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These Days, It’s Not About the Polar Bears
Climate science has struggled mightily with a messaging problem. The well-worn tactic of hitting people over the head with scary climate change facts has proved inadequate at changing behavior or policies in ways big enough to alter the course of global warming. --- Dr. Cook has designed a high school curriculum as well as a popular online course that presents students first with facts and then a myth about climate change; the students are then asked to resolve the conflict. In Europe, Sander van der Linden, a social psychologist at the University of Cambridge, codesigned an inoculation-based online game with doctoral researcher Jon Roozenbeek.
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Political Passion Inspires Trust—Even From Opponents
There's a lot of evidence suggesting that Americans trust each other less and less. But new research suggests an unorthodox solution to our political divide: firmly expressing our political opinions, even when they might prove unpopular. "Across five studies using a variety of contentious social issues, I found evidence that people trust others who demonstrate strong feelings about social issues, even when they disagree with or dislike them," reports Julian Zlatev of Harvard Business School.
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Do Not Trust That Stranger’s 5-Star Review
Last Saturday, I was desperate for Mozart sheet music. It had to be for piano, and it had to be easy to play. Out of 84 options on Amazon, a book with 4.7 stars caught my eye — good enough for a 9-year-old’s music-class presentation. Later that afternoon, I needed to book a hotel for our summer vacation and I trusted the 1,310 reviewers on TripAdvisor who gave my pick an average of four stars, along with a good number of “fantastics” and “wonderfuls.” Dinner was a 4.5 star meatloaf recipe.
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‘For-Now Parents’ and ‘Big Feelings’: How Sesame Street Talks About Trauma
ASTORIA, NEW YORK—Inside the Sesame Street studio in Queens, Elmo is playing “monsterball” with his friend, a new Muppet named Karli who has lime-green fur and two ponytails. (Monsterball, for what it's worth, appears to be the same as soccer, but with a furry ball.) Puppeteers, with their hands raised high and their heads cranked to the side to stay out of the camera’s shot, run around, making Elmo and Karli kick, laugh, and throw the ball. Outside, it’s a chilly gray December Monday, but on set the monsterball park is brimming with plant life, and butterfly puppets held up on long metal wires flap their wings.
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School’s (somewhat) out for summer: Five tips to help academics make the most of the season
Family member: What are you going to do while you’re off for the summer? Academic: I’m not off. Family member: But you’re not taking classes or teaching. Academic: I know, but I’m still working—I’m doing my research. It’s summertime! (Well, almost.) Classes are ending, grades are being finalized, and colloquiums and other meetings are winding down. Many academics will soon open their calendars and see plenty of blank spaces over the next 3 months. On one hand, that can feel liberating: “Finally!
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Bus Stops May Be as Good a Place as Any for a STEM Lesson
Be it for school or just running errands, thousands of children and their parents wait for the bus every day. A pilot program in Pennsylvania is trying to squeeze a little more science, technology, engineering, and math learning into those waits. In the Urban Thinkscape project in Philadelphia, researchers and local architects built spatial and science-related art at neighborhood bus stops in Philadelphia, including spatial puzzle walls, patterns of footsteps for jumping, or pictures containing hidden objects and shapes. Prior studies have suggested children who talk more about math outside of school do the same in class, and that play and simple prompts can increase such conversation.
