Okay, 2013 is as good as over, and you’re no doubt currently bombarded by countdowns and reviews describing cultural highlights from the last 12 months. Basically, it was all twerking, One Direction, Rob Ford, North West-Kardashian, Edward Snowden, horsemeat, and Syria. I get it. (Please make it stop…) There has also been […]
Mathematics
Snakes, ladders…everyone’s a winner!
I’ve been playing a lot of Snakes and Ladders these past few days. I know it’s a game of pure chance, but I feel I’ve been getting quite good at it. I find this type of graphic helpful: Basically, it means that you’re always increasingly likely to win the more […]
Overweight people have lower death risk…#yesterdaysnewstoday
Recipe for a long life: overweight people have lower death risk #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/tk7UxlYJ — The Independent (@Independent) January 1, 2013 I must be getting old. Things are beginning to repeat themselves. It feels like déjà vu all over again. In fact, even that play on the expression ‘déjà vu’ seems […]
Are conservatives less intelligent? Let’s ask a liberal…
Here is an interesting article from Discover Magazine, about some recent research into the association between intelligence and social attitudes. The study was conducted by some psychologists from Canada, and published in the prestigious journal Psychological Science. It represents a newly burgeoning tradition of investigating whether social conservatives (such as […]
Working the crowd
As part of my day job, I’m involved in psychology research examining the effects of having other people around when you’re trying to cope with mental stress. Here’s the summary of our findings to date: it’s complicated. But not to worry. All that means is that there’s plenty of toothpaste […]
Galway nuked, radiation fireball blasts Athlone :(
The other day, a live World War II hand grenade was found in a garden just down the street from my house. Thirty families were evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night while the army bomb disposal unit came along to do their stuff. This is very […]