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The Santa Lie
Slate: We raise our kids to be truthful. We teach them about the laws of physics. And then we tell them that nine flying reindeer pull an immortal fat man and his sleigh through the sky so that he can deliver gifts to millions of kids around the world one night a year. Is it bad that we lie to our kids about Santa? Though lying can be an awfully convenient parenting crutch—Sorry, sweetheart, but the police might arrest you if I let you have more candy so we better not—it’s generally best to keep it to a minimum, both to develop trust between yourself and your child and to lead by example. Except in December. Because guess what?
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Holograms are here, from Tupac to Marilyn Monroe. Will you be next?
The Washington Post: In 2007,a television ad featured a delighted Orville Redenbacher plugged into a new digital music player and proclaiming his popcorn to be as light and fluffy as the miniature device in his hand. The only trouble: At the time of the ad, Redenbacher had been dead for a decade, long before the iPod’s 2001 debut. This past April, at the Coachella music festival in California, thousands cheered as a hologram of Tupac Shakur, who was shot dead in 1996, showed off dance moves and rap lyrics that created the impression of an entirely new performance. Virtual Tupac appeared side by side with a very live Snoop Dogg. ...
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Residential Mobility Changes the Way You Make Friends
The Atlantic: Americans move a lot. That's been the case historically, going back to the early expansion westward, and it remains the case in modern times. Fifty years ago the one-year mobility rate for Americans was more than 20 percent — twice that of the British, and nearly three times that of the Japanese. The trend may be declining, but recent census figures still suggest that at least two in five Americans move within a five-year period. What effect this movement has on social behavior is an ongoing question for University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro Oishi.
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New Love: A Short Shelf Life
The New York Times: In fairy tales, marriages last happily ever after. Science, however, tells us that wedded bliss has but a limited shelf life. American and European researchers tracked 1,761 people who got married and stayed married over the course of 15 years. The findings were clear: newlyweds enjoy a big happiness boost that lasts, on average, for just two years. Then the special joy wears off and they are back where they started, at least in terms of happiness. The findings, from a 2003 study, have been confirmed by several recent studies.
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Beware of ‘Neuromyths’
The Wall Street Journal: No, you do not, in fact, use just 10% of your brain, and "learning styles" make no difference in the classroom. Psychology professor Christopher Chabris discusses these and other "neuromyths" Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
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Is a Wandering Mind a Sign of Aging?
AARP: There’s a new study that suggests that if your mind frequently wanders or gets distracted — hey, are you paying attention? — it means your cells are aging too quickly. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, wanted to test whether being able to focus on the here and now predicts better health and longevity. To measure longevity, they looked at telomeres, the little caps at the ends of a cell’s chromosomes that are considered a biomarker for how fast our bodies are aging. Telomeres shorten with age and also in response to stress and depression.
