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Why We Lie, Go to Prison and Eat Cake: 10 Questions With Dan Ariely
Wired: A professor of behavioral economics and psychology at Duke University, Ariely is the author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions, and The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic, both New York Times bestsellers. Ariely’s new book, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, explores some of the surprising reasons we lie to each other, and ourselves. Raised in Israel, Ariely holds Ph.D.s in both business administration and psychology. Wired senior editor Joanna Pearlstein spoke with Ariely as part of the Live Talks Business Forums series at the City Club of Los Angeles.
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Is Feeling Bad a Luxury Problem?
In Judith Viorst’s classic children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Alexander wakes up with chewing gum in his hair—and everything goes downhill from there. He trips on his skateboard, and drops his sweater in the sink. He doesn’t get a window seat in the car, and the dentist tells him he has a cavity. His mother makes him get white sneakers, instead of the blue and red-striped ones he coveted. He’s forced to eat lima beans for dinner, and there’s kissing on TV. To top it all, his nightlight burns out just as he’s getting ready for bed. Alexander's plight resonates not just for kids, but also for any adult who has ever whined about a luxury problem.
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There’s A Reason Americans Pass By Homeless People In The Street Without A Second Glance
Business Insider: Some people's willingness to accept income inequality has everything to do with their perception of choice, Pacific Standard's Tom Jacobs reports.
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How to fool Houdini and avoid fooling yourself
Scientific American: Last week, Alex Stone taught Wall Street Journal readers the world round how to steal a watch. It’s probably a safe bet that fellow magicians were none too pleased. Nor are they likely to have gotten a kick out of Stone’s new book, Fooling Houdini (out today), where the watch theft maneuver is but one of the effects that the amateur magician so shamelessly reveals. Shamelessly, that is, if you’re playing by the traditional rules of magic conduct, where, as Stone puts it, “exposure is seen as a form of vandalism,” something that “deadens the mystery and tarnishes the brand, shrinking all the grandeur in magic to the scale of an intellectual puzzle.” But does it really?
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La simple pensée de prendre un verre peut aider à se relaxer (The thought of a drink can help to relax)
Slate France: Lundi soir, 18 heures, votre journée a été stressante et vous vous apprêtez à ouvrir une bouteille de vin. Arrêtez tout de suite, ce n’est pas la peine. D’après une étude, le fait de penser à du vin permettrait de se relaxer, rapporte CNBC. Les chercheurs de l’université de Wellington, de Harvard et de l’université de Plymouth ont découvert ce qu’ils appellent «un phénomène de suggestion». Pour être clair, cela signifie que la simple suggestion de quelque chose, comme un verre de vin ou un médicament, peut avoir un effet réel sur une situation donnée. Read the whole story: Slate France
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The Eyes Reveal More Than We Might Think – Research Findings from Psychological Science
Our eyes don’t just take in the world around us, they can also reflect our emotional state, influence our memories, and provide clues about the way we think. Here is some of the latest research from the journals Psychological Science and Current Directions in Psychological Science in which scientists show there’s much more to the eyes than people might think. Pupil Dilation Reflects the Creation and Retrieval of Memories Many people know that our pupils shrink when our eyes adjust to bright light, but the size and movement of our pupils can also reflect what’s going on inside our brains. Psychological scientists use pupillometry to measure cognitive processes such as attention and memory.
