Saturday, 25 May, 2013

The power of Habit Charles Duhigg • Random House, 2012, 371 pp. Duhigg’s new look at human behavior analyzes some fascinating issues: the birth of the modern Civil Rights movement, the use of data-mining to suck another buck from the customer, the techniques for building a mega-church, and even the methods a corporate titan who [...]

Researchers finally accept that animals can have emotions. But is love one of those emotions, and how would we be sure? What does neurochemistry and behavioral studies tell us about emotions. Does your dog really love you? Your cat? Do they love each other?

When big tech goes bad, we ask: How do engineers design fail-safe mechanisms for nuclear weapons, radioactive waste, spaceships?

Fruit flies have a signaling pathway that helps them choose protein or carbohydrate, depending on the situation. The switch, which is also implicated in aging and cancer, exists in a wide variety of animals, including you. Does a new study explain why so many cultures eat rice and beans?

The Titanic sank in 1912, the Lusitania sank in 1915. In each case, about 32 percent of passengers survived. But women and children did much better on Titanic, which took 160 minutes to slide underwater, than on Lusitania, which went down in 18 minutes. Ditto for rich people. Why?

Climate scientists worry about feedbacks, glacial melting, sea level rise, and the complexity of climate science. What does human behavior tell us about warming?

People have been controlling fermentation for at least 9,000 years. What were the ancients brewing, and how did alcohol change society?

Researchers in positive psychology find that giving is better than receiving, that social relationships are key, and that money can – in some circumstances – buy some happiness.

Financial traders make more money when their blood has more testosterone. Is this another arena where the male hormone leads to success, or could success raise the hormone level?

What makes a bad boss? Do hostile staring, yelling, intimidating, threats of job loss, and public humiliation sound familiar? Do these tactics actually work?

Infants can identify monkey faces better than adults. Face-recognition ability is tuned to focus on people.

Why does Wall St. go off a cliff once in a while? Can you predict the market by throwing darts? What is the role of expectations in stock price?