Pretty good stuff, if you are into (or want to learn more about) philosophy. Especially check out the "Didn't get the joke?" link at the bottom of each, for explanations.

How One Doctor And His Menagerie Transformed A Nursing Home

"The most important finding was that it is possible to provide them with reasons to live, period. Even residents with dementia so severe that they had lost the ability to grasp much of what was going on could experience a life with greater meaning and pleasure and satisfaction."

A Fascinating New Idea About What It Means When You Start Forgetting Things

"The researchers propose that over time, you store more and more data in your brain, making retrieving a needed item — whether that's a word, a name, or information to make a decision — harder and slower as you get older."

How to be a great host — for Thanksgiving or any other occasion

"When you have friends or relatives coming to stay from out of town, make their visit a pleasure by thinking ahead and offering the same courtesies you would like to be shown. Elaborate fruit baskets and floral arrangements are not necessary, just a bit of common sense and good planning. "

This Is Your Brain On Scarcity

Scientists have long recognized that poverty can aggravate health problems. Now they're also beginning to understand that the stress of too little income actually changes the way people think.

Why It’s Your Fault There’s Already Christmas Stuff in Stores

"The funny thing is, as much as we complain about holiday promotions pushing into ever-earlier parts of the calendar, retailers are just delivering what customers today seem to want. We might gripe, but we’re still buying holiday stuff as soon as it’s on shelves. "

5 Shortcuts to Keep Data on Risks in Perspective

"We don’t have time to think and research everything through, and come to the perfect balance of knowledge for every little thing – and not even for every big thing that matters to us a lot. We need to take some cognitive shortcuts, but they leave us vulnerable to seeing what we want to see or being led astray when risks are being exaggerated or minimized. Here are my favorite 5 shortcuts to avoid the things that trip me up."

You Are Not a Fruit Fly: Why You Should Side-Eye Science Headlines

"The fruit fly study is only one of hundreds of cases in which science filtered through the popular media fails to provide accurate information, and leaves traces of misinformation behind. "

Where to Start When It Feels Like Nothing Is Going Right in Your Life

"Everyone has times in their life when they feel demotivated, lost, and unhappy. You're in a rut, and you don't know how to get out of it. Life may keep piling it on, but here are a few starting points for how you can climb out of your hole and get back on track."

When the Next Terrorist Attack Comes, Will We Be Capable of Keeping Our Heads?

"If and when that happens, the question will be whether we can see things in their proper perspective and not cast about madly for any new policy that sounds like it will "keep us safe," but will actually do nothing of the sort. "

Silence is the latest trend in luxury resorts

"People will pay a lot of money for some peace and quiet."

What's Wrong with Alternative Medicine?

"If unconventional therapies like acupuncture can make patients feel better by bringing them a vague sense of well being, why not let them? Some scientists say we shouldn't."

Fredkin's Paradox Explains Why You Waste Time On Meaningless Decisions

"Ever notice that you spend a full 15 minutes agonizing about whether to have apple-cinnamon pancakes or banana-walnut pancakes in the morning? Ever had that decision affect your day in any way? Fredkin's Paradox explains why you agonize anyway."

Why Scientists Should Celebrate Failed Experiments

"There’s nothing fraudulent or unethical about dropping an experiment that doesn’t work out as you thought it would, but it does come at a cost. Null results, after all, are still results, and once they’re in the literature, they help other researchers avoid experimental avenues that have already proven to be dead ends."

Why honor causes all of society's problems

"Recent research shows how deep the roots of honor culture go"

7 Habits of Incredibly Happy People

"Happiness is a state of mind. If you're willing to adopt a different approach to your actions, you can achieve it"

Report: Average American Worker Replaced Within 10 Minutes Of Taking Vacation

“All this means is that workers who take advantage of the vacation days offered by their company should just keep in mind that it will cost them their livelihood almost immediately.”

