Research: Cubicles Are the Absolute Worst - Sarah Green - Harvard Business Review: "The worst part, according to the data, is that these office workers can’t control what they hear — or who hears them. Lack of sound privacy was far and away the most despised issue in the survey, with 60% of cubicle workers and half of all partitionless people indicating it as a frustration."
Policy: Twenty tips for interpreting scientific claims
"To this end, we suggest 20 concepts that should be part of the education of civil servants, politicians, policy advisers and journalists — and anyone else who may have to interact with science or scientists. "
How to navigate a medical crisis
"Getting the best treatment, though, isn't the only critical task ahead. You'll have to master the nuances of your health insurance coverage, arrange for time away from the office, and find slack in your budget for the inevitable out-of-pocket costs. "
Headlines from a Mathematically Literate World
"Our World: One Dead in Shark Attack; See Tips for Shark Safety Inside
Mathematically Literate World: One Dead in Tragic, Highly Unlikely Event; See Tips for Something Useful Inside"
Mathematically Literate World: One Dead in Tragic, Highly Unlikely Event; See Tips for Something Useful Inside"
Secrets of Black Friday and Cyber Monday - get it now (before it's gone!)
"I know my strings are being pulled. I know how they are being pulled. Because of this, I've been able to temper my actions a bit."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
3 easy ways to trick people with numbers
"Numbers can be dry and boring for many of us, but they do have a way of making things seem factual even when they aren't"
Inside The Staged Normalcy Of Breakthrough Alzheimer's Village
"At the same location, there used to be an ordinary six-floor retirement home whose staff, one day, asked themselves the right question: “If our own parents suffered from dementia, would we want them to live here?”"
The Fist Bump Manifesto
"We surmise that the fist bump is an effective alternative to the handshake in the hospital setting," McClellan et al. wrote in the journal. "[Bumping] may lead to decreased transmission of bacteria and improved health and safety of patients and healthcare workers alike."
Going Gently Into That Good Night
"I believe that the power to make choices about how and when we die, when terminally ill, should be a basic human right. "
An Ex-Cop's Guide to Not Getting Arrested
"Law enforcement officers now are part of the revenue gathering system," Carson tells me in a phone interview. "The ranks of cops are young and competitive, they’re in competition with one another and intra-departmentally. It becomes a game. Policing isn’t about keeping streets safe, it’s about statistical success. The question for them is, Who can put the most people in jail?"
My 83-Year-Old Dad Was Swindled: 7 Financial Scams
"When everything unraveled and the police and I talked, a detective said, “It’ll take a while for us to get this criminal charged. We have so many of these cases a day to deal with. This is going on everywhere.”"
10 Things Every High School Graduate Should Know About Money
"It raises the question, in a nation founded on capitalist ideals and driven by consumer activity, of why we don’t do a better job educating our kids about money. Shouldn’t personal finance be part of a core curriculum that helps students avoid some of the more common pitfalls and promotes strategies for success?"
The 12 cognitive biases that prevent you from being rational
"Here are a dozen of the most common and pernicious cognitive biases that you need to know about."
40-hour work-week as a tool of emiserating economic growth
40-hour work-week as a tool of emiserating economic growth: "In Cain's view, the 40-hour office week leaves us "tired, hungry for indulgence, willing to pay a lot for convenience and entertainment, and most importantly, vaguely dissatisfied with our lives so that we continue wanting things we don’t have.""
Waterpik Water Flosser
Cool Tools – Waterpik Water Flosser: "The key is adequate water pressure delivered through the small, needle-like plastic tip that you direct around the inside of your mouth, like a miniature fire-hose, aiming at every gum line and inter-tooth space."
Peak soil: Why nutrition is disappearing from our food
Peak soil: Why nutrition is disappearing from our food: "Agriculture, by nature, is designed to reap the maximum yield of crops, a process that has been honed and perfected over the centuries. It's quantity at the expense of quality, in other words."
Privacy Primer
Privacy Primer: "Privacy doesn’t need any more justification. It’s a quality-of-life thing and needs no further defense."
