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Why Mental Pictures Can Sway Your Moral Judgment
NPR: When we think about morality, many of us think about religion or what our parents taught us when we were young. Those influences are powerful, but many scientists now think of the brain as a more basic source for our moral instincts. The tools scientists use to study how the brain makes moral decisions are often stories, said Joshua Greene, a Harvard psychologist, citing one well-known example: "A trolley is headed toward five people, and the only way you can save them is to hit a switch that will turn the trolley away from the five and onto a side track, but if you turn it onto the side track, it will run over one person." It's a moral dilemma.
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Accord bancal (Wobbly Agreement)
Le Monde: Le fauteuil du supérieur hiérarchique, ou de celui qui est en position de client potentiel, doit être non seulement plus profond, doté d'un dossier plus imposant, mais aussi d'une assise plus élevée que celle du siège de son interlocuteur. Un tel dispositif met d'emblée celui qui reçoit en position de supériorité. Si l'hôte ne veut pas qu'il en soit ainsi, s'il souhaite plutôt afficher bienveillance et modestie, il désigne d'un geste ample la table ronde, dite de réunion, située non loin, qui met chacun, physiquement, au même niveau. Ou presque. Car les astuces ne s'arrêtent pas là.
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Stress? Verschenken Sie Ihre Zeit! (Stressed? Give your time away)
Sueddeutsche Zeitung: In einer Welt des Überflusses herrscht ein steter Mangel: Niemand hat Zeit. Ständig ist was los, der alltägliche Wahnsinn. Die Terminkalender platzen und eine Verabredung, ein Meeting, eine Besprechung soll immer noch untergebracht werden. Ach, und die Kinder müssen zum Sport und der Keller gehört ausgemistet. Die To-do-Listen wachsen, und ständig bleibt etwas auf der Strecke - Partner, Beruf, Hobbys. Die große Mehrheit der Befragten gab jüngst in der Vorwerk-Familienstudie an, sie würden so gerne mehr Zeit mit ihrer Familie verbringen, aber die Umstände ließen das ja nicht zu. Wie sollen alle die zeitverhungerten Menschen mit dem Mangel umgehen?
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When Does Tragedy Become Funny?
Discovery News: A new study helps explain why Sarah Silverman can make us laugh about racism, how the Onion manages to poke fun of religious intolerance in the midst of violent unrest in the Middle East, and how a broken bone can become funny after the initial pain has subsided. For terrible events, the key is to get enough distance before cracking jokes, the new study found. When mishaps are mild, on the other hand, it usually works best to joke about them right away. Read the whole story: Discovery News
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Some viewers may find this distressing: How watching harrowing footage on the news can bring on post-traumatic stress
The Daily Mail: With 24-hour news channels bringing a constant stream of images from far-flung conflict zones into our lives, we are increasingly able to watch global drama unfold almost minute-by-minute. But scientists say that constant exposure to distressing television footage could actually be having a long-lasting negative impact on our mental health. A study found repeated exposure to violent images following terrorist attacks and from war zones led to an increase in physical and psychological ailments among a cross-section of American viewers.
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The Coattails Phenomenon: Getting Character From Others
My high school classmate Tom Gordon was everyone’s choice for least-likely-to-succeed. He drank too much and drove too fast, and got busted for petty theft again and again. He skipped school as often as he showed up, and was too undisciplined for sports or other organized activities. When he did get hired for part-time jobs, he’d either quit or get himself fired soon after. He was a loser. So imagine my bewilderment when I ran into Tom (whose name I have changed) some years later. He was sitting in a local diner, drinking coffee and reading several newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal.
