In other news
dmunger | December 9, 2008The New York Times has an interesting article about the latest international math/science testing. American kids actually fared pretty well, behind just a few other countries. More focused testing on individual states puts Massachusetts kids behind only Taiwan and Singapore.
Encephalon is up at Living the Scientific Life
Skills for Healthy Living blog reports that Pain intensity does not correlate with life satisfaction in people with long-term pain
And, just in time for your office holiday party, BPS Research Digest reports on How to name-drop
Inspired by a typo on CogDaily, CogLangLab muses…
dmunger | July 16, 2008Bora's hosting the first-ever edition of a new history of science carnival, "The Giant's Shoulders," which promises to focus attention on great research from years past, once a month.
All participants review a journal article or other report of science from their field of expertise. The catch is that the science being reviewed must be at least ten years old. This edition recaps all the entries from Skulls in the Stars' original challenge, so if you missed that, now's your chance to catch up, in addition to reading all the new entries for this edition.
dmunger | March 3, 2008Of Two Minds, the much-anticipated merger of Steve Higgins' Omni Brain and Shelley Batts' Retrospectacle, makes its debut today.
Not Exactly Rocket Science is also up and running here on ScienceBlogs.com.
If you haven't had a chance to take a look at the relatively new blog Translating Autism, you should definitely check it out too.
Finally, don't miss this week's edition of Encephalon, capably hosted by the fantastic blog Mind Hacks.
dmunger | October 25, 2007
ScienceBloggers Walk Down Memory Lane
This is the geek equivalent of "when I was your age I used to walk to six miles school barefoot -- in the snow -- uphill both ways!"
Daylight Savings Time worse than previously thought
I don't know about that. I've always thought it was pretty bad...
Brain regions responsible for optimism located
I'm certain this will lead to cures for world hunger and global warming. Or so my rostral anterior cingulate and amygdala tell me.
Should the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Cancel Their San Diego Meeting?
Can't wait 'til Casual Friday? A fellow…
dmunger | October 22, 2007
Encephalon 34 is ready to go at Distributed Neuron
N Skills Every Scientist Should Have
Help Chad come up with a list of the most important skills for scientists
Some tips for putting together a Behavioral Science grant proposal
The relationship between money and happiness
Key conclusions: Money doesn't make you happy, but happy people end up making more money
If you don't like laughing, don't watch this video
A brilliantly executed brain-themed spoof of educational programming. "Learn" how to conduct your own neuroscience experiments!
dmunger | October 18, 2007
60 percent of Neuroscience conference authors only present one paper in five years
Book Review - On Killing: The Psychological Costs of Learning to Kill in War and Society
Is it possible that most soldiers only rarely use their weapons, even in pitched battle?
Why There Aren't Right-Handed Apes, Or: Handedness and The Evolution of Language
Why are bluetooth headsets so lame?
Is it possible that a *more* conspicuous headset will make you look like less of a dork?
Women in Math, Science, and Engineering, and Playing Video Games
Chris offers the full analysis of a the article we brought…
dmunger | October 16, 2007
Proust Was A Neuroscientist
Fellow ScienceBlogger Jonah Lehrer's long-awaited book Proust Was a Neuroscientist is now shipping. Any chance you'll send a copy CogDaily's way, Jonah?
Should scientists communicate more like hackers do?
Aaron Rowe suggests that scientists could profit by emulating the high-speed communications methods used by programmers and hackers. Anyone know of a science networking site?
Mixing Memory : Women in Math, Science, and Engineering: Is It About the Numbers (And Not the Ones You Might Think)?
How ambiguous racism can be more harmful than the blatant variety…
dmunger | October 15, 2007
Stores make customer testing for their products too easy
The result: Customers overestimate their ability and buy fancier stuff than they need
Audiophiles and the limitations of human hearing
Can we *really* hear the difference $7,000 speaker cables make? What about $100 cables?
Radiohead lets fans decide how much to pay for their album
Notes on the psychology behind this plan
Did language originate with hand gestures?
A flaw in the ganzfeld parapsychology experiment?
I sense a disturbance in the literature about parapsychology
Artificial erections
They may be good for business,…
dmunger | October 12, 2007
More revisions on the BPR3 icon
The BPR3 icon is in nearly-final form. Make comments over at the BPR3 site.
That lap dancing study
I'll resist puns with this one, but Kate has a nice write-up
Cheap trainers still protect feet
Translation into American English: Expensive running shoes aren't worth the money
Being paid by the hour changes the way we think about time
Phishing Education Called Inadequate
The best approach seems to be a child's video game
Oppression and the psychology of the Burmese state
What living under a dictatorship does to your mental health
Visualizing the…
dmunger | October 10, 2007
Encephalon, Thirty-Third Edition
Laboratory Website and Video Awards
The Scientist is holding a contest for the best lab web site. Nominate your favorite!
Scientific literacy
I think Cognitive Daily stands as an excellent example of what Kate is talking about here: People really are interested in the details about science.
Five Keys to Selling to Spendthrifts
It's not as easy as you think!