This Is The Best Takedown Of The 'Speed Kills' Myth You'll Ever See
"One refrain you hear frequently from insurance companies, police, and the media is that 'speed kills.' It doesn't, and this is the best debunking of that myth that we've ever seen."
What Your Neighborhood List-Serv Tells You About The Demise of America
"When everything is a safety crisis, nothing is. So it should be little surprise that older children are less likely to heed warnings against smoking, drinking and having, in the parlance of modern educators, “unsafe” sex."
My Daughter’s Homework Is Killing Me
"What happens when a father, alarmed by his 13-year-old daughter's nightly workload, tries to do her homework for a week"
“Forcing” my kids to be vegetarian
"I’m uneasy with the idea of animals being killed to fulfill a need of mine I know can be fulfilled other ways. In the interests of sharing a world with more than 7 billion other people, and doing so without being a jerk, I’d rather reduce my toll on our shared resources. "
Fighting back against talkers and texters at the movies
"There is a larger question: Why is this an epidemic? My hunch is that our culture has become SO private -- meaning people spend so much time watching things on computers and interacting via so-called social media -- they've forgotten how to act in public."
Gut feelings: the future of psychiatry may be inside your stomach
"But now, a new understanding of the trillions of microbes living in our guts reveals that this communication process is more like a multi-lane superhighway than a one-way street. By showing that changing bacteria in the gut can change behavior, this new research might one day transform the way we understand — and treat — a variety of mental health disorders."
Three Things White Americans Must Do Today for Black Americans
"Hold open doors. Carry bags. Stand so others can sit. Ask if you can give a hand. Remember we’re naturally biased to behave like everyone else when we’re in a crowd. Fight that bias and do the thing that is gracious and kind, even if everyone else around you is doing nothing. You will feel self-conscious and potentially idiotic. This is normal. It is also a small price to pay for kindness."
Your Ancestors Didn’t Sleep Like You
"Your ancestors slept in a way that modern sleepers would find bizarre – they slept twice. And so can you."
Why Do Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others?
"An estimated 20 percent of people, it turns out, are especially delicious for mosquitoes, and get bit more often on a consistent basis. And while scientists don’t yet have a cure for the ailment, other than preventing bites with insect repellent (which, we’ve recently discovered, some mosquitoes can become immune to over time), they do have a number of ideas regarding why some of us are more prone to bites than others. "
Are we making ourselves miserable trying to live longer?
"But delve a little deeper into those numbers, and you'll discover that while Americans may be living longer, they are certainly not living better. For one, we're slipping behind our international peers. The U.S. is 27th, down from 20th, in life expectancy among the 34 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. More importantly, our quality of life has also fallen relative to the rest of the industrialized world."
No One is Innocent
"I broke the law yesterday and again today and I will probably break the law tomorrow. Don’t mistake me, I have done nothing wrong. I don’t even know what laws I have broken. Nevertheless, I am reasonably confident that I have broken some laws, rules, or regulations recently because its hard for anyone to live today without breaking the law. "
Confirmation Bias « You Are Not So Smart
"The Misconception: Your opinions are the result of years of rational, objective analysis.
The Truth: Your opinions are the result of years of paying attention to information which confirmed what you believed while ignoring information which challenged your preconceived notions."
The Truth: Your opinions are the result of years of paying attention to information which confirmed what you believed while ignoring information which challenged your preconceived notions."
Why Randomness May Not Mean What You Think It Means
"Randomness is an often misunderstood concept. Unlike a lot of precise math, randomness deals with ineffable concepts like odds and probabilities — concepts that our brains simply haven't evolved to fully process and grasp; indeed, our brains are actually wired to find patterns and meaning in things that aren’t really there."
The new warrior cop is out of control
"SWAT teams raiding poker games and trying to stop underage drinking? Overwhelming paramilitary force is on the rise"
David Edelstein on Texting and Talking at Movies
"When you go to the movies nowadays, is it hard to concentrate on what’s onscreen because people are texting or talking all around you, as if they were in their own living rooms? I hear you. I hear them, too."