The Science of Depression

"What exactly is going on inside of a depressed person? We look at the scientific basis for depression, and shed light on the fact that it is a disease with biological, psychological, and social implications:"

Dead at noon: B.C. woman ends her life rather than suffer indignity of dementia (with video)

"Gillian Bennett’s final words on personal website make a passionate case for physician-assisted suicide"

Are Water Filters BS?

"The United States has one of the best public water systems in the world, yet its citizens are still shelling out big bucks on water filters. Is it worth the dough or just a waste?"

You Got Fired From a Job, So What?

"Knowing how to deal with the situation is important and although there’s a whole litany of advice out there, let me share what has worked for me:"

Why It’s So Hard to Catch Your Own Typos

"Frustratingly, they are usually words you know how to spell, but somehow skimmed over in your rounds of editing. If we are our own harshest critics, why do we miss those annoying little details?"

Why Focusing On Safety Can Be Very Dangerous

"Why some companies are taking safety to a whole new level."

I Want My Religion Back – You Can Keep the Ugly Baggage

"It’s not that I’m ashamed of being a Christian; I’m not – at all. It is just that the word “Christian” comes with so much ugly baggage."

Young Men, Sex, and Urge Ownership (And Why It’s Not The Girl’s Problem)

How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain

How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain: "Playing a musical instrument involves more areas of the brain than other activities. It only makes sense. You have to use your fine motor skills to play, understand the tune, read the music, remember how it’s done, co-ordinate with other players, and watch your timing. All at the same time. And that’s after you’ve learned how to do it!"

Are vitamin pills even necessary?

"Studies have found little value — and some possible harm — in taking vitamin pills. So why are vitamins so popular?"

Proper etiquette for every occasion

Proper etiquette for every occasion: "If you're like most people, you have questions. That's why Real Simple rallied the experts for updated advice on everything from bread plates to bcc."

John Oliver Breaks Down the Dark Side of Dietary Supplements with Steve Buscemi, George R.R. Martin, and More

John Oliver Breaks Down the Dark Side of Dietary Supplements with Steve Buscemi, George R.R. Martin, and More | Splitsider: "Dr. Oz recently got in some trouble for hawking some very questionably safe dietary and nutritional supplements on his medical talk show, so John Oliver took a note from Oz's history of pandering to his viewers with shaky medical information by doing some audience pandering of his own with the help of a very cute puppy, plot-teasing George R.R. Martin, tap-dancing Steve Buscemi, and more."

Why Believing In Astrology Is Not As Harmless As You Think

Why Believing In Astrology Is Not As Harmless As You Think: "Here's why astrology is potentially damaging to our understanding of science, relationships — and even our place in the universe itself."

20 Practical Ways to Help a Grieving Person

20 Practical Ways to Help a Grieving Person: "These pieces of advice are sourced from the book, “Sorry for Your Loss: What People Who Are Grieving Wish You Knew”."

How to Destroy College Education

How to Destroy College Education - The Daily Beast: "From the revolutionary war through contemporary debates about the worth of college, American thinkers have emphasized the ways that broad, pragmatic learning enhances the capacities of the whole person, allowing individuals greater freedom and an expanded range of possible choices. "

10 Scientific Ideas That Scientists Wish You Would Stop Misusing

10 Scientific Ideas That Scientists Wish You Would Stop Misusing: "Many ideas have left the world of science and made their way into everyday language — and unfortunately, they are almost always used incorrectly. We asked a group of scientists to tell us which scientific terms they believe are the most widely misunderstood. Here are ten of them."

Being an organized executor

Being an organized executor: "An executor is the person appointed to administer the estate of a person who has died. Being named as an executor is a privilege, but the title also comes with a significant amount of responsibility. Sometimes it may take several years to finalize an estate if it is complicated or if there are disputes among the beneficiaries."

