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The Science of Why You Crave Comfort Food
TIME: It's not just because these foods are tasty. It's because they make us feel less alone In mid-July, I was visiting my hometown in Minnesota when I happened upon the unmistakable scent of something deep-fried. I was at a concert, and no matter how off-brand a dietary choice of corn dogs and cheese curds may be for a health writer, I went for it. How could I not? I spent two thoroughly enjoyable summers during college working at the Minnesota State Fair, and that experience continues to make corn-and-grease-dipped hot dogs not only appetizing but somehow irresistible, too. ...
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How Intelligence Shifts With Age
The Wall Street Journal: Is the saying “older but wiser” just an old wives’ tale? We all know people who are as foolish at 60 as they were at 20 and others whose smarts have cruelly diminished with age. Meanwhile, legions of seniors who used fountain pens as children now deftly tap out texts on their tablets. So what’s the truth about old dogs and new tricks? A study of adult intelligence, published in March in the journal Psychological Science, pits these maxims against the data. The results challenge some common assumptions—including the idea that mental acuity, like athletic prowess, always declines with age. Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
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The Key to Creativity May be in Imagining the Details
Beyond recruiting staff that has the right skills, qualifications, and education for the job, organizations are increasingly looking for ways to boost another key component of success—creativity. In a study recently published in Psychological Science, a trio of Harvard University researchers—Kevin Madore, Donna Rose Addis, and Daniel Schacter—found an unusual link between memory and creative problem-solving. The study showed that reminiscing about the specific details of an experience, tapping into what is known as episodic memory, helped spark “divergent thinking,” or the ability to come up with many creative solutions for a problem.
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How to Inspire Creative Thinking: Details, Details
Pacific Standard: Vagueness is the enemy of creativity. Beethoven didn't just come up with the idea that a symphony could express heroism; he also wrote the precise notes that conveyed that concept in sound. For ideas to be both novel and useful—a standard definition of creativity—they need to be expressed in highly specific terms. But how do you make the leap from a hazy notion to one that is spelled out in practical details? Newly published research points to one simple technique that may do the trick. ...
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Not an Introvert, Not an Extrovert? You May Be An Ambivert
The Wall Street Journal: Emeroy Bernardo enjoys spending time alone, meditating, exercising and working. When he goes out for dinner or drinks with friends, he sometimes quietly observes people’s facial expressions and body language. Often when he’s shopping or running errands, he ignores people he knows—pretending he doesn’t see them—to avoid small talk. Still, the 27-year-old dance instructor who lives in Glendale Calif., considers himself friendly and meets new people almost everywhere—at the gym, at Starbucks, waiting to board a plane. At parties, Mr. Bernando is often the guy who starts a dance circle and then shows off his break-dancing moves. Is Mr.
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EXCLUSIVE WITH STEVEN PINKER: Remarkable developments are accelerating world progress faster than ever
Business Insider: If you're not optimistic, you're not paying attention. Take it from Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychologist who posited in his 2011 book "The Better Angels of Our Nature" that people are becoming more peaceful and society is getting better in several ways. Even though humanity still faces tragedies such as war and hunger, our species is more peaceful today than it has ever been. For example, as Pinker shows in "Angels," the homicide rate in Europe has fallen as much as fiftyfold since the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, the rate of deaths in war fell to an all-time low last decade.
