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Why You Rarely Notice Major Movie Bloopers
Pacific Standard: Even the most practiced auteurs make embarrassing continuity errors. Take, for instance, Garry Marshall’s otherwise flawless 1990 romantic classic Pretty Woman. In one scene, a croissant makes a radical transformation into a pancake. And then, miraculously, a bite mark in one shot evaporates from the next. The reason these mistakes so often go unnoticed by everyone except next-level blooper detectives may have something to do with the way people process the visual field.
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Why Selfies Sometimes Look Weird to Their Subjects
The Atlantic: Welcome to the department of discarded selfies, a dark place deep inside my phone where dimly lit close-up shots of my face are left to fade away into the cloud. I’ve thought about sending these photos to friends many times—that’s why I took them, after all—but each time my finger lingers over the share button, a few questions stop me: Why does my face look so weird? Are my eyelids that droopy? Is my chin that lop-sided? And how come nobody warned me? Taking purposefully ugly selfies encourages photographers to seize control of their self-image by rejecting beauty standards and embracing the imperfect humanity of our faces.
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Is That Jesus in Your Toast?
The New York Times: TAKE a close look at your breakfast. Is that Jesus staring out at you from your toast? Such apparitions can be as lucrative as they are seemingly miraculous. In 2004, a Florida woman named Diane Duyser sold a decade-old grilled cheese sandwich that bore a striking resemblance to the Virgin Mary. She got $28,000 for it on eBay. The psychological phenomenon of seeing something significant in an ambiguous stimulus is called pareidolia. Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwiches and other pareidolia remind us that almost any object is open to multiple interpretations. Less understood, however, is what drives some interpretations over others.
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Procrastination Is in Your Genes
TIME: Everybody has put off today what can be done tomorrow. And that might be because procrastination is in your genes, a new study published in the journal Psychological Science suggests. But when it comes to delaying, not everyone is created equal. Some are significantly more likely to procrastinate than others, so researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder looked into whether this bad habit might have its roots in genetics by surveying 181 identical twin pairs and 166 fraternal twin pairs. The twins were surveyed on their ability to set and maintain goals, propensity to procrastinate and impulsivity.
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How the Language in Job Ads Affects the Quality of Applicants
It’s the bane of every hiring manager — a deep pool of job applicants with a shallow set of skills and qualifications. But the stack of mediocre résumés doesn’t reflect a dearth in available talent, necessarily. It may simply be the result of the language used in the advertisement for the opening. Ads have a better chance of drawing excellent candidates when they emphasize what the job offers, rather than what it requires, according to the results of a new psychological study. The research is based on the premise that job seekers are attracted to positions that suit not only their need for a paycheck, but their psychological needs for fulfillment and achievement, as well.
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The Psychology of Messiness: How Disorder Can Make You More Creative
Inc.: There's a general assumption--in homes, in workplaces--that neatness corresponds to productivity. It begins in elementary school, with the annual rite of buying school supplies. You have the intent of staying organized, subject by subject, throughout the year. In adulthood, the habit continues. Every December, you buy an annual planner or calendar. It's as if you're buying a fresh white set of intentions. Moleskine notebooks beckon dreamers at every register.