It's Really Hard to Be a Good Guy With a Gun

‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens: "At press time, residents of the only economically advanced nation in the world where roughly two mass shootings have occurred every month for the past five years were referring to themselves and their situation as “helpless.”"

New 8 Keys to Making a Great First Impression

New 8 Keys to Making a Great First Impression: "It can be challenging to put your best foot forward all the time, so we’ve gathered up some quick tips and tricks to make sure that from now on, you’ll knock the socks off every person you meet."

Lovaglia’s Law and Open Office Plans

Lovaglia’s Law and Open Office Plans - Bob Sutton: "Also, administrators and accountants usually like open offices because they cost less to build, furnish, heat, and cool – so they are motivated to make arguments that people will like open designs better and work more effectively in them.

BUT the best evidence I can find tells a much different story. It turns out that although there is a lot of hype from companies that sell open office furniture and related goods about how fantastic open offices are, and all that, research published in peer review journals clashes with the hype. In every study that I can find that has survived the peer review process, people in open settings are found to be less satisfied, less productive, and experience more stress than people who work in closed offices. And when people move from closed to open offices, they like them less, report being less productive, and report more stress. So long as people are doing work that is largely “individual” and that requires thinking and intense individual concentration, these findings make a lot of sense to me."

MAYDAY.US - A Crowdfunded, Kickstarted SuperPAC to end all SuperPACs

MAYDAY.US - A Crowdfunded, Kickstarted SuperPAC to end all SuperPACs: "Help U.S. kickstart fundamental reform,
by reducing the influence of money in politics."

The science of sex and transgenderism.

The science of sex and transgenderism.: "Even those of us who distinguish between sex and gender, who understand that gender is a cultural construct, too often reduce sex to a binary. But when we dig into the science of sex, it turns out that the fundamental categorizations we take for granted—male and female—are not fundamental at all."

Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the Differences Between Weather and Climate Change

Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the Differences Between Weather and Climate Change: "Keep your eye on the man, not the dog."

Why You're Bad At Understanding Irony

Why You're Bad At Understanding Irony: "Morissette famously flubbed the concept in her hit, largely singing about coincidence or bad timing rather than actual irony."

With an excellent video that fixes things up.

Unambitious Loser With Happy, Fulfilling Life Still Lives In Hometown

Unambitious Loser With Happy, Fulfilling Life Still Lives In Hometown: "sources close to Husmer reported that the man, who has meaningful, lasting personal relationships and a healthy work-life balance, is an unmotivated washout who’s perfectly comfortable being a nobody for the rest of his life."

Bottled water is the marketing trick of the century

Bottled water is the marketing trick of the century: "According to Richard Wilk, professor of anthropology at Indiana University, bottled water is the most revealing substance for showing us how the global capitalist market works today."

It’s Adventure Time

It’s Adventure Time: "Adventure Time is a smash hit cartoon aimed primarily at kids age six to eleven. It’s also a deeply serious work of moral philosophy, a rip-roaring comic masterpiece, and a meditation on gender politics and love in the modern world."

I’ll Finish the Dishes When I’m Dead

I’ll Finish the Dishes When I’m Dead: "Caught up in what I've come to call the Overwhelm, the thought kept nagging me: Was I not just bad at time, was I squandering my one and only life?"

Reminder: If you smell gas, leave your house

Reminder: If you smell gas, leave your house: "There's a reason — a really, really good reason — that natural gas companies add a rotten-egg smell to their otherwise odorless product: Gas leaks are dangerous, and the best way to find them is with your nose."

What Research Tells Us About the Most Successful Relationships

What Research Tells Us About the Most Successful Relationships: "There's no single "formula" to a perfect relationship. However, we've studied an awful lot about what successful couples do. Everyone's relationships are a bit different, but we can take away a lot from what we know works."

The steps you should take when job hunting: Insights from the person who receives your resumes

The steps you should take when job hunting: Insights from the person who receives your resumes: "I'd like to offer some general advice from a management perspective for getting your resume seen and getting an interview."

