Yaicha » Research

Decades Later, Still Asking: Would I Pull That Switch?

Ted Hopton — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:13:35 +0000

Two new papers illustrate the continuing power of Stanley Milgram’s shock experiments — and the diverse interpretations they still inspire.

I’ll never forget the powerful impact that learning about Milgram’s experiments had on me as a young man. Surely it was part of my strong belief in questioning authority. If you’re not familiar with these ground-breaking experiments in which subjects were encouraged to inflict terrible pain on another person, I urge you to read this article.

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Deep Down, We Can’t Fool Even Ourselves

Ted Hopton — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:14:12 +0000

This article is rather unnerving, as it cites research demonstrating that in addition to being skeptical of others who claim to be acting moral, we also should be just as skeptical of our own convictions that we are acting ethically. Yes, we humans are that good at rationalizing our own behavior that we can’t really trust ourselves. So much for a *true* moral compass.

A moral hypocrite convinces himself that he is acting virtuously even when he does something he would condemn in others.

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The Worms Crawl In

Ted Hopton — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:10:43 +0000

Can hookworms protect against allergies? In a quest to find out, David Pritchard infected himself.

This article literally makes me queasy. The thought of worms working their way around inside my body makes me want to throw up and completely grosses me out. Yet I have suffered most of my life pretty badly from allergies. I take Claritin all year, and now that I have moved to a farm it appears there are more allergens here than that medicine can overcome. The sneezing fits every morning are getting tiresome.

So, as disgusted as I am at the thought of having hookworms, I still find myself truly intrigued by the possibility of significantly alleviating my allergic symptoms. Could I overcome my aversion? Would the benefits outweigh the yuck factor, not to mention the health risk of parasites?

I’ll think it over. Hard. I’m really not sure I could go there . . .

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New Hints Seen That Red Wine May Slow Aging

Ted Hopton — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:05:26 +0000

You know, I have not even had time to read this article because I have to rush out to the liquor store to buy some wine

Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan, researchers say in a new report that is likely to give impetus to the rapidly growing search for longevity drugs.

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The Worst Way of Farming

Ted Hopton — Sat, 31 May 2008 16:04:47 +0000

I got my first detailed, in-depth look at the problems of the industrial farming complex when I read Michael Pollan’s eye-opening book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma (which I highly recommend). This NYT editorial cites two reports, one by the Pew Charitable Trust and one by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

As new reports make it clear, the efficiency of industrial animal production is an illusion, made possible by prisonlike confinement systems.

Not only is the efficiency an illusion, it’s actually a disaster all around.

In short, animal husbandry has been turned into animal abuse. Manure — traditionally a source of fertilizer — has been turned into toxic waste that fouls the air and adjacent water bodies. Crowding creates health problems, resulting in the chronic overuse of antibiotics. And, because the modest profits in confinement operations require the lowest possible labor costs, including automated feeding, watering and manure-handling systems, these operations have helped empty and impoverish rural America.

What is it going to take to change this heavily-entrenched, politically-supported and publicly-financed system?
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My Brain Is Just Getting Better

Ted Hopton — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:52:10 +0000

It doesn’t always seem that my brain is working better the older I get (anecdotal evidence I’ve observed might even suggest the opposite at times . . .), but the NYT says it is: “Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain.”

“If older people are taking in more information from a situation, and they’re then able to combine it with their comparatively greater store of general knowledge, they’re going to have a nice advantage.”

Nice to hear some good news, for a change, about aging brains.

“It may be that distractibility is not, in fact, a bad thing,” said Shelley H. Carson, a psychology researcher at Harvard whose work was cited in the book. “It may increase the amount of information available to the conscious mind.”

So, when things that once seemed to be simple to call to mind no longer are, it’s not necessarily that we’re losing our edge. We may actually be gaining new, greater advantages that are not so easily noticed.

Some brains do deteriorate with age. Alzheimer’s disease, for example, strikes 13 percent of Americans 65 and older. But for most aging adults, the authors say, much of what occurs is a gradually widening focus of attention that makes it more difficult to latch onto just one fact, like a name or a telephone number. Although that can be frustrating, it is often useful.

Older really is wiser. I never really believed that when I was younger, but it makes perfect sense to me now

The Neural Buddhists

Ted Hopton — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:28:16 +0000

Fascinating column by David Brooks (who may be my favorite conservative columnist — and that’s not meant as a backhanded compliment) about the impact of neuroscience on fundamental human attitudes (not to mention fundamentalists’ attitudes). Thought-provoking and well worth reading!

The cognitive revolution is not going to undermine faith in God — it’s going to challenge faith in the Bible.

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Humans nearly wiped out 70,000 years ago

Ted Hopton — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:36:19 +0000

Fascinating! First, because it’s amazing to consider how close “we” came to extinction and second, that such understanding can be achieved through studying the human genome.

The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.

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Remember Podcasting? Listeners Do. – eMarketer

Ted Hopton — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:34:21 +0000

I’ve been listening to podcasts for years, although I admit my time spent with podcasts has declined since I started blogging (only so much time in the day, and it’s hard to concentrate on what someone is saying while thinking about what you are writing). If you’re looking for an effective advertising niche, research shows podcasts work.

“The studies showed a 73% increase in likelihood to use or buy an advertised product,” said Velvet Beard, vice president at Podtrac. “The studies showed that 69% of audience members have a more favorable view of in-show advertisers.”

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Who’s Bitter Now?

Ted Hopton — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:15:58 +0000

Obama’s “bitter” faux pas has been flogged to death (except the controversy hasn’t died, yet). At the time, I cringed at his choice of words, as he really did mangle his point in a way that left him vulnerable to vicious distortions. But I thought he had essentially gotten it right and spoken truth.

This article challenges that conclusion and cites research showing Obama got it wrong — not wrong for his poor choice of “clinging” but wrong in understanding what motivates what kinds of voters.

Small-town people of modest means and limited education are not fixated on cultural issues. Rather, it is affluent, college-educated people living in cities and suburbs who are most exercised by guns and religion. In contemporary American politics, social issues are the opiate of the elites.

I’m not sure I agree, but I enjoyed reading an intelligent, informed and reasoned critique on the issue.

Mr. Obama’s comments are supposed to be significant because of the popular perception that rural, working-class voters have abandoned the Democratic Party in recent decades and that the only way for Democrats to win them back is to cater to their cultural concerns. . . . Mr. Obama should do as well or better among these voters if he is the Democratic candidate in November. If he doesn’t, it won’t be because he has offended the tender sensitivities of small-town Americans. It will be because he has embraced a misleading stereotype of who they are and what they care about.

(Photo: Andrea Dezsö)

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