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POPSResearchers Can Swat Flies "It is best not to swat at the fly's starting position," Dickinson said. Instead, aim for the escape route. And who didn't need to know that??? I'm curious, does anyone think there was a "need" to research on why it's so hard to swat a fly ?
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POPSBody Language of Winners and Losers Could be Innate "In the end, it’s all about evolution. The discovery by psychologists suggests that these gestures of pride and shame are hard wired into the human brain, probably because they were universal signs of dominance and submission among our ape relatives and ancestors . So when you see arms raised in victory at the Beijing Olympics, you might really be seeing an symbol of dominance that humans developed long ago."
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POPSBrain That Changes Itself "The brain is a far more open system than we ever imagined, and nature has gone very far to help us perceive and take in the world around us. It has given us a brain that survives in a changing world by changing itself'
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POPSAging may be a mistake, and not a given "I don't think there are any theories that account for the vast differences in life spans between animals. Nobody knows why we age in 80 years and chimpanzees age in 40," he said. Kim said he thinks the worm results may one day answer questions such as why the human kidney ages faster than the liver or why some clams live for 400 years and whales can live for 200 years. "Why can't I live as long as a whale? How hard would it be?" he asked. it is a very good question...
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POPSMyths of Mental Illness: chemicals or people? Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation by Charles Barber Excellent interview with author, difficult to do justice in clip. Part of the growing critique of the myth that mental distress is solely a matter of chemical imbalance, 'hardwiring', genetics etc. Relocates the human in culture and ideology rather than identifying a biological misfunctioning atom.
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POPSWe are all "infovores" Will Richardson tweeted this article so I thought I would share it. I know for one that I am like the example of the "cat & a laser pointer" when it comes to information. I keep searching, keep adding to my reader - even though I cannot keep up. I tried to dial back but it was impossible. I even deleted feeds that I no longer read but I just keep adding when something interesting comes up. Maybe this bombardment of information is why kids think they can multitask? Beats me but it makes me wonder.
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POPSYour Political Preferences Might be Hard-Wired However this expresses the naivety of many people, who believe that they were “hardcore” anything. The simple fact is that people’s opinions change as they mature and acquire more information. It doesn’t reflect this evidence, rather than focusing us on the reality behind it; that it is down to personality traits.
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POPS"Operation Perceptual Freedom." It turns out that languages meddle in very low-level aspects of perception, and without our knowledge or consent shape the very nuts and bolts of how we see the world.
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POPSHomosexuality Turned On and Off In Testing Smell is the way we find our match. Thus is already a proven theory. This is what drives the fragrance industry. I've heard that you are here because your mother liked the way your father smelled. So why not the same with homosexuals. Attraction is attraction ... no matter what the sexual preference. Pheromones, and how our brains perceive them, are the key to this attraction.
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POPSHuman Animals: we are hardwired and softwired. About how even the modes by which we think the deepest questions may be limited by 'hardwired' biological givens. Also looks like a great, easy to read site introducing neuropsychology basics at a scientific level, with very clear diagrams.
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POPSThe Brain is Wired to Mull Over Decisions This is really cool; discovering how the ability to choose is part of our innate makeup. For people interested in science/medical research, HHMI has a great website and newsletter that is written for the general public; also super pictures, animations and other media
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