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At What Age Does Your Brain Peak?
Pacific Standard: Sports writers will tell you that athletes peak in their 20s, after which point their skills quickly erode. Most other things in our lives—our careers, for example—take a good deal more time to develop. Intelligence, it turns out, peaks a bit later, too, though with a twist, according to a recent study: Some facets of intelligence peak when we're still in high school or college, while others continue to improve into our 40s, 50s, and beyond.
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Morality Report: Precrime Comes to the Office
The Atlantic: As an indicator of a job candidate's virtues, the trio of a résumé, a cover letter, and an interview is rudimentary at best: Recruiters have been shown to spend about six seconds pondering the average résumé, and those who formed positive impressions from certain candidates’ résumés have been shown to go softer on them in interviews. A hire is the result of a series of imperfect judgments. The rewards of selecting a good employee are obvious; the harms of hiring a bad one are less commonly discussed.
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Does loneliness affect life span?
The Washington Post: THE QUESTION Not exercising, being obese, smoking and abusing drugs are among the factors known to shorten people’s life spans. Might being lonely or socially isolated have a similar effect? THIS STUDY analyzed data from 70 studies, involving 3.4 million people who were, on average, 66 years old at the start of their study. During the research periods, which averaged seven years, about 25 percent of the participants died. People who reported being lonely were 26 percent more likely to have died than those who did not. Mortality risk was 20 percent higher for those who were socially isolated than for those who were not and 32 percent higher for people who lived alone vs.
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Older Workers Possess Unique Cognitive Strengths
Although some abilities tend to decline over time, new research finds that other cognitive skills actually improve with age. Scientists have long known that our ability to analyze novel problems and reason logically, also known as fluid intelligence, peaks around age 20 and then begins a slow decline. However, two new studies confirm that skills related to crystallized intelligence—made up of a person’s acquired knowledge and experience—appear to peak later in life, often after age 40. In a study recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, psychological scientist Rachael M.
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Poverty may affect the growth of children’s brains
Science: Stark and rising inequality plagues many countries, including the United States, and politicians, economists, and—fortunately—scientists, are debating its causes and solutions. But inequality’s effects may go beyond simple access to opportunity: a new study finds that family differences in income and education are directly correlated with brain size in developing children and adolescents. The findings could have important policy implications and provide new arguments for early antipoverty interventions, researchers say.
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Why macaroni and cheese tastes so good when we’re down
The Washington Post: Macaroni and cheese, a staple of so many children's diets, might be the most popular comfort food known to man — or at least any American. The Kraft variety, so carefully split into its essential components — dried pasta, packaged cheese product, and step-by-step directions — makes its way into millions of homes around the country each year. So too does Annie's — little white shells, perky rabbit, and all. And restaurants haven't been shy about serving their own, house-made versions. This country's long-held obsession with the wholesome dish is so great that it has even been cited as a contributor to the steady growth of cheese consumption in the United States. ...
