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I’m not okay, neither are you
The Sydney Morning Herald: Self-esteem is big business. Peruse the self-help section of any bookshop and you'll find row after row of books dedicated to feeling good, getting happy and making the most out of you. But despite all these apparent solutions, a recent survey by health insurer Bupa found that Australia is the world's most depressed nation. (To make matters worse, the survey also helpfully pointed out that we're rather fat.) Being positive may seem like a good idea - but it's not guaranteed to make our lives more fulfilled. In fact, positive thinking can create an "empathy deficit", argues Barbara Ehrenreich in Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World.
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Deux soirées à guichets fermés
Sud Ouest: Le centre culturel de Montignac affichait complet, vendredi et samedi, pour la deuxième mi-temps du duo Jean Bonnefon et Daniel Chavaroche. Les deux artistes étaient de retour pour présenter leur nouveau spectacle « Y'a pas que le rugby dans la vie ». Ils ont à nouveau emmené le public à Bellecombe, mais cette fois-ci non pas sur le terrain de rugby, mais dans la vie des gens de ce village. Read the whole story: Sud Ouest
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Good Manners are Bad for You
Express: Psychologists say that although being polite helps get us through awkward social situations, it can have hidden perils in emergencies. They found that our tendency to be vague and evasive in order to spare someone’s feelings can cause confusion when a person’s safety is at risk. Examples include a nurse failing to spell out a doctor’s potential error to avoid embarrassment, or an air controller lacking assertiveness with a pilot in trouble. The study, published in the journal Current Directions In Psychological Science, said we resort to “politeness strategies” when forced to point out someone’s mistake or bad choice.
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Earlier Autism Diagnosis Could Mean Earlier Interventions
Autism historically was diagnosed between the ages of 2 and 3, but new research is finding symptoms of autism spectrum disorders in babies during their first years of life.
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Language Lessons From Babies
The New York Times: In today’s 18 and Under column, Dr. Perri Klass writes about new science of bilingualism and how scientists are teasing out the earliest differences between brains exposed to one language and brains exposed to two. The learning of language — and the effects on the brain of the language we hear — may begin even earlier than 6 months of age. Janet Werker, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, studies how babies perceive language and how that shapes their learning.
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Grope Cases Set Special Challenges
The Wall Street Journal: The attacks were seemingly random and almost assuredly frightening: In a dozen instances this summer, women on the Upper East Side were violently groped by an assailant, at times in their buildings or the subway. On Aug. 9, police said they had found the man responsible, Jose Alfredo Perez Hernandez, an 18-year-old salad preparer at a local restaurant. But several months later, Mr. Hernandez, who denies the attacks, stands charged in connection with just three of them. As police search for one or more assailants behind a similar pattern of sexual attacks in Brooklyn, Mr. Hernandez's case underscores the challenges ... Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
