Statistical Life

From the evolution of intelligence to memory and information overload.
Thomas T. Hills, Ph.D.
Hma with permission

If Norwegians Had Guns When Breivik Showed Up, Then What?

Promoting America's free-wheeling gun culture in Norway might have stopped Breivik, but it would have made up for it by more than tripling Norway's gun-related death rate.

The True Odds of Shooting a Bad Guy With a Gun

Two out of three people who use a gun use it to shoot themselves. If you buy a gun and you feel the need to use it, duck!

Top 10 Science-Based Study Skills for the Classroom

Knowing how to study will help you learn faster, enjoy what you're learning, give you more time to enjoy what you've learned, and lay the foundation for a solid future.

The Evolution of the Written Word

In the past 5,000 years, the written word has evolved to make it easier to learn and faster to read without error. Following the trends, we can predict where language is headed.

The Misinterpretation of Libet and Our Man in Alaska

How does consciousness control action?

Fake News: "71 Doctors Declare Trump has Dementia"

Why fight the lies. Write something that you know some people can't help but want to believe and sit back as social media does it's magic.

The Four Evolutionary Roots of Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go is a craze, but crazes often have reasons that make them so crazy. In the case of Pokemon Go, these reasons are millions of years old.

Why the Other Lane Is Always Faster

Can't escape the slow lane? It's not just you.
Lewis Clarke/Wikimedia Commons

The Psychology of Brexit

Few people are stupid in any meaningful sense. The British certainly aren't. So what drives a vote that throws the negotiating table at the EU and walks off into no-man's land?

Baby Sign, Anxiety, and Snake Oil

Baby sign does lots of things, but unfortunately few of them appear to be about improving your child's life. It's worth taking a look at the evidence.
HMa

Waiting for the Haiku in Mindfulness

Mindfulness can be about a personal and experimental exploration of reality that is not about saving yourself, but rather experiencing your Self.

Data Science and the History of Subjective Wellbeing

What is the history of subjective wellbeing?
iStock/Used with Permission

The Future of Crowdsourcing in the Classroom

The notion that we live in an increasingly consumer-based culture is not new, but the capacity for computers to reduce students to point-and-click robots in complicated virtual Skinner boxes should not be lost. Students are at risk of being increasingly met with boilerplate environments that are designed to reduce knowledge to its most clickable form.
Stewart Butterfield, Creative Commons

My Son Is Afraid of the Uncanny Valley

Isn't it a moral violation that images we would never choose to look at pop up on our computers—AND INTO OUR HEADS—without our permission? I'm all for free speech (and images). But really, shouldn't we be able to not look?

The Death of Mr. Economicus

For many years, we thought humans were rational. Homo economicus was the protagonist of the human story, and he knew what he was about. He was the James Bond of decision making, and he didn't let the universe push him around. The only problem was that he didn't exist.

The Psychology of Wonder

Who we are is a consequence of our internal model, and when we change that by learning something new, we change our understanding of ourselves.
Wikipedia/Commons

If Thoughts Were Photons

What you believe may depend more on how you get to certain places in your head and less on what’s in there in the first place.
UC San Diego School of Medicine

Creating and Caring for Your New Neurons

Neurons are born in your brain throughout your life. How many are born and how long they live depend, respectively, on exercise and effortful learning.

Why Counting on Your Dreams to Come True May Not Be Worth It

Failures of affective forecasting are associated with overlooking the details of the future. But affective forecasting at all is associated with overlooking the details of the present.
The Rise of Simplistic Language

The Rise of Simplistic Language

Bilingualism is changing the world, and it's changing language too.

Seven Simple Email Tips That Improve Communication

I've written some horrible emails—emails that crashed through the atmosphere of other people's lives and left 500-kilometer comet tails of smoke and hatred. But then I got control of my life.

Are Top Executives Paid Enough?

What's the problem with what the market will bear?

If You Want More Out of Life, Just Ask

There is no technique in the psychological literature with more power to persuade than simply asking.

Creationism vs. Evolution: It's a Trick

Creationism vs. Evolution? So what should you believe? If we're talking about science, then you shouldn't believe without question in either of them.
Coca Cola and the Shrinking American Minority

Coca Cola and the Shrinking American Minority

People who open their eyes can actually see farther than their genes. If there is a message in evolutionary studies of human behavior, that's it.

The Myth of Age-Related Cognitive Decline

The evidence is mounting that older people are just plain smarter.

The Psychology of Becoming Walter White

Six reasons why no one is safe from breaking bad
Retirement, Wisdom and the Aging Decision Maker

Retirement, Wisdom and the Aging Decision Maker

Do older people compensate for age-related cognitive decline with greater knowledge?

The Upside and Downside of Middle-Aged Risk Taking

What exactly is a mid-life crisis and how would you know if you were having one? More specifically, is there evidence that such a thing even exists? If so, what are the symptoms? Does mid-life put you at risk of divorce, dying in a motorcycle accident, or failing to open your parachute?