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Literally Touching Greatness Can Increase Your Creativity
Pacific Standard: Do you wish you were more creative? Would it help if you played Mozart’s piano, sat down at Dickens’ writing desk, or switched on Steve Jobs’ laptop? If you’re the sort of logic-driven person who answered “Of course not,” then, no, it wouldn’t. But if your way of processing information is more intuitive, it just might. That’s the implication of newly published research, which finds handling an object previously used by a highly innovative person can boost the creative output of some individuals, apparently by elevating their confidence level.
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Abuse Cases, and a Legacy of Skepticism
The New York Times: Thirty years ago, Judy Johnson of Manhattan Beach, Calif., took her 2 1/2-year-old son, Matthew, to the pediatrician, fearing he had been sexually abused by his preschool teacher. By today’s standards, the medical evidence in Matthew’s case was inconclusive: He had a rash on his bottom and rectal bleeding. But at the time, his symptoms were viewed as serious cause for concern. And so Matthew’s trip to the doctor began one of the longest, most expensive and notorious criminal investigations in American history. Read the whole story: The New York Times
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Signs That Make Us Blue, But Safe
You approach an intersection just as the traffic light is turning yellow. Your decision to either barrel through or hit the brake may hinge on the last billboard you saw. On any car trip, visual stimuli ranging from accident scenes to billboards can evoke emotions. We may feel saddened when passing by a roadside memorial, or cheered by a billboard advertising our favorite fast-food restaurant. And new research suggests that negative stimuli (i.e. scenes that make us angry or sad) are particularly strong deterrents to hazardous driving. A research team in Spain set out to identify how emotion-laden stimuli on roadways affect drivers’ risk perception and decision-making.
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Why You Don’t Need Rich Customers to Sell Luxury Goods
Inc.: Being a luxury brand isn't what it's cracked up to be, at least according to the The Wall Street Journal's Justin Lahart. The success that companies selling goods to affluent Americans have enjoyed, he argues, has its limits. Lower- and middle-class Americans' household income has been plummeting in recent years, according to data from the Census Bureau cited by the Journal. As a result, brands like JC Penney and Wal-Mart that cater to less privileged demographics have seen their stocks languish.
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The Wrong Way to Treat Child Geniuses
The Wall Street Journal: When I was a child, I was a "genius"—the kind you sometimes see profiled on the local news. I started reading at 2. I could multiply two-digit numbers in my head when I was 5. One of my earliest memories is working out a way to generate Pythagorean triples. In third grade, I commuted to the local junior high to take geometry. Kids on the playground would sometimes test me by asking what a million times a million was—and were delighted when I knew the answer. Many advocates for gifted education are similarly delighted by kids like me, seeing us as a kind of natural resource, one we risk squandering as surely as we do fossil fuels.
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Big Mac, Thin Wallet
The New York Times: In recent years we have seen plenty of studies of the impact of fast food on our bodies. But what about our psychological health? It stands to reason that fast food would have an effect on our mental state. From its production to its consumption, fast food both embodies and symbolizes speed and instant gratification. Moreover, through extensive franchising and large advertising budgets, fast-food companies shape many of the cues in our everyday environment.
