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Language as a Window into Human Nature
Steven Pinker shows us how the mind turns the finite building blocks of language into infinite meanings. Watch here Visit Page
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Science on Swearing
Timothy Jay knows enough about curse words to make any seven-year-old jealous. The Boston Globe has called him the “Doctor of dirty words,” and he frequently appears in news stories — like this one from Visit Page
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Study of the Day: Religion Boosts Patience, Has Practical Benefits
The Atlantic: Faith doesn’t just assuage fears about the afterlife. Research published in Psychological Science shows that it fuels self-control too. PROBLEM: Religious believers are often called on to exercise self-control. Christians, for instance, are Visit Page
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Fighting willpower’s catch-22
ScienceNews: Willpower comes with a wicked kickback. Exerting self-control saps a person’s mental energy and makes the next desire that inevitably comes along feel more compelling and harder to resist, a study of people’s daily Visit Page
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Why Morning Routines Are Creativity Killers
TIME: Brrriiinnng. The alarm clock buzzes in another hectic weekday morning. You leap out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with barely a moment to think. A stressful Visit Page
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The Realities of Reason
Reasoning is an ability that comes naturally to most people, and this can be demonstrated, according to psychological scientist Philip Johnson-Laird, by the world-wide popularity of Sudoku puzzles. While some people might be better at Visit Page
