying. But what makes them annoying? It's the question that NPR Science Correspondent Joe Palca and Science Friday's Flora Lichtman set out to answer in their new book, Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us. For instance, why is hearing someone else's phone call more irritating than just overhearing a normal conversation? In an interview with Morning Edition's Renee Montagne, Lichtman explains why this is so grating. "It's half of a conversation," she says.
