-
This Is Your Brain on Writing
The New York Times: A novelist scrawling away in a notebook in seclusion may not seem to have much in common with an NBA player doing a reverse layup on a basketball court before a screaming crowd. But if you could peer inside their heads, you might see some striking similarities in how their brains were churning. That’s one of the implications of new research on the neuroscience of creative writing. For the first time, neuroscientists have used fMRI scanners to track the brain activity of both experienced and novice writers as they sat down — or, in this case, lay down — to turn out a piece of fiction. Read the whole story: The New York Times
-
How People Perceive ‘Driving Gone Green’
More than 405,000 fully electric vehicles (EVs) are on the road worldwide this year, according to a recent report from a German renewable energy company. That may not seem like many – after all, there are over 1 billion cars in the world. But that number is fully double the number of EVs that were on the road just 2 years ago. Despite what seems to be a burgeoning market for plug-and-play vehicles, misinformation and stereotypes about the cars have proved a major impediment for manufacturers. Researchers from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom recently investigated public perceptions of electric cars by surveying 55 EV drivers.
-
Menacer des enfants à travers des histoires est peu efficace (Threatening stories for kids about lying don’t work)
Le Monde: Mentir, c'est mal. Combien de fois a-t-on entendu ce refrain dans notre enfance ? Illustré, souvent, par un conte aux personnages hauts en couleur avec, à la fin, l'inéluctable morale, qui récompense les "gentils" et punit les "méchants". L'objectif : montrer de manière ludique ce qui est bien et ce qui ne l'est pas. Mais, est-ce vraiment efficace ? Pas vraiment, si l'on en croit l'étude publiée dansla revue Psychological Science, relève le Huffington Post. Des chercheurs canadiens des universités de Toronto, de McGill et de Brock se sont demandé quel impact avaient les morales des contes sur le comportement des enfants.
-
For Many Americans, Stress Takes A Toll On Health And Family
NPR: Stress is part of the human condition, unavoidable and even necessary to a degree. But too much stress can be toxic — even disabling. And there's a lot of toxic stress out there. A national poll done by NPR with our partners at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health finds that more than 1 in every 4 Americans say they had a great deal of stress in the previous month. Read the whole story: NPR
-
The Psychology of the Sunni-Shia Divide
Politico Magazine: More than a decade after the Iraq war began, it still boggles our minds: Sunni and Shia—both revering the Quran, following Muhammad and praying to Allah—killing one another. It brings to mind the 3,500-plus dead from the clashes between Northern Ireland’s Protestants and Catholics—all, at least nominally, following the same Prince of Peace. One wonders: Why such animosity among those so ethnically and religiously similar? Certainly, Sunni-Shia violence has deep historical-political roots. Ditto the Protestant-Catholic clashes.
-
How Music May Make Babies Team Players
The New York Times: Moving with a partner to the musical beat may make people more cooperative — even babies as young as 14 months. Researchers worked with 48 toddlers, each held by an assistant and gently bounced for about two minutes to the rhythm of the Beatles’ version of “Twist and Shout.” They faced an experimenter who bounced in the same rhythm or off the beat. Read the whole story: The New York Times
