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Time flows uphill for remote Papua New Guinea tribe
New Scientist: "HERE and now", "Back in the 1950s", "Going forward"... Western languages are full of spatial metaphors for time, and whether you are, say, British, French or German, you no doubt think of the past as behind you and the future as stretching out ahead. Time is a straight line that runs through your body. Once thought to be universal, this "embodied cognition of time" is in fact strictly cultural. Over the past decade, encounters with various remote tribal societies have revealed a rich diversity of the ways in which humans relate to time (see "Attitudes across the latitudes"). The latest, coming from the Yupno people of Papua New Guinea, is perhaps the most remarkable.
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Making Yourself Miserable Reading the News?
Huffington Post: Does watching cable news, reading the newspaper or browsing websites (including this one) make you personally miserable? Chances are high that you're making one critical mistake and likely adding to our societal woes in the process. The good news is that it's fairly easy to fix this common mistake and in this process quickly boost your own inner joy. It's simple: be less partisan, less biased and less antagonistic toward your fellow human beings. ... As I wrote about extensively in The Bliss Experiment, our choices and outlook, whether positive or negative, greatly shape both our inward mental state and even our outward environment.
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For 49 years, Herb Pick was a scientist and mentor at U
Star Tribune: For nearly half a century, graduate students arriving at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development often were greeted by an unassuming man who helped carry in their boxes. As they settled in, the new students soon discovered that the nice old guy they mistook for a janitor was, in fact, the famous Prof. Herbert L. Pick Jr. Or "Herb," as he preferred to be called. "He was one of the best scientists and also one of the most humble guys you'd ever meet," said Megan Gunnar, director of the institute. "He packaged those two things together. He also was a fabulous teacher and mentor." Pick, of St.
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Which Makes You Happier: Money or Respect?
Shape Magazine: They say money can't buy happiness, and "they" would be right. According to a new study, a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T goes a lot further than a paycheck when it comes to being happy for the long haul. Published recently in the journal Psychological Science, researchers did a total of four studies examining the reasons why higher socioeconomic status such as higher income, wealth or education does not boost subjective wellbeing. The first smaller study surveyed college students' sociometric status (how much they were respected and admired by those around you) and socioeconomic status, and predicted students' social well-being scores.
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Employees’ Interests Predict How They Will Perform on the Job
When evaluating job applicants, employers want to be sure that they choose the right person for the job. Many employers, from consulting firms to federal agencies, will ask prospective employees to complete extensive tests and questionnaires to get a better sense of what those employees might be like in an office setting. But new research published in the July 2012 issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that a different factor – employee interests – may be a better way to predict who will perform well on the job.
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Memories of a Child Refugee
For many, Sharbat Gula was the face of refugee children everywhere, although her identity was unknown for almost two decades. Captured by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry in 1984, in a refugee camp in Pakistan, the penetrating eyes of the 12-year-old “Afghan girl” grabbed the world’s imagination—and became a symbol of the plight of war-damaged children. Not until 2002 was she finally located and identified, by that time repatriated and living with children of her own, in a country again at war. Sharbat Gula is one of millions of Afghan children who have fled Afghanistan’s seemingly endless war, seeking safety in foreign places.
