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How racism shapes prison policy
The Boston Globe: WHY DOES AMERICA incarcerate so much of its population compared to other first-world countries? New research from psychologists at Stanford University suggests that some of our toughness on crime may be driven by racism. In one experiment, white voters in California were significantly less likely to sign a petition to weaken California’s three-strikes law after viewing a series of mug shots of which 45 percent were black men, compared to viewing a series of mug shots of which 25 percent were black men.
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Some Types of Fables May Be Better at Teaching Kids Not to Lie
Wired: To teach children not to lie, extolling the virtues of honesty may be more effective than focusing on the punishing consequences of deception. After listening to how a young George Washington admitted to chopping down a cherry tree—”I cannot tell a lie,” he famously said—children were significantly less likely to lie about their own dishonesty than if they heard “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” or “Pinocchio.” The difference? Unlike the fairy tales with their grisly punishments, George Washington is lauded for telling the truth.
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What Kids’ Drawings Say About Their Future Thinking Skills
NPR: At age 4, many young children are just beginning to explore their artistic style. The kid I used to babysit in high school preferred self-portraits, undoubtedly inspired by the later works of Joan Miro. My cousin, a prolific young artist, worked almost exclusively on still lifes of 18-wheelers. These early works may be good for more than decorating your refrigerator and cubicle, researchers say. There appears to be an association, though a modest one, between how a child draws at 4 and her thinking skills at 14, according to a study published in the journal Psychological Science. The findings don't mean parents should worry if their little ones aren't producing masterpieces early on.
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A Memorable Flight
Slate: On Aug. 24, 2001, Air Transat Flight 236 ran out of fuel en route from Toronto to Lisbon with 306 passengers aboard. The right engine was leaky, and the crew had performed a delicate fuel imbalance procedure—incorrectly—from memory. Below stretched the Atlantic Ocean for hundreds of miles. As the interior lights flickered and oxygen masks dangled from the ceiling, weeping flight attendants instructed everyone to prepare for a crash landing into the sea. Then the pilot located a small military base in the Azores, and after 25 minutes of hell, the plane touched down—violently, but without badly injuring anyone—to tears and applause.
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National Science Board (NSB) Announces Launch of SEI App
The National Science Board (NSB) has launched the Science and Engineering Indicators (SEI) app for Android. The app offers users access to the 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators report which provides information on the nation's position in science and engineering education and research. The app is free and also available for download on the iPad. For more information, visit nsf.gov.
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What Kids’ Drawings Say About Their Intelligence
TIME: A large and long-term new study shows the way a 4-year-old draws a person not only says something about their level of intelligence as a toddler but is also predictive of their intelligence 10 years down the line. A team of researchers at King’s College London had 7,752 pairs of identical and non-identical 4-year-old twins draw a picture of a child. Read the whole story: TIME
