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Remembrance of News Past
The New York Times: WITHIN just over a year we’ve seen the Newtown shootings, the bombing at the Boston Marathon and the rescue of the kidnapped women in Cleveland. But which details of these events will you remember in a year? In five years? Will you remember the names of the perpetrators or the victims, the places where they happened, or the month and the year? It won’t surprise you to learn that the very recent news events are the ones we remember best. The Japanese psychologist Terumasa Kogure found sharp drops in recollection at four years and eight years after an event, but sometimes we’ll remember the details of far older news stories.
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Bringing Hidden Biases Into the Light
The Wall Street Journal: Everyone has hidden biases. For Denise Russell Fleming, a vice president at BAE Systems Inc., they include overlooking quieter colleagues during meetings. "I may have not made the best decisions" because of inadequate input from introverts, she says, adding that she tends to favor more talkative personalities. As they struggle to diversify their workforces, big businesses are teaching staffers to recognize that "unconscious bias"—or an implicit preference for certain groups—often influences important workplace decisions. ...
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Die Gier nach mehr ist im Menschen angelegt (The greed for more is invested in people)
Die Welt: Wenn man sich freiwillig als Versuchskaninchen für psychologische Studien hergibt, weiß man ja nie, was einen erwartet. Es kann sein, dass man sich 30 Minuten lang sinnlosen Buchstabensalat auf einem Rechner ansehen und dabei ab und zu eine Taste drücken muss. Es kann passieren, dass man virtuell mit einem Gegner spielen soll, den es gar nicht gibt, oder einem zu Täuschungszwecken über die wahren Absichten der Versuchsleiter andere Lügengeschichten vorgelegt werden. Es kann sogar sein, dass man Rechenaufgaben lösen muss und dabei leichte Stromschläge verabreicht bekommt.
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Is Narcissism Essential for Success?
While narcissists are likely to garner leadership positions, there’s no evidence of a link between narcissism and a leader’s success.
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The Case of the Evil Genius
The Huffington Post: Professor James Moriarty had only a brief literary career, but his persona looms much larger than his deeds. Criminal mastermind and archenemy of Sherlock Holmes, the professor is remembered today as the archetypal evil genius. The same penetrating intellect that made Moriarty a mathematical prodigy also made him -- in Holmes' words -- "the controlling brain of the underworld." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's villain is not the only figure to embody both criminality and creativity. The mix of wit and deviltry has long fascinated storytellers, and today its intrigue is drawing the attention of psychological scientists as well.
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Over the Side With Old Scientific Tenets
The New York Times: Here are some concepts you might consider tossing out with the Christmas wrappings as you get started on the new year: human nature, cause and effect, the theory of everything, free will and evidence-based medicine. Those are only a few of the shibboleths, pillars of modern thought or delusions — take your choice — that appear in a new compendium of essays by 166 (and counting) deep thinkers, scientists, writers, blowhards (again, take your choice) as answers to the question: What scientific idea is ready for retirement? The discussion is posted at edge.org. Take a look. No matter who you are, you are bound to find something that will drive you crazy. ...