Depression/anxiety/mental illness: you are not alone in this fight
"There is help available, including talking therapy and safe, effective medications to help balance the chemicals in your brain so you can feel normal again. To borrow a phrase from my friend Jenny Lawson: Since I got treatment for my particular flavor of mental illness, I may have Depression, but Depression doesn't have me."
Is the obesity crisis hiding a bigger problem? | Video on TED.com
"So what if we're fighting the wrong war, fighting obesity rather than insulin resistance? Even worse, what if blaming the obese means we're blaming the victims? What if some of our fundamental ideas about obesity are just wrong?"
Transcript available there for those who would rather read than listen.
Transcript available there for those who would rather read than listen.
A Nation of Wimps
"Messing up, however, even in the playground, is wildly out of style. Although error and experimentation are the true mothers of success, parents are taking pains to remove failure from the equation."
Advice for Grads from Two Sociologists
“Happy Graduation, Seniors! Congratulations! What’s next? Below is some sociologically-inspired, out-of-the-box advice on work, love, family, friendship, and the meaning of life. “
This is intended for college graduates, but I think it’s great stuff for any adult (and besides, not everyone goes to college).
This is intended for college graduates, but I think it’s great stuff for any adult (and besides, not everyone goes to college).
The Zen of floating
"After just 20 minutes in a sensory-deprivation tank, you can reach a state of zero thought"
“But there is glitter on your boobs!” | the flip side of modesty culture
"It’s a poor view of both men and women to assume that a lack of modesty leads to loss of control, and it also perpetuates a rape culture in which the victim is held responsible instead of the perpetrator. If we want our boys to be more respectful of women, WE SHOULD ADDRESS IT WITH THE BOYS. But it does prompt the question: what responsibility do women have when it comes to modesty? "
“If the Sex Offender List Saves One Child…”
"... this guest post addresses a sentiment that really disturbs me — the “one child” idea that is used to justify everything from not allowing kids to walk to school to never letting folks who’ve served their time return to the community as anonymous citizens, same as anyone else."
A Nation of Wimps
"Parents are going to ludicrous lengths to take the bumps out of life for their children. However, parental hyperconcern has the net effect of making kids more fragile; that may be why they're breaking down in record numbers"
The ecosystem inside you
"Your body harbors trillions of bacteria that have profound effects on your health, your weight, and even your mood"
How conspiracists think
"New research helps explain why some see elaborate government plots behind events like 9/11 or the Boston bombings"
What BP Doesn’t Want You to Know About the 2010 Gulf Spill
"That BP lied about the amount of oil it discharged into the gulf is already established. Lying to Congress about that was one of 14 felonies to which BP pleaded guilty last year in a legal settlement with the Justice Department that included a $4.5 billion fine, the largest fine ever levied against a corporation in the U.S."
The psychology of hating food (and how we learn to love it)
The psychology of hating food (and how we learn to love it): "Kids who hate stinky cheese and greens often grow into adults who can't get enough of them. Why do our tastes seem to transform in our teens? And can we change our tastes deliberately as adults? Here's what scientists know so far."
The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On
The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On - Bruce Schneier - The Atlantic: "If it's hard for us to keep this in perspective, it will be even harder for our leaders. They'll be afraid that by speaking honestly about the impossibility of attaining absolute security or the inevitability of terrorism -- or that some American ideals are worth maintaining even in the face of adversity -- they will be branded as "soft on terror." And they'll be afraid that Americans might vote them out of office. Perhaps they're right, but where are the leaders who aren't afraid? What has happened to "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"?
Terrorism, even the terrorism of radical Islamists and right-wing extremists and lone actors all put together, is not an "existential threat" against our nation. Even the events of 9/11, as horrific as they were, didn't do existential damage to our nation. Our society is more robust than it might seem from watching the news. We need to start acting that way. "
'via Blog this'
Terrorism, even the terrorism of radical Islamists and right-wing extremists and lone actors all put together, is not an "existential threat" against our nation. Even the events of 9/11, as horrific as they were, didn't do existential damage to our nation. Our society is more robust than it might seem from watching the news. We need to start acting that way. "
'via Blog this'
In Which The City of Portland Makes Me Seriously Consider Becoming a Registered Libertarian
"I was working from home last August when I glanced out my front window and noticed a man walking through our front yard, taking measurements. I went out and introduced myself; the man turned out to be an Urban Forestry Inspector from the City of Portland’s Parks and Recreation Department. He was there, he said, to investigate illegal tree removal on my part."
