Just like laboratory animals that receive positive reinforcement, humans want to repeat successful behavior. But the world is a complex place and causation is not as simple as we would wish.
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My post discussing Brian Leiter’s proposal to seize 75% of the 1%’s wealth reminded me of a Michael Kinsley piece I meant to comment on last month, but never got […]
Once again the Literary Review has announced the winner of its annual Bad Sex in Literature Awards, and once again I’m left strangely unsatisfied. What began as a novel exploration […]
By better understanding how social media influence people’s decisions, health researchers are hoping to target ‘top influencers’ who can encourage their friends to live healthier lives.
While MIT researchers were thinking up inexpensive solutions to a flu pandemic, they came upon ideas that apply equally to the seasonal flu. Stop your life from being interrupted this winter.
Though medical evaluations are supposedly based on objective measurements, cultural plays a role in what we consider normal behavior, and thus what become normal medical readings.
The most powerful tools for stopping cancer may be those of the computer scientist rather than the physician. Genome sequencing algorithms may provide for personalized cancer treatment.
Canadian researchers are better understanding how a sedentary lifestyle affects your long term health. Sitting for too long may actually overwhelm the benefits of exercise, they say.
When Bill Gates took on the mission of reducing preventable deaths through vaccine use, he was ready to use the power of his personal fortune, but there was nobody to write a check to.
Do a quick online search for the term “What causes divorce” and you will be greeted with a myriad of sites claiming to have the answer. A popular claim is […]
Several years ago I was chatting on an online dating site with a man who claimed to have a graduate degree. When I asked him what his degree was he […]
In the annals of human hatred, there’s a special place for those who play the same game we do—the ones who are on to our tricks and whose mirror tactics […]
So a professor of philosophy—Gary Gutting—opinionating for the NYT invites us to think about the relationship between politicians and intellectuals. He says that politicians, to be credible, don’t have to […]
–Guest post by Meng Shi, American University graduate student with contributions from Matthew Nisbet. Framing is a frequently used term that derives from several decades of research in the social […]
Thanks to its resilient economy, Germany is now steering the European Union. In Angela Merkel, the continent has a leader that must choose between regrettable options or face peril.
Founder of the software developer 37signals, Jason Fried began to reconsider the value of year-end cash bonuses as the business grew and the reward of paper money became rote.
The economist Tim Harford argues we don’t need to avoid mistakes. Rather, mistakes need to be “revealed, exposed and then corrected as soon as possible.”
What’s the Big Idea? Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is taking some heat from fellow Republicans due to his proposal to start “a permanent colony on the moon” that would allow […]
In Britain a young lady was ‘caught’ having sex with her brother. The brother is 21, while his sister is 18. According to the law, they should be convicted for incest.
David Cameron has refused to subject Britain to a series of financial regulations demanded by the European Union. As a result, a new financial bloc has been formed outside the E.U.
Weeks after Occupy Wall Street organizers apologized for promoting a Radiohead concert that was never to be, Thom York and Massive Attack’s 3D gave a small concert in London.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. After the great social media boom of the past few years when it seemed like new digital media tools were […]
You’ve probablyalreadyheard that Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, sinking in the polls as primary season approaches, is making one last bid for relevance with a new campaign ad: Here’s the […]
The most sterling truth standard in marriage is that you’re both monogamous for life, if you vowed that you would be. You don’t flirt with intent; you don’t have boozy […]
What do you do when your Presidential campaign is floundering and your support has collapsed in the polls? I’m not sure. That’s why political strategists are paid the big bucks. […]
At Europe’s Large Hadron Collider, a December 13 press conference will update the world on the search for the long-sought Higgs boson. Encouraging evidence is expected to be announced.
Just like Hal 9000 in 2001, the next generation of the motion-sensing technology called Kinect may be able to read your lips as well as your emotions, determining if you’re angry with your video game.
Amid widely-publicized corporate scandals, global environmental threats, and powerful advances in biotechnology, says ethicist Paul Root Wolpe, big companies find themselves tromping through an ethical minefield, and desperately in need of guidance.
Using super cloud computing, IBM has created a public database of chemical compounds extracted from 4.7 million patents and donated it to the National Institutes of Health.
“Retention, even in difficult times,” says Rich Lesser of Boston Consulting Group, “becomes a bellwether for employees about whether they should invest back in you, and so your priority is . . . to know the things that are most important to your future success, and invest starting with the people.'”