New Top 10 Reasons Why Libraries are still Important

New Top 10 Reasons Why Libraries are still Important: "Most of people predict that the digital age will wipe public bookshelves clean and permanently end the centuries-old era of libraries. Despite their perceived obsolescence in the digital age both libraries and librarians are irreplaceable for many reasons."

6 Habits of Highly Grateful People

6 Habits of Highly Grateful People: "Gratitude (and its sibling, appreciation) is the mental tool we use to remind ourselves of the good stuff. It’s a lens that helps us to see the things that don’t make it onto our lists of problems to be solved. It’s a spotlight that we shine on the people who give us the good things in life. It’s a bright red paintbrush we apply to otherwise-invisible blessings, like clean streets or health or enough food to eat."

Don't Help Your Kids With Their Homework

Don't Help Your Kids With Their Homework: "And other insights from a ground- breaking study of how parents impact children’s academic achievement"

The Overprotected Kid

The Overprotected Kid: "A preoccupation with safety has stripped childhood of independence, risk taking, and discovery—without making it safer. A new kind of playground points to a better solution."

Details of a Bad Day

I just found the below, which I wrote in 1999.

A Bad Day

9:00am

At work, I open a newly-refilled prescription of pain pills (for recent throat surgery) to discover that the pills in this bottle are different in size, shape, and identifying letters.

9:01am

Phone pharmacy (Rite Aid), to find out that they had indeed given me the wrong medication, and they ask me to bring it back in. As I am at work, I hunt around and find some regular Tylenol.

12:30pm

Receive phone call from wife, who is in her broken down car at a rest stop on I-75 between Bay City and Saginaw. She has both of our sons with her (4 months, and 4 years). I leave work to assist.

12:50pm

Arrive at rest stop. Wife, due to being flustered by barely-working car, has parked in the “truck” side instead of the “car” side. She says that a giant tractor-trailer pulled up behind her and honked until she told the brute her car was broken. So he stopped honking, and just parked behind her. I attempt to jump-start the car. The noise of the surrounding semis idling (does it really take that much work to shut these down and start them up again?) is of such intensity that I cannot hear if the car is starting, but must watch the timid flicker of the dash lights to know that it is not even turning over.

12:55pm

Discard first set of cheap jumper cables from wife's car, get slightly less cheap set out of my trunk. Several truckers and RV-drivers attempt to help, but succeed only in pinching everything under the hood into sharp little metal furrows. Perhaps the brand name of the jumper cables should have tipped me off: Death-Pinch Yet Slippy Non-Conductors ™. Still won’t turn over, even after we let it sit for a while whilst hooked up.

1:10pm

Send wife and kids packing in my car to finish errands, while I phone the motor club for a tow.

11 hours later (1:30 pm, actually)

Tow truck arrives, and he hooks on his Meaty Claws of Superconductance ™ (note to self: buy those jumper cables), and in the time it takes to fill out the paperwork (about two weeks), I've enough electricity to start the car, as judged by happy dash lights, and activity from tailpipe (the car, not the tow-truck driver). The tow truck driver’s a friendly fellow, and follows me back to Bay City, letting me use the sacred Emergency Vehicles Only passage from southbound to northbound I-75 (flashing lights and all). I notice looks of admiration from one-direction-only drivers. Car runs poorly, but makes it.

2:00pm

Arrive at Gary’s All-Car Care, my usual mechanic. The throw on a tester (my fourth set of clampy things so far in the day, I’m gonna have some bad dreams), and announce that the alternator is bad. Cost: $258, will be done in a couple of hours. I walk home, having no car, nor even enough money for public transportation. On my way I kill a grizzly bear, fashion a wide-brim hat out of tumbleweeds, and learn to drink water from a cactus. Just kidding, it only takes me 15 minutes.

