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Whether you face your past or walk into your future, time and space are complex
The Guardian: Time is a deeply confusing thing for us humans to think about – and the ways in which we talk about it don’t always help. For instance, here’s a heads-up to my editors: if you commission an article from me, then try to “move the deadline forward”, don’t expect me to send it to you sooner.
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Take Notes From the Pros
The New York Times: When it comes to taking lecture notes, Laura Gayle, a sophomore at Florida State University, has her methods. A smiley face connotes an important person. If the professor says, “Make sure you know this,” she uses an asterisk. A triangular button signals a video clip played in class. Later, she will organize the notes, write a video summary and check uncertainties against the textbook or with the professor. For “Introduction to Classical Mythology,” she’ll even alphabetize a list of Greek gods and goddesses. Then, a few days before the exam, she puts it all up for sale.
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What Makes a Child an Art Prodigy?
The Atlantic: Stand before any abstract painting—try a Jackson Pollock or a Cy Twombly— and it’s inevitable someone will say: My child could have done that. For many, the dripping splatters or scribbles seem haphazard and simplistic, not unlike something an average toddler might do with a set of finger paints. And as contemporary art becomes more conceptual, it’s harder to know what makes a piece of art great: the object itself, the story behind it, or both?
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It Literally Pays to Have a Reliable Spouse
New York Magazine: Conscientiousness is not really up there among the sexiest qualities a person can have, but maybe it should be. New research in Psychological Science found that people who have careful, reliable partners tend to do better at work; they make more money, get more promotions, and are happier at their jobs. Marry a put-together person, in other words, and their put-together-ness will spill over into your own life, even into your workplace. Suddenly, put-together-ness seems very sexy. The researchers gathered their data via an annual survey in Australia that collects economic and social information.
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The Case Against Sharing Your Epic Vacation Photos on Social Media
Entrepreneur: We all have at least one of those friends (some of us are those friends), the kind whose Facebook/Instagram/Twitter feed is used exclusively to post photos and captions documenting how insanely epic life is: Here I am waltzing on a beach in St. Tropez! Here I am eating truffle shavings at a five-star restaurant in Tuscany! Wait, here I am right after getting a major promotion! Psychologically, it makes sense that many of us use social media to broadcast all the awesome stuff going on in our lives.
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Not Everyone Wants to Be Happy
Scientific American: Everyone wants to be happy. It's a fundamental human right. It's associated with all sorts of benefits. We, as a society, spend millions trying to figure out what the key to personal happiness is. There are now even apps to help us turn our frowns upside down. So everyone wants to be happy—right? Well, maybe not. A new research paper by Mohsen Joshanloo and Dan Weijers from Victoria University of Wellington, argues that the desire for personal happiness, though knitted into the fabric of American history and culture, is held in less esteem by other cultures.