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‘The Strength of Weak Ties’ Then and Now, Show Me Your Kale-Face, R.I.P. to Labels ‘Millennial’ and ‘Gen Z,’ and More
Oh, kale no! When I (Evan) was a kid, about five or so, I loved Popeye—the cartoon sailor man with ridiculously large forearms and a passion for spinach. In a violation of unspoken kid law, I loved spinach too. My brother Max was around one at the time, and I convinced my mom he needed to get on the Popeye diet. My mom dutifully bought a jar of the green stuff. As the spoon-turned-airplane made its approach, my brother’s face contorted, it did not have permission to land. It was the only food my brother spit out as a baby. Max would empathize with the participants of a recent study that explored the taste of leafy greens, albeit they were a bit younger.
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How to Actually Change Someone’s Mind
Raise your hand if you’ve recently engaged in an insult-slinging argument that started as an attempt at a civil discussion about some hot-button issue. Many of us have, and with high-stakes elections looming, the already fiery discourse will likely only intensify. Though it might feel satisfying in the moment, calling someone a bleeping—insert your favorite derogatory term here—is never going to help them understand your point of view. Rather, experts in persuasive communication say, it’s crucial to focus on curiosity and compassion, and to make it clear that you don’t think the person you’re talking to is the enemy—or look down on them. ...
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What Music Does to Us
Amy Belfi from the Missouri University of Science and Technology joined APS’s Ludmila Nunes to speak about her career as a neuroscientist studying music perception and cognition as well as how poetry and other forms of art can impact the brain and behavior.
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A Broader Definition of Learning Could Help Stimulate Interdisciplinary Research
Humans and other mammals aren’t the only entities capable of adapting to their environment—schools of fish, robots, and even our genes can learn new behaviors.
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It’s Gotten Awkward to Wear a Mask
Last week, just a couple of hours into a house-sitting stint in Massachusetts for my cousin and his wife, I received from them a flummoxed text: “Dude,” it read. “We are the only people in masks.” Upon arriving at the airport, and then boarding their flight, they’d been shocked to find themselves virtually alone in wearing masks of any kind. On another trip they’d taken to Hawaii in July, they told me, long after coverings became optional on planes, some 80 percent of people on their flight had been masking up. This time, though?
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Personalities Don’t Usually Change Quickly but They May Have During the Pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic disrupted almost everything about our lives, from how we work and go to school, to how we socialize (Zoom happy hours, anyone?!), and ultimately strained trust in many of the overarching systems we depend on, from health care to government. New research suggests it may have changed Americans' personalities, too, and not for the better. Typically, major personality traits remain fairly stable throughout life, with most change happening in young adulthood or when stressful personal life events occur.
