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Singing ‘Happy Birthday’ makes the cake taste better
NBC: It’s your birthday! You hate attention. But you do love cake. So before you stuff your gullet with red velvet deliciousness, you’d better suffer through the annual off-key embarrassment of everyone singing “Happy Birthday” to you – and then blow out the candles and make a wish, too. That’s because a new study suggests that performing a ritual before eating -- even a silly thing like our American birthday traditions – actually makes the food taste better. “We found that people's attention is piqued when they perform a ritual and that helps them to be more involved in what they are eating or drinking,” said Kathleen D.
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Why ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Fizzled
The Huffington Post: The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street came into existence at roughly the same time, in the wake of the financial markets' collapse, and each was an angry challenge to the country's financial and political status quo. But there the similarity ended. The ultra-conservative Tea Party movement focused on tax cuts and smaller government, and it has never veered far from that message. It achieved consensus on these goals early on, and has succeeded in unifying adherents in its congressional caucus and elsewhere. It remains a potent force in American politics today. ...
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Even hands-free, you shouldn’t talk or text while driving
The Washington Post: Makers of cars and mobile electronics are pushing a tempting vision of the future, one in which you can stay fully connected while driving. In the name of safety, they provide hands-free wireless setups for your cellphone, so you can talk with both hands on the wheel. The latest additions are voice-to-text systems that let drivers send and receive texts and e-mails without looking at a screen. Some high-end cars even have touch screens with interfaces for finding restaurants, reserving tables and buying movie tickets while on the road.
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2013 APS Award Address: Helen J. Neville
In her William James Fellow Award Address, Neville describes findings from her team's basic research on neuroplasticity and also how those findings led them to develop and implement a training program for low socioeconomic-status families. Measures of parenting and, in 3- to 5-year-olds, cognition and event-related-potential measures of attention and language document large, significant, and enduring effects on neurocognitive function.
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Autism Symptoms Not Explained by Impaired Attention
Finding from a clinical study challenge the hypothesis that impaired attention might be at the root of autism symptoms.
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The Science of Winning Poker
The Wall Street Journal: More than 6,300 players, each paying an entry fee of $10,000, gathered in Las Vegas early this month for the championship event of the 44th annual World Series of Poker. The tournament ran for 10 days, and just nine players now remain. They will reunite in November for a two-day live telecast to determine who wins the first prize: $8.3 million. ... This growth over the past decade has been accompanied by a profound change in how the game is played. Concepts from the branch of mathematics known as game theory have inspired new ideas in poker strategy and new advice for ordinary players.