2:30pm

Walk in front door to find phone ringing. Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes Winner Notification Board? Nope. Wife. My car has broken down in Saginaw. In the middle lane of Tittabawassee Road in the heart of the shopping district. She called the motor club again, and waited an hour in that lane. With giant hunks of screaming metal whizzing by constantly. Tittabawassee Road is not for the faint of heart. In fact, Tittabawassee actually means “Long strip of land where many die”. It was not specified whether that was from an accident, or from old age while waiting to make a left. And of course our four month old decided it was a jolly time to move his bowels, and ask for a snack. Nobody stopped to help her for the first 50 minutes, a scathing indictment of our society, or else maybe there was a really good sale at Circuit City. When the wrecker finally arrived, it took her, having no idea where to go, to the Goodyear tire and repair shop a few blocks down, and never was there a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Anyway, she says frantically “you've got to come pick me up, I’m out of formula and diapers!” (she had packed for only a one hour tour, not foreseeing she’d end up trying to build a rescue beacon out of a coconut). I assured her I would be there as soon as possible, reviewing our fridge door list of People To Call and obtaining from it the much, much shorter list of People You Can Call In An Emergency. None of them are home. As I stand there, imagining Karen using old oily garage rags as a makeshift diaper for Ben while feeding him a creamer and water paste, my mother-in-law drops in for a visit. Yes Pat! I briefly explain the situation, and we’re off. She uses the excuse to drive like a coke addict with diarrhea.

2:50pm

The Goodyear garage guys inform me that I need a new alternator. I should have ordered some in bulk. They want $260-some dollars to do the job, plus they say that I need a new battery as well, as the old one has been discharged too greatly to be reliable. Another $70. I’m surprised they don’t also say I need to have the air in my tires rotated. I ask them if I can think it over, and they say I can leave the car there for 24 hours. I've so far only racked up $17.50 in evaluation charges. We head home, and I get dropped off at the garage where the wife’s car is now fixed and purring like a big white V-6 kitten. I price out the alternator job for my car, and even with $45 in towing to get it from there to hear, I’d still save $50, and feel a lot better about who did the job. I arrange that (by asking my garage to arrange the tow), and drive the wife's car home. I immediately call Goodyear, and tell them my car will be picked up within the hour, and as such I’d like to settle up for the $17.50 over the phone. They take my credit card number and promise to run it through.

3:45pm

I decide to take care of the medication issue, so I drive over to the drugstore (Rite Aid on Midland Street, Bay City, MI). They have my actual medication ready, and just switch it like nothing was wrong. I comment (very politely, that being my nature) that I hoped this sort of thing wouldn't happen again, and the pharmacist completely blows me off, actually saying something along the lines of “everyone makes mistakes” as I am walking away. I stop short, bedazzled by this lack of concern. I step back (still very polite) and talk to him about the danger of what just happened, and the broken trust between pharmacy and client, and how it would seem that in such an important role there would be safeguards in place to prevent “everyone making a mistake” from turning into a fatality. He said that is usually the case, but that on Sundays, when I had the refill done, there was no one to perform the backup verification. He was obviously very bored with his job, and with the rest of the human race in general. I informed him that it wouldn't be a problem in the future, as I would never buy anything from there again. I didn't see him shrug, but I knew he was thinking one. On the way out I calmly detailed the entire scenario to the manager on duty, who either cared deeply or was a good actress.

4:00pm

Arrive home to discover that Goodyear had called back because my charge was rejected. I called the bank, who referred me to the fraud detection company because there was a stop flag on my account, and they said it was because the Goodyear people swiped my card 4 times (for 2 different amounts varying by 20 cents)(??!!), and this set of an automated process of fraud-stoppage that locks the account until someone tells the computer to release the choke hold. I call Goodyear back, to find out they won’t release my car until I pay that massive $17.50, so the tow truck driver from my garage takes off without my car.

