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Disorder or Difference? Autism Researchers Face Off Over Field’s Terminology
A long-smoldering debate among scientists studying autism has erupted. At issue is language—for example, whether researchers should describe autism as a “disorder,” “disability,” or “difference,” and whether its associated features should be called “symptoms” or simply “traits.” In scientific papers and commentaries published in recent months, some have decried ableist language among their colleagues whereas others have defended traditional terminology—with both sides saying they have the best interests of autistic people in mind. The vitriol is harming the field and silencing researchers, some fear, but others see it as a long-overdue reckoning.
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I Didn’t Think Birding Was for Me. Now It’s My Favorite Self-Care Hobby.
... That’s a big part of what I like so much about birding: It’s a way to pay attention. Practicing mindfulness and being present in the moment can be rather difficult, and doing it when you’re out in the world can be especially hard because there are so many distractions. But birding is a way of leaning into the distractions and making them the main event. Instead of fighting the urge to look up every time you hear a sound high in the trees—or, alternatively, tuning out the chirps entirely—following your curiosities is the whole point when you’re birding.
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Collective Trauma and Stress Following Disasters: APS Journal Articles Publicly Available
APS has updated its publicly available collection of journal research pertaining to trauma and disasters. [updated February 14, 2023]
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Why Zoom ‘Happy Hour’ Falls FlatResults from a study published in Clinical Psychological Science suggest combining alcohol and virtual social interaction had negative effects compared to in-person gatherings. In the study, participants video called either a friend or a stranger seated in a separate room. Researchers gave some participants alcoholic drinks and others nonalcoholic drinks. As the call took place, researchers tracked participants’ eye movements, or “gaze behavior.” The study showed that participants who consumed alcohol before conducting the video chat spent more time watching themselves during the conversation instead of their partners.
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What Good Comes From Pretending?
Hang out with a 3-year-old and you will quickly be transported to a world of unicorns and superheroes, pretend tea parties and invisible spaceships. Young children spend hours pretending. But why would they spend so much time exploring imaginary worlds when there is so much to learn about the real one? Pretend play may help children to develop an essential kind of reasoning—counterfactual thinking, which helps you figure out what would happen if things were different.
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How Did Lebron James Break the NBA All-Time Scoring Record? By Playing the Long Game
Say you're LeBron James and your long-term goal is to score 38,388 points and break the NBA all-time scoring record. Scoring 30 points in a forgettable mid-season game early in your career was great, but was also just a drop in the 30,000-plus points bucket. Success has, until last night -- when you scored 38 points against Oklahoma City to become the all-time scoring leader -- was always a lagging indicator. LeBron had to play the long, long game. Fortunately, that's a game LeBron has always been willing to play.