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This Box is Heavier; I Can Just Hear it! Illusions of Sight and Sound in the Blind and Deaf
Scientific American: The last time someone told you to look at an optical illusion, they probably described it as playing a cool trick on your eyes. But these quirks of perception – as well as most other illusions – have more to do with tricking your brain than anything else. Rather than thinking about illusions as being something you fall for, scientists have realized that these mis-perceptions are actually powerful glimpses into the work that the brain typically seems to do so easily. In fact, some well-known illusions linked to sights and sounds have such a strong foundation in our brains that they can still affect people who have been blind or deaf since birth.
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Why Companies Want Staffers With Happy Spouses
The Wall Street Journal: Happy wife, happy life – even at the office? Todd Pedersen, chief executive of home-automation company Vivint Inc., says there’s a connection between the state of his employees’ relationships and their productivity levels. “When my wife’s sad, I am not coming to work with a bounce in my step,” he says. Vivint and a handful of other companies have been launching special clubs and planning events — part professional development, part party –to acquaint employees’ husbands and wives with the work that consumes their partners’ days.
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Two Strikes and You’re Out (But Only If You’re Black)
The Huffington Post: I came of age in a Jersey Shore community with high racial tension. A major road divided the town, and separated black homes from white homes. But we all met in the integrated schools, and that's where I witnessed racial discrimination firsthand. I vividly remember this one incident from eighth grade. Word spread one morning through the corridors that there would be a fight in the boys' lavatory in the afternoon, between a black boy and a white boy. This was not uncommon, and we all crowded around to witness the event, but in the end hardly a punch got thrown. Our eighth grade English teacher had gotten wind of the coming fight, and immediately broke it up.
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The single best goal you can set for 2015
Fortune: It’s a new year—time for those resolutions. Even the U.S. government is getting into the act by providing a list of the most popular resolutions and tips on how to achieve them. Some 45% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions, according to Statistic Brain. The most popular are losing weight and getting organized. So, in the spirit of the New Year, here’s one resolution that, if you make and keep, will make you happier, more powerful, and help others around you develop their potential more completely. The resolution: become less judgmental, particularly about people, but also more generally. Read the whole story: Fortune
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The Paradox of Choice, 10 Years Later
Pacific Standard: Ten years have passed since the publication of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, a highly influential book written by the psychologist Barry Schwartz. If the title doesn’t sound familiar, the idea behind Schwartz’s argument should: Instead of increasing our sense of well-being, an abundance of choice is increasing our levels of anxiety, depression, and wasted time. Whether you’re deliberating between breakfast cereals, TV shows, career paths, pension plans, or lifetime partners, the amount of options out there can be overwhelming. In modern America, however, the freedom to decide who you are and who you’re going to be is mandatory.
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How to Look Smarter
The Wall Street Journal: While trying to look intelligent, a lot of people do things that make them look dumb. For instance, people use big words or put on a poker face—tactics that can backfire for some, studies show. A growing amount of research is teasing out how people form first impressions of others’ intelligence—and how well it works when you try to manage those impressions. The cues people look for in assessing each other’s intelligence are simple. But they aren’t always easy to pull off under pressure. They include showing self-confidence, speaking clearly and smoothly, and responding thoughtfully to what others are saying, research shows.