Contrary to Research, British Believe Moderate Exercise Healthier Than Vigorous
This is a case study in the principle that when the government says something, people believe it
dmunger | October 9, 2007
The five best and worst sites, Part IV
I was relieved to see we weren't one of the "worst" sites...
Vote for the Winner of the 2007 Blogging Scholarship
I'm not picking any favorites, other than to note that fellow ScienceBlogger Shelley Batts is in the running.
Hammers and Distributed Memory
"There is no single place of our brain where we will find an entry with the word hammer followed by a neat dictionary definition of what a hammer is."
Diet Education Had No Long Term Impact On Childhood Obesity
Can nurture save you from your own genes? Genes, environment and depression
dmunger | October 8, 2007
Weather impacts outlook on life
Want to show that most college students have a negative attitude about their life's goals? Ask them while it's raining.
For Schools, Lottery Payoffs Fall Short
North Carolina recently started an "education lottery." The New York Times assesses its success.
Shocking news: Omni Brain has a serious post!
A thoughtful article: The Real Mozart Effect and why we should support music education
Abundant Delicious Food Could Result In 'Food Addiction', Analysis Suggests
X Wing Rocket video
If you haven't seen this video yet, here's your chance. A sad day for…
dmunger | October 4, 2007
Rocket-Powered 21-Foot-Long X-Wing Model Actually Flies
I would have killed for one of these in 1977!
New anesthesia method blocks pain without numbness or paralysis
This painkiller targets just pain detectors, and leaves other sensory nerves intact
Do Infants Have an Innate Spider Detection Mechanism? And if Not, Shouldn't They?
Doctors repress their responses to their patients' pain
Accupuncturists respond identically to poking someone in the mouth with a needle and prodding them with a harmless cotton swab
dmunger | October 3, 2007
Challenging the conclusions drawn from Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment
A great idea, from BPS Research Digest's ongoing series of the best experiments that will never be conducted
Imaginative, Yet Literal? Fewer False Memories Among Children Than Adults
Misleading Reporting of Alzheimer's and Conscientiousness Research
Does being "conscientious" really prevent Alzheimer's?
Are Women Being Scared Away From Math, Science, And Engineering Fields?
Interesting attempt at a controlled study
cogdaily | June 22, 2007Yesterday was the summer solstice, and the days are getting shorter; but before you go out and enjoy the sun this weekend: Is sunshine good for you?
In other news:
AMA weighs in on gaming and internet addiction
Coffee 'could prevent eye tremor'
Brain's inertial navigation system pinpointed
What's killing American honey bees?
Labelling emotions reduces their impact
Natalie Portman, cognitive neuroscientist
The psychology of fatherhood
Video: The earth without humans
dmunger | April 4, 2007I told you so.
Now it's been confirmed: Daylight saving time doesn't save energy.
In other news:
Here's an intervention that really works.
Referees affected by crowd noise. But we already knew that, too.
Nice discussion of Gapminder. Try it out for yourself. It's addictive!
Computers beginning to match performance of visual system.
How the amazing motion after-effect works. Make sure you at least try out the illusion!
Thorough description of new book: "The Psychology of Baseball."
dmunger | March 21, 2007PsyBlog has completed its list of the top 10 psychology studies. You can now vote for your favorite.
What are the odds of a three-way tie in Jeopardy!?
What's special about beef, cream, and orange?
Chris disses the simulation theory of aesthetics, or why watching Rambo doesn't feel like getting shot.
What's the key to happiness?
Why do doctors make mistakes in diagnosis? See also his interview with Terry Gross
Cool video showing the retina does a great deal of visual processing.
Some insight into how we learn complex behaviors.
15 minutes of soccer a day can lower obesity by 50 percent.
Yet…
dmunger | March 16, 2007I've found a few articles that I've got couple sentences' worth of thoughts about, but not a couple paragraphs, so I'm going to write them all up here. This is sort of halfway between a news and an in other news post.
1. Neuroscience and science writing. Jonah Lehrer argues that it's okay for science writers to use generalizations like "the amygdala is the center of fear and anxiety" when actually all we can say for certain is that region is activated more when people claim they are afraid or anxious, compared to a "resting state." I agree; writers need to take shortcuts sometimes, but an…
dmunger | March 14, 2007An interesting strategy for picking colors for charts, graphs, and so on. Be sure to check out ColorBrewer.
Another reason to study music.
A sad result that's likely to be controversial: 18 percent of women experience sexual victimization.
If robots dreamed, what would they dream about?
Inquiring minds want to know: Is it a good idea to go to grad school in Canada if you want to work in the US?
What makes a good peer reviewer?
Oxytocin: the wonder neurotransmitter.
Need more links? Visit Encephalon 18.
dmunger | March 12, 2007Mind Hacks interviews Gretchen Rubin, who's working on a book about happiness, and blogging about it.
SCLin's Neuroscience Blog asks: How do you keep up with the literature? I cheat. I let Greta do it for me!
NY Times discusses the difference between "psychological" and physical torture. Short answer: there is none.
I've suspected this for a while: Coffee doesn't help you wake up. Or, rather, it only helps if you don't drink it all the time.
Why kids accept no substitutes for their security blankets.
What is more calming than watching beautiful scenes from nature? Watching them on a bigger TV…