news
The upside of depression
Mar 5th
An article from the New York times exploring the benfits of depression and maybe why it is so common.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/magazine/28depression-t.html?pagewanted=all
“Depressed affect made people think better.” The challenge, of course, is persuading people to accept their misery, to embrace the tonic of despair. To say that depression has a purpose or that sadness makes us smarter says nothing about its awfulness. A fever, after all, might have benefits, but we still take pills to make it go away. This is the paradox of evolution: even if our pain is useful, the urge to escape from the pain remains the most powerful instinct of all.
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A history of media technology scares, from the printing press to Facebook.
Feb 18th
Technology has always hurt our minds – or so we are always told. This article by Vaughn Bell on Slate explains.
http://www.slate.com/id/2244198/pagenum/all/
Worries about information overload are as old as information itself, with each generation reimagining the dangerous impacts of technology on mind and brain. From a historical perspective, what strikes home is not the evolution of these social concerns, but their similarity from one century to the next, to the point where they arrive anew with little having changed except the label.
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How to forget fear
Jan 27th
From the Times Online: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/eureka/article6975455.ece
Imagine if you could rewrite your mind as quickly as a document on your computer. No more painful memories, no phobias or ingrained fears, just a blank slate where the scars that mark each human life used to be. This may sound like the stuff of Hollywood fantasy but last month it came a step closer to reality at New York University. By manipulating memory a research team managed to remove a conditioned fear response among volunteers. As scientists learn more about the mechanics of the mind, such targeting and erasing of traumatic recollections will become easier and easier.
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Early risers are more proactive than evening people
Jan 27th
From Research Digest Blog: http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/01/early-risers-are-more-proactive-than.html
These findings suggest that morning people really are more proactive. What’s not clear is why – whether it’s because they really do have an inherent energy and drive or if instead it’s simply easier for morning people to be proactive in a world that is generally tailored towards rising early, rather than working late.
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Does Making a Public Commitment Really Help People Lose Weight?
Jan 27th
From Nuronarrative: http://neuronarrative.wordpress.com/2010/01/10/does-making-a-public-commitment-really-help-people-lose-weight/
“What this study tells us is that in general the public commitment principle produces results, especially if the commitment is long-term. But, in the mix of people who make the commitment, those who genuinely fear social disapproval—not a personality trait usually given very high marks–will likely succeed the most. Those who couldn’t care less what others think are, ironically, more likely to come up short.”
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Quirkology
Jan 25th
Professor Richard Wiseman explores psychology and magic in a fun way. Watch the videos learn about psychology and enjoy.
http://www.cli.nsw.edu.au/cli/sciencetalk/lo/6439/6439_00.htm
Some Social Skills May Be Genetic
Jan 20th
Wired magazine has an article which highlights genetic aspects of cognition.
“The findings suggest that face-recognition and other cognitive skills may be separate from each other, and independent of general intelligence”
Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/01/face-recognition/#ixzz0d5uQFroK
The Americanization of Mental Illness
Jan 14th
This article form the New York Times argues that mental illness is dependent on the culture you live and that the U.S.A has been setting the standard for the world in what is a “legitimate mental illness”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/magazine/10psyche-t.html?pagewanted=all
“We might think of the culture as possessing a ‘symptom repertoire’ — a range of physical symptoms available to the unconscious mind for the physical expression of psychological conflict,” Edward Shorter
Gadgets for Getting in Shape
Jan 12th
As we all know body fitness and mental health are closely linked. So the MIT Review has rounded up some gadgets to help. Some are available and some are coming over the next few years, but it looks like it will be getting easier to keep fit and healthy in the body and mind.
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24342/?a=f
