-
Why Original Artworks Move Us More Than Reproductions
Pacific Standard: Now that we can view high-definition reproductions of virtually any artwork from our computer screens, why do people visit art museums anyway? Sure, arranging individual pieces into compelling exhibitions enhances our appreciation, but it’s doubtful too many people come for the curation. Clearly, encountering original artworks in person is a unique experience. Viewing a copy of Guernica is not the same thing as seeing the actual Guernica. But why? Recently published research suggests that, when staring appreciatively at that Picasso, casual art lovers are engaging in a sort of magical thinking. Read the whole story: Pacific Standard
-
The Biology Of Altruism: Good Deeds May Be Rooted In The Brain
NPR: Four years ago, Angela Stimpson agreed to donate a kidney to a complete stranger. "The only thing I knew about my recipient was that she was a female and she lived in Bakersfield, Calif.," Stimpson says. It was a true act of altruism — Stimpson risked pain and suffering to help another. So why did she do it? It involved major surgery, her donation was anonymous, and she wasn't paid. "At that time in my life, I was 42 years old. I was single, I had no children," Stimpson says. "I loved my life, but I would often question what my purpose is." When she read about the desperate need for kidneys, Stimpson, a graphic artist who lives in Albany, N.Y., says she found her purpose.
-
Some millennials are this trapped: Income inequality, obesity and the neuroscience of adolescence
Salon: The yawning gap between the haves and have-nots will undoubtedly be a focus of discussion in this year’s midterm elections. But while the fact that income inequality has been growing is well known, little attention has been paid to how the changing nature of adolescence may be contributing to this troublesome trend. In order to understand this connection, it’s important to understand why adolescence has become so much longer.
-
You’re Expecting the Wrong Things to Make You Happy
Inc.: If you want to take a selfie to record a happy moment, you'll probably reach for your phone at that awesome concert you've been dying to see or on a memorable night out with an old friend. You'd never think to snap a shot of you sipping a cup of tea on some random Tuesday or having a quick chat with an acquaintance. But maybe, if you really want to see yourself at your peak of well being, you should start taking way more boring pictures. According to a new series of studies published in Psychological Science, recalling exactly these sort of mundane moments makes us happy.
-
Hand Size Appears to Stay Constant, Provides Natural ‘Ruler’
People tend to perceive their dominant hand as staying relatively the same size even when it’s magnified, lending support to the idea that we use our hand as a constant perceptual “ruler” to measure the world around us. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
-
How Long Does It Take to Get to Tatooine?
The New Yorker: On an early autumn morning in 2009, Randall Munroe, a NASA physicist turned full-time cartoonist, was teaching a weekend physics class to high-school students in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The course was part of an M.I.T. program designed to introduce students to topics ranging from sculpture and ancient Greek to geoengineering. Though Munroe’s lecture that day had the lively title “Solar Panels, Hand Grenades, and Blowing Up the Moon: How to Think About Energy,” for the first hour and a half he adhered to a fairly standard lecture format. What is energy? What can it do? How do you know how much you have? The students reacted as, well, typical students.
