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The Citizen Preschooler
The Atlantic: One morning this past April, scores of preschoolers and kindergarteners dragged their grownups into the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The children had created an exhibit demonstrating their perceptions of the nation’s capital and what it means to belong to the city. In one gallery, there was a replica of the D.C. Metro routes, made from neon-colored plastic pipes. In another were cardboard, foam, and popsicle-stick models of the children’s dream playgrounds. Over the course of the morning, a signboard asking “what does it mean to be a citizen?” bloomed with more and more bright sticky notes containing answers to that question.
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Hidden Cameras Make Safer Drivers
Love them or hate them, a new study finds that speed cameras really do help stop drivers from speeding—particularly when the camera is hidden. Drivers may not appreciate getting a ticket, but speeding is one of the biggest contributors to traffic fatalities. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cite speeding as a factor in 29 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths in the United States. Evidence suggests that speeding cameras can substantially reduce traffic collisions, including ones in which drivers are seriously injured or killed. However, research also suggests that speeding cameras can actually increase rear-end collisions in certain circumstances.
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How to beat smoking, other bad habits with better self-control
CNN: Ready to kick your bad habit once and for all? Even if you're not completely committed yet, there's a technique that may unconsciously help, whether you're intending to quit smoking, binge eating, gambling or another addictive behavior — and even if you don't think you're ready. A review of addiction research, published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, suggests mindful meditation strengthens self-control in smokers, even among those smokers who haven't set an intention to quit. ...
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What Emotions Are (and Aren’t)
The New York Times: OUR senses appear to show us the world the way it truly is, but they are easily deceived. For example, if you listen to a recorded symphony through stereo speakers that are placed exactly right, the orchestra will sound like it’s inside your head. Obviously that isn’t the case. But suppose you completely trusted your senses. You might find yourself asking well-meaning but preposterous scientific questions like “Where in the brain is the woodwinds section located?” A more reasonable approach is not to ask a where question but a how question: How does the brain construct this experience of hearing the orchestra in your head? Read the whole story: The New York Times
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So You Flunked A Racism Test. Now What?
NPR: You're probably at least a little bit racist and sexist and homophobic. Most of us are. Before you get all indignant, try taking one of the popular implicit-association tests. Created by sociologists at Harvard, the University of Washington, and the University of Virginia, they measure people's unconscious prejudice by testing how easy — or difficult — it is for the test-takers to associate words like "good" and "bad" with images of black people versus white people, or "scientist" and "lab" with men versus women.
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At Face Value: Certain Facial Features Inspire Trust
Chief executives with certain facial features are immediately assessed as more trustworthy, and are less likely to be blamed for a company’s financial problems, a study has found.
