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POPSThe study of a lifetime: "What Makes Us Happy?" "Is there a formula—some mix of love, work, and psychological adaptation—for a good life? For 72 years, researchers at Harvard have been examining this question, following 268 men who entered college in the late 1930s through war, career, marriage and divorce, parenthood and grandparenthood, and old age. Here, for the first time, a journalist gains access to the archive of one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in history. Its contents, as much literature as science, offer profound insight into the human condition—and into the study’s longtime director, George Vaillant"
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POPSPosthuman Stories Are Creation Myths Turned Upside Down An interesting perspective to ponder about: Are the posthuman & transhumanist movements the new belief-systems for scientific-mindsetted non-believers? Where lies that fine line between religion, belief, speculation & reality, naive optimism & depressive realism? How does our cultural heritage influence this reversal from past to future? And also a link to the free scifi ebook on this topic.
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POPSThe philosophy of good intentions mindhacks: BC Radio National All in the Mind has a fascinating discussion on how we attribute intentions to other people which covers some surprising and counter-intuitive examples of how our understanding of other people's desires are biased by the situation
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POPSWhy Friday the 13th Is Unlucky Twelve gods were invited to a banquet at Valhalla. Loki, the Evil One, god of mischief, had been left off the guest list but crashed the party, bringing the total number of attendees to 13. True to character, Loki raised hell by inciting Hod, the blind god of winter, to attack Balder the Good, who was a favorite of the gods. Hod took a spear of mistletoe offered by Loki and obediently hurled it at Balder, killing him instantly. All Valhalla grieved. And although one might take the moral of this story to be "Beware of uninvited guests bearing mistletoe," the Norse themselves apparently concluded that 13 people at a dinner party is just plain bad luck. As if to prove the point, the Bible tells us there were exactly 13 present at the Last Supper. One of the dinner guests — er, disciples — betrayed Jesus Christ, setting the stage for the Crucifixion. Did I mention the Crucifixion took place on a Friday?
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POPSThe dance of consciousness "Experience is something that is temporarily extended and active. Perceptual consciousness is a style of access to the world around us. I can touch something, and when I touch something I make use of an understanding of the way in which my own movements help me secure access to that which is before me. The point is not that merely that I learn about or achieve access to the world by touching. The point is that the thing shows up for me as something in a space of movement-oriented possibilities".
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POPSMind, body and goal: the embodied cognition revolution "In one particularly striking study, Proffitt and his colleagues found that we perceive distances as shorter when we have a tool in our hand, but only when we intend to use it. They suggest that we perceive the environment in terms of our intentions and abilities to act within it".
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POPSThe End Of The Language Barrier !!?? from the article: This is an ambitious prediction, I know, but all of the prerequisites needed for this to happen now exist. The language barrier will not be broken by a single dramatic advance, but by many simple processes that, when combined, will enable ideas to jump easily across cultures.
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