Category: Casual Fridays
Context. It can make all the difference in the world. The word "suck" can describe the action of a vacuum cleaner or a sex act that was illegal in the state of North Carolina until 2003. Following our analysis of...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 1:52 PM • 14 Comments •
Category: General / Site news
The post on showing only part of the RSS feeds has attracted quite a lot of attention, including some rather strident comments, such as this one from "Aurora": How lazy are some people? What kind of society do we live...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 10:59 AM • 15 Comments •
Category: Fun and games
I know, I know, I promised more analysis of the results from last Friday's curse word study, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Busy, busy, busy. In the meantime, you can head over to Word Munger and read about...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 7:25 AM • 0 Comments •
Category: Casual Fridays
Which curse words are most offensive? Who uses which words the most often? The awful truth is revealed...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 5:02 PM • 13 Comments •
Category: News
Very young children learn better from photos. When they are read to from a picture book describing how to make a rattle, 18-months-old do better at trying to make the rattle when the book had realistic photos compared to line...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 8:55 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: Research
There is a considerable body of research showing that eye contact is a key component of social interaction. Not only are people more aroused when they are looked at directly, but if you consistently look at the person you speak...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 2:45 PM • 21 Comments •
Category: Analysis
When Shelley Batts wrote up a report on an article about antioxidants in fruits, she never expected to get contacted by the copyright police, but that's exactly what happened. She had reproduced a table and a figure from the article,...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 8:19 AM • 8 Comments •
Category: Casual Fridays
Last week's Casual Fridays study filled up so quickly that many of those who wanted to participate weren't able to. This was due to our survey provider's limits on the number of responses. After a preliminary look at the data,...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 7:40 AM • 14 Comments •
Category: Research
The Beck effect is difficult to replicate online, because it involves testing reaction times. However, I think I've figured out a way to approximate the effect. This movie (Quicktime required) will show you how it works. Just follow the directions...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 2:45 PM • 28 Comments •
Category: News
Penalty kicks are nearly universally reviled among soccer fans, yet they remain an important part of the game. The sport is so exhausting that extending it beyond 30 minutes of extra time in a playoff game could be dangerous for...
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Posted by Dave Munger at 9:11 AM • 13 Comments •