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‘Phantom’ mobile phone vibrations: why we get them
The Sydney Morning Herald: Bzzt, bzzt. You check the supposed vibration in your pocket, yet no one has called or sent you an SMS. Known commonly as a phantom vibration, this sensation has been felt by many and left them baffled. But according to scientists, mobile users aren't necessarily imagining things and the vibrations may not be "phantom" after all. Some people believe there is a compulsive element to feeling the sensation, or believe that it occurs simply when there is friction in their pockets or they bump or brush up against something.
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Why People Believe Misinformation, Even After It’s Corrected
ABC News: Have you seen the photo of the dog that's as big as a horse? How about the deer on top of a telephone pole? And do you know about the Hollywood actor who needed emergency medical help because of a gerbil that went where no gerbil had gone before? That's all a bunch of bunk, or course. But we've heard those stories, or seen those photos, so many times that they have become a part of our world, even if they are totally false. These days we are bombarded with information, much of it incorrect, and long after the political campaigns are over a lot of it will still be buried in the part of our brain where we store our memories.
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Why Amazon Prime is the wave of retail’s future
msnbc: Anybody who knows me knows that I am a proud member of the Amazon Prime Cult. I only clean my house with products I can order through Amazon.com's Prime service. In December, I chose holiday gifts for my family based on what I could order through Prime. I scoff at brick-and-mortar prices when I do make my way out into the world. And, dear Fools, I say this with as little bias as possible: You will one day join me. Convenience is king, and if history is any indicator of consumer shopping habits, Prime is the future. In 1888, Richard Sears released the first Sears, Roebuck and Co. mailer to sell watches and jewelry.
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Online dating’s promise — and pitfalls
Los Angeles Times: Online dating has come a long way from its less-than-positive association with the personal ad. But is it actually a better way to meet that special someone? In some ways yes -- and in others, maybe not, according to a study on online dating released by the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest. "Romantic relationships can begin anywhere. When Cupid’s arrow strikes, you might be at church or at school, playing chess or softball, searching for a partner at a party, or minding your own business on the train," the authors write. "But sometimes Cupid goes on vacation, or takes a long nap, or kicks back for a marathon of Lifetime original movies.
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A more peaceful world if women in charge?
CNN: Would the world be more peaceful if women were in charge? A challenging new book by the Harvard University psychologist Steven Pinker says that the answer is “yes.” In The Better Angels of Our Nature, Pinker presents data showing that human violence, while still very much with us today, has been gradually declining. Moreover, he says, “over the long sweep of history, women have been and will be a pacifying force. Traditional war is a man’s game: tribal women never band together to raid neighboring villages.” As mothers, women have evolutionary incentives to maintain peaceful conditions in which to nurture their offspring and ensure that their genes survive into the next generation.
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Numeracy: The Educational Gift That Keeps on Giving?
Cancer risks. Investment alternatives. Calories. Numbers are everywhere in daily life, and they figure into all sorts of decisions. A new article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, examines how people who are numerate—that’s like literacy, but for numbers—understand numbers better and process information differently so that they ultimately make more informed decisions. People who are numerate are more comfortable thinking about numbers and are less influenced by other information, says Ellen Peters of Ohio State University, the author of the new paper.
