Now on ScienceBlogs: A study that oversells massage therapy
My small attempt to celebrate science and to make it interesting and fun by giving jargon, confusion and elitism a solid beating with the stick of good writing.
Come and visit Ed Yong’s blog Not Exactly Rocket Science in its new home at Discover Blogs.
"One of the best sites for in-depth analysis of interesting scientific papers" - The Times
"A consistently illuminating home for long, thoughtful, and thorough explorations of science news" - National Association of Science Writers
"Ed Yong... is made of pure unobtanium and rides TWO Toruks." - Frank Swain
"Ed Yong is better than chocolate, fairy lights, and kittens chasing yarn. That is all." - Christine Ottery
Why I blog
An interview with me
The original site • Tell me about you: Part 1 Part 2
Category: Psychology
Subliminal exposure to fast food symbols, such as McDonalds' golden arches, can increase people's reading speed. Thinking about such foods can boost preferences for time-saving goods, or for immediate gratification over long-term decisions.
Posted by Ed Yong at 8:30 AM • 23 Comments •
Category: Psychology
People do better at a simple task if ask themselves whether they'll do it than if they simply tell themselves to do so. Even a simple reversal of words - "Will I" compared to "I will" - can boost motivation and performance.
Posted by Ed Yong at 8:30 AM • 6 Comments •
Category: Politics
Subliminal exposure to national flags can shift a person's political views and even who they vote for. They can even affect the attitudes of volunteers to the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
Posted by Ed Yong at 8:30 AM • 3 Comments •
Category: Cooperation
An act of generosity can apparently ripple through a group of strangers, but so can an act of deception.
Posted by Ed Yong at 3:00 PM • 7 Comments •
Category: Animals
News bites on behaviour aboard sinking ships, the evolution of polar bears, and the pesticide that chemically castrates frogs.
Posted by Ed Yong at 9:30 AM • 27 Comments •
Category: Psychology
We do better at tasks the sooner we expect news about our performance. If we think we'll be evaluated quickly, the threat of a negative appraisal looms ever larger. And this greater sense of danger motivates us to work harder.
Posted by Ed Yong at 12:00 PM • •
Category: Education
In a randomised controlled trial, boys who had received video games had lower reading and writing scores than expected after 4 months, and more academic problems at school. This effect was due to the games displacing other after-school academic activities.
Posted by Ed Yong at 9:30 AM • 25 Comments •
Category: Autism
A preliminary study of 13 people suggests that some of the social difficulties experienced by autistic people could be temporarily relieved by inhaling a hormone called oxytocin.
Posted by Ed Yong at 3:00 PM • 25 Comments •
Category: Psychology
The English language is full of metaphors linking moral purity to both physical cleanliness and brightness. We speak of "clean consciences", "pure thoughts" and "dirty thieves". We're suspicious of "shady behaviour" and we use light and darkness to symbolise good...
Posted by Ed Yong at 9:05 AM • 20 Comments •
Category: Psychology
People have a "reactive advantage", where they execute a movement about 10% more quickly if they're reacting to an opponent rather than just initiating it themselves.
Posted by Ed Yong at 7:00 PM • 24 Comments •
dynamics of cats 02.10.2012
greg laden's blog 02.09.2012
the pump handle 02.09.2012
dean's corner 02.09.2012
erv 02.09.2012
