Dispatches

Sorry for the ongoing radio silence, folks. Your friendly neighborhood blogger has come down with a vicious case of the flu. I plan to get right back up on the horse once the fever tremors have died down. In the meantime, here are a few interesting links:

*Mind Hacks highlights a special edition of ABC radio's Science Show, exploring "Social Intelligence Hypothesis"--the theory that human brain growth was spurred by "the need to work in groups and make sense of complex relationships."

*Clive Thompson over at Collision Detection discusses a recent piece in the New Scientist detailing findings, which suggest the month of your birth may affect your mental health. Does this mean it's time to take a second look at the Zodiac?

*The Frontal Cortex links to a Pew Research poll giving us a breakdown of what comes first for people: god or country. America is -- unsurprisingly -- split right down the middle.