4:05pm

Drive back to Saginaw to pay the $17.50 and wave to my car. I act cheerful and thankful to the staff so they won't punk my car, and it is the hardest front I've ever put up. So many nice pointy things within reach. I have to force them to take my car key so the doors can be locked overnight (note to self: be sure to look for valuables in unlocked cars at service stations after hours).

5:00 pm

Come back home and call the tow truck place and set up another attempt tomorrow. Have to tell them a ridiculous amount of the day’s story just so I won’t seem like a loon (and it happens anyway).

5:05 pm

Consider taking a double dose of pain med to stop the twitching in my eye and the thoughts of weaponry, but am unsure if the prescription is now a pain med, or, say, menopause hormones, and decide to hold off.

The End (and all true).

College isn’t for everyone. Let’s stop pretending it is.

College isn’t for everyone. Let’s stop pretending it is.: "

“Kid, I’m Sorry, but You’re Just Not College Material”

Is exactly what we should be telling a lot of high school students."

How we were fooled into thinking that sexual predators lurk everywhere

How we were fooled into thinking that sexual predators lurk everywhere: "Creating a moral panic about social media didn’t protect teens—it left them vulnerable"

The surprising reason Americans might be obese, anxious and depressed

The surprising reason Americans might be obese, anxious and depressed: "New research suggests the answer to a number of modern ailments may reside in our gut"

One of the best habits for happy living may also be the least practiced

One of the best habits for happy living may also be the least practiced: "A recently conducted survey of 5,000 people identifies a strong link between self-acceptance and happiness. The problem? Self-acceptance is not something most of us are in the habit of practicing."

‘Schizo’, A PSA That Seeks To Reduce The Harmful Stigma of Schizophrenia By Playing Into Stereotype

The obesity era

David Berreby – The obesity era: "As the American people got fatter, so did marmosets, vervet monkeys and mice. The problem may be bigger than any of us."

The Scary New Evidence on BPA-Free Plastics

The Scary New Evidence on BPA-Free Plastics: "And the Big Tobacco-style campaign to bury it."

'via Blog this'

5 reasons why you shouldn’t work too hard

5 reasons why you shouldn’t work too hard: "Was he about to say – we should be more like that? Because Americans work among the most hours of any advanced country in the world, save South Korea and Japan, where they’ve had to invent a word for dying at your desk. (Karoshi. Death from Overwork.) "

Identity Theft | Consumer Information

Identity Theft | Consumer Information: "Identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information and uses it without your permission. It’s a serious crime that can wreak havoc with your finances, credit history, and reputation — and can take time, money, and patience to resolve."

How Fast-Growing Startups Can Avoid 'Big Dumb Company' Disease

How Fast-Growing Startups Can Avoid 'Big Dumb Company' Disease: "In the worst cases, the result is “BDC” or “Big Dumb Company” disease, as venture capitalist John Greathouse calls it. But can BDC be avoided?"

Skipping the airport, saving the planet

Skipping the airport, saving the planet: My 19-hour carbon-saving jaunt across America

Matthew Vines

The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality

"A reason to hang him": how mass surveillance, secret courts, confirmation bias and the FBI can ruin your life

"A reason to hang him": how mass surveillance, secret courts, confirmation bias and the FBI can ruin your life"

How to cope when someone you love is dying, and nothing makes sense

How to cope when someone you love is dying, and nothing makes sense: "When someone you love dies it's like being dropped into a foreign world. Everything looks vaguely familiar but nothing makes sense.
Here are some pieces of advice to help you find your way…"

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Garbage In, Garbage Out — Editor's Picks — Medium: "I would argue that some of the most egregious statistical mistakes involve lying with data; the statistical analysis is fine, but the data on which the calculations are performed are bogus or inappropriate. "

Does Being Cold Make You Sick?

Does Being Cold Make You Sick?: "Nearly everyone who has ever lived in a colder climate region has been told that being outside in the cold without the proper amount of clothing will make you sick. But is that actually true or just a myth?"