-
A new federal report discusses an unexpected theory for why murders are rising in U.S. cities
The Washington Post: More people were murdered in large U.S. cities last year than in 2014 — the first substantial increase in homicides in a quarter-century, after years of improving safety on American streets — and criminologists still are not sure why. There has been a fierce debate about the causes of the violence, but one possible explanation has not received enough public attention so far, according to the the author of a report published Wednesday by the Justice Department.
-
‘Unloaded’ Minds Are the Most Creative
New York Magazine: One of the finest subreddits is r/Showerthoughts, wherein redditors “share all those thoughts, ideas, or philosophical questions that race through your head when in the shower.” Posts tend toward the observational and absurd, as in: • “Barn owls must have been stoked when the barn was finally invented.” • “If you go into a fake time machine, you still come out in the future.” • “The reason Hermione was such an “insufferable know-it-all” was so that she could explain everything about magic to the muggles reading thebooks.” Brilliant, right?
-
Who’s the Better Judge of a Good Idea: You or Your Boss?
After the success of his movie American Graffiti, George Lucas pitched an idea for a little sci-fi flick called “The Star Wars” to several major film studios; United Artists, Universal Pictures, and Disney all passed on the ambitious project. Star Wars, which was produced for $11 million dollars in 1977, went on to become one of the biggest box office successes in the history of film. Adjusted for inflation, the Star Wars films have raked in over $21 billion dollars—a fact that has probably haunted all the studio executives who initially passed on the project.
-
Sheryl Sandberg on the Myth of the Catty Woman
The New York Times: AT the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the Norwegian cross-country skier Therese Johaug was vying for her first individual gold medal. Fresh off a world championship in the 10-kilometer race, she was now competing in the 30-kilometer. More than a grueling hour later, Ms. Johaug landed the silver, finishing less than three seconds behind the gold medalist — her training partner, Marit Bjorgen. The two Norwegians are the top two female cross-country skiers in the world and fierce competitors. Instead of being bitter rivals, they are best friends. Ms. Bjorgen, 36, has been the reigning queen for more than a decade. When Ms.
-
The Science of Beer Goggles
The Atlantic: A couple of scientists walked into a bar and … began posing moral quandaries. When they presented bar-goers with a version of the classic “trolley problem”—would you push a man in front of a train, killing him in order to save five track workers?—they found that the drunker people got, the more likely they were to say they’d push the man. Alcohol, the researchers observed, can make us more utilitarian in our reasoning. Read the whole story: The Atlantic
-
How Psychology Made the Brexit Vote Inevitable
TIME: The Brexit vote may or may not be a good thing for the U.K., but it means boom times for the adjective industry, with commentators and politicians falling all over themselves to come up with different ways of saying that the world was surprised the results. We have been alternately stunned, roiled, shocked, jolted,rattled and—as is inevitable whenever the Brits are involved—gobsmacked by the news. ... “I think it does pose a risk in Europe,” says Farley. “Much of this is emotional. People aren’t putting together a ledger with the negatives and positives of staying or leaving and then coming to a conclusion. A lot of voting is that way.” Read the whole story: TIME
