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A touch of evil
Aeon: Malevolent personalities come in flavours, says Del Paulhus, the University of British Columbia psychologist who coined the term ‘dark triad’ to describe a trifecta of human evil: the Machiavellian plotter strategising the downfall of others, smiling all the while; the impulsive psychopath, pouncing to steal a friends’ last penny; the self-entitled narcissist, seizing the corner office and the choicest cut of steak. These nasty personalities have remained entrenched in the gene pool because they sometimes confer advantage. ...
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Better Get to Work: Procrastination May Harm Heart Health
Stress caused by chronic procrastination may increase people’s vulnerability for developing life-threatening health issues.
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Why Bad News Is Good News
Pacific Standard: If you read the news often enough, you’ll know the world is populated by corrupt politicians, rapacious bankers, perverted priests, racist college students, and several hordes of armed zealots. Our planet is not a kind place—at least, if you keep up with the latest media reports. In 2007, for example, the Pew Research Center released data showing that for the past two decades Americans have been mainly interested in the following types of news stories: United States-related war and terrorism, bad weather, and human-made and natural disasters. Crime and social violence, plus health and safety, also ranked higher than most other categories. So, pretty bleak stuff.
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American Dream? Or Mirage?
The New York Times: ECONOMIC inequality in the United States is at its highest level since the 1930s, yet most Americans remain relatively unconcerned with the issue. Why? One theory is that Americans accept such inequality because they overestimate the reality of the “American dream” — the idea that any American, with enough resolve and determination, can climb the economic ladder, regardless of where he starts in life. The American dream implies that the greatest economic rewards rightly go to society’s most hard-working and deserving members. ...
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Pensate in termini di giorni non di anni (Think in terms of days, not years)
La Stampa: Per ritrovare la forma fisica, programmare le visite di controllo o realizzare un importante progetto sono necessari giorni, settimane e, a volte, mesi di lavoro. Per questo motivo, le imprese di lungo periodo sono così difficili da compiere. La tendenza a procrastinare è in agguato. Un trucco per facilitare le cose e impegnarsi in tempo per raggiungere l’obiettivo, secondo un gruppo di ricercatori americani, è quello di ragionare in termini di giorni e non di mesi.
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Could It Be? Researchers Find A Hiring Bias That Favors Women
NPR: Think, for just a moment, about the last job you applied for. If you didn't get the job (apologies), did you get an interview? If not, did you feel some hidden forces, beyond your control, working against you? Perceived hiring biases against women working in science, technology, engineering and math have been around as long as women have been graduating from STEM programs. From 2008 to 2010, women received the majority of doctorate degrees in life and social sciences but only 32 percent of the open assistant professorships. Now comes a study that offers something of a counter-narrative — that, given the chance, universities would rather hire women for STEM tenure-track positions.