Congress Quickly And Quietly Rolls Back Insider Trading Rules For Itself
"From the can't-mess-with-the-profits dept"
How Food Companies Exploit Americans
"And that’s the problem – the food industry is the one leading our conversation in this country about food and nutrition, educating the mass public about what to eat and what not to eat. "
Why does my kid freak out? The science behind toddler tantrums. - Slate Magazine
"The totally legitimate reasons your animal child just threw spaghetti in your face."
The Rules of Good Nutrition (That Absolutely Everybody Agrees On)
"Fewer things can generate more controversy and disagreement than discussions about food and nutrition. It often seems that people will never reach any kind of consensus on what we should and shouldn't eat. But there may actually be a few exceptions to this. Here are 10 nutrition facts that everyone actually agrees on — well, perhaps almost everyone."
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack: "Through work to bring materials from women's studies into the rest of the curriculum, I have often noticed men's unwillingness to grant that they are overprivileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged. They may say they will work to women's status, in the society, the university, or the curriculum, but they can't or won't support the idea of lessening men's. "
Sources of Free Images
"I am always on the lookout for free imagery for blog posts and powerpoints presentations. Here’s some sources."
Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us
"When you look behind the bills that Sean Recchi and other patients receive, you see nothing rational — no rhyme or reason — about the costs they faced in a marketplace they enter through no choice of their own. The only constant is the sticker shock for the patients who are asked to pay."
Link
Link
All-day energy, every day
"We're a nation of can-do people: We work, we plan, we organize, we go, fueling ourselves on coffee and pure determination. Until, that is, we fall onto the sofa in a stupor."
Cholesterol Myths
"The basic cholesterol myths are the pervasive beliefs that cholesterol causes heart disease and predict heart attacks. In fact, “Cholesterol is an essential molecule without which there would be no life,” the book says. It is “so important that virtually every cell in the body is capable of synthesizing it.” Furthermore, “there is no correlation between cholesterol and heart attack.”"
Diss Information: Is There a Way to Stop Popular Falsehoods from Morphing into "Facts"?
"False information is pervasive and difficult to eradicate, but scientists are developing new strategies such as "de-biasing," a method that focuses on facts, to help spread the truth"
Save Bundles of Cash by Buying Eyeglasses Online
"Anybody who wears eyeglasses knows how much you pay for two tiny pieces of glass. Take our advice on shopping for glasses online to save yourself a whole lot of cash."
What's Really Making Us Fat?
"Conventional wisdom says that weight gain or loss is based on the energy balance model of "calories in, calories out," which is often reduced to the simple refrain, "eat less, and exercise more." But new research reveals a far more complex equation that appears to rest on several other important factors affecting weight gain."
Why We're All Above Average
"Since psychological studies first began, people have given themselves top marks for most positive traits. While most people do well at assessing others, they are wildly positive about their own abilities, Dunning said."
i am still waiting for human kibble to be produced and i am not alone in this: sometimes you just want to take care of your body's demands and GET ON WITH IT
Funny comic.
Where's the Futurama "Bachelor Chow" when you need it?
Where's the Futurama "Bachelor Chow" when you need it?
College aid: Don't take the bait
"Yet a four-month investigation by MONEY has found that, in reality, the people most likely to profit from this strategy are the planners themselves -- most of them insurance agents with flimsy college-planning credentials and, often, little understanding of financial aid."
garfield minus garfield
"Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb. "
Stop Changing Your Oil!
"Oil chemistry and engine technology have evolved tremendously in recent years, but you'd never know it from the quick-change behavior of American car owners. Driven by an outdated 3,000-mile oil change commandment, they are unnecessarily spending millions of dollars and spilling an ocean of contaminated waste oil."
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