Deric Bownds

LATEST ARTICLES ( 2661 )

• Policy Evaluation by Randomized Trials May Provoke Greater Objections Than...

  Meyer et al. find that experiments comparing two unobjectionable policies or treatments can generate more objections than simply proceeding to implement them. Read more

  Posted on 12 June 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Is Technology Really Reshaping Our Consciousness?

  My first reaction on reading a recent Op-Ed piece by David Brooks "When Trolls and Crybullies Rule the Earth" was to say 'Yes!', and think I should immediately... Read more

  Posted on 10 June 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• The Wisdom of Partisan Crowds.

  Fascinating and counterintuitive findings from Becker et al., who find that the wisdom of crowds is robust to partisan bias: Significance Normative theories of... Read more

  Posted on 07 June 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Inequality Brokered

  Public opinion about sexual minorities has improved dramatically in recent years, but Sun and Gao do an analysis showing that discriminatory behavior in... Read more

  Posted on 05 June 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Blueprint - Nicholas Christakis' New Book on Evolutionary Origins of a Good...

  This opinion piece by Frank Bruni in the NYTimes motivated me to download and read Nicholas Christakis' Magnum Opus “Blueprint” (very much in the 'everything yo... Read more

  Posted on 03 June 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• After Brief Music Training 8-10 Year Old Kids Show Less Hyperactivity and...

  Fasano et al. show that only three months of orchestral music training improves inhibitory control and reduces hyperactivity in 8-10 year old children. Read more

  Posted on 31 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Happily Ever After....

  Sure enough, as soon as I do yesterday's post on aging, I run into, and will pass on in this post, a sane article in the Guardian that is basically a listicle o... Read more

  Posted on 29 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Live Younger Longer

  New Yorker Magazine writer and polymath Adam Gopnik does an excellent article describing studies on our increased longevity that aim to enhance its quality,... Read more

  Posted on 28 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• With the Rise of Trump, the Fall of Racial Prejudice?

  Stanley-Becker points to a fascinating study by Hopkins and Washington. Their abstract: In his campaign and first few years in office, Donald Trump... Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Blame the Liberals for Unlivable Cities!

  An excellent article by Farhad Manjoo, focusing on San Francisco's affordable housing crisis. Some clips: Just look at San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi’s city. Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Educating Liberals About White Privilege Doesn't Make Them More Empathetic.

  Cooley et al. find that people with socially liberal views on the major political issues are actually less likely to empathize with a poor white person’s... Read more

  Posted on 24 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Benefits of a Period of Exercise Persist After 10 Years.

  Gretchen Reynolds points to a study by Johnson et al. showing long term effects of an experiment conducted from 1998 to 2003, in which overweight volunteers... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• A Sunday Afternoon Musicale - Bridges and Mendelssohn

  

  This post falls in the 'random curious stuff' of the MindBlog title above. I want to share some of my current musical efforts with MindBlog readers. Read more

  Posted on 21 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Are Rich People Really Less Generous Than Poor People?

  Here is a ‘fact’ (that rich people are less generous than poor people) that I had locked into mind that turns out to be wrong. They are not less generous, contr... Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Like the Emperor’s New Clothes, DNA Kits Are a Tailored Illusion

  I recommend reading this article by George Estreich. Here are a few clips: Most people remember the emperor: a vain ruler, swindled into paying for a nonexisten... Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Father's Physical Activity Directly Enhances Offspring's Brain Physiology and...

  Experiments on mice suggest that human kids of athletic fathers might have more smarts than kids of couch potatoes. From McGreevy et al. Read more

  Posted on 15 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Ready to Pounce - Cat Smarts Get Some Attention

  

  I live in a symbiotic relationship with my two Abyssinian cats, and so was gratified, given that canine social cognition is the subject of dozens of scientific... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Want to Escape Your Liberal Bubble? Try This.....

  I have a recommendation for MindBlog readers like myself who are concerned about their immersion in the liberal bubble of the New York Times, Washington Post an... Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• The Case for Doing Nothing

  An article by Olga Mecking fits so well with my increasing allergic reaction to making myself busy all the time that I have to pass on a few edited and... Read more

  Posted on 06 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Same-sex Marriage Legalization Reduced Implicit and Explicit Antigay Bias

  Interesting work from Ofosu et al. shows how government legislation can inform individuals’ attitudes, even when these attitudes may be deeply entrenched and... Read more

  Posted on 03 May 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE