A new study indicates that while Internet searching can return useful information, most people rely on results which confirm their preconceptions. This approach can be risky with regard to health, where people sometimes use online research to diagnose and self-medicate. Even when the ‘right’ information is found, it can be applied in the wrong way. [...]
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Researchers at the University of Chicago have found evidence that people are apt to make up for loneliness by creating human-like connections to pets, things, or a religious deity. Anthropomorphism appears to be a unique response to loneliness, not found as a response to other emotions. Such behavior is also thought to contribute to health [...]
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
A survey of the world’s countries indicates that the state of freedom declined for the second consecutive year. According to Freedom House, a non-governmental organization devoted to encouraging liberty, more than half the globe’s population live in societies that are “Not Free” or are “Partly Free.” Among regions considered “Free,” North America and Europe received [...]
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Maryanne Wolf, Tufts University professor of child development and author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, suggests that youngsters in the digital age may fail to go beyond the sheer volume of information at their fingertips to deeper layers of insight, imagination, and knowledge. Wolf acknowledges that the [...]
Monday, January 28, 2008
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