Good Science

[psychodiva]

this is cool

Wildcat mimics monkey calls

[psychodiva]

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

never gets old

[psychodiva]

couple of interesting titbits

Encoding of memories

Creativity and schizophrenia

Mods- would it be too cheeky of me to ask that any bullshit posted by Cal about the above articles please be removed to the bingo thread so that this thread remains unpolluted?

[magx01]

Philboid Studge wrote

4)inferring causation from correlation
5)Post hoc, ergo propter hoc reasoning


(Aren't items four and five the same?)

I believe there's a subtle difference in that correlation does not need to be chronological in order, whereas post hoc, ergor propter hoc deals with things that are successive in chronology.

Someone correct me if wrong.

[psychodiva]

More good science

Neurology and neuroscience, working unseen over the past century, have eroded these ideas, the soul and the unified mind, down to nothing. Experiences certainly do feel unified, but to accept these feelings as reality is a mistake. Often, the way things feel has nothing to do with how they are.

[psychodiva]

magx01 wrote

I believe there's a subtle difference in that correlation does not need to be chronological in order, whereas post hoc, ergor propter hoc deals with things that are successive in chronology.

Someone correct me if wrong.

yes

[psychodiva]

Some good research here about that old tenet of rights-deniers that abortion leads to depression

She said previous research has shown that adolescent girls who get pregnant report more depression and lower self-esteem compared to those who don't. "What we didn't know was whether psychological outcomes are worse for girls who choose abortion. This study says, 'No.'"

[psychodiva]

That little old gorilla experiment went and grewed up into a book Think I'll be getting this one

For example: if two things only happen to occur together, there’s an association between them: “Kids who watch more television are more aggressive.” Well, it’s natural to assume that watching more television made them more aggressive. But it could equally go the other way: it could be that kids who are more aggressive are more likely to watch television. Or there could be some third factor that causes both of them: maybe their parents don’t pay much attention to them, so the kids watch TV and go out and are aggressive; you could create an infinite number of explanations. But our minds for some reason like to jump to the causal conclusion. That one must be causing the second one.

I would recommend this book to a certain person on this forum but I know he would just read the blurb on the back and find a penis in it somewhere so I won't bother

[psychodiva]

Science and religion don't mix

But the existence of religious scientists, or religious people who accept science, doesn't prove that the two areas are compatible. It shows only that people can hold two conflicting notions in their heads at the same time. If that meant compatibility, we could make a good case, based on the commonness of marital infidelity, that monogamy and adultery are perfectly compatible. No, the incompatibility between science and faith is more fundamental: Their ways of understanding the universe are irreconcilable.

[Jimble]

Re creativity and schizophrenia - I had wondered about this, I had noticed what seemed like a disproportionate number of depressed/schizophrenic artists and poets. But it's never easy to be sure you're not subconsciously counting the hits and ignoring the misses, we're all subject to our own biases. Thanks for sharing

[psychodiva]

Slightly interesting article about memory formation- some good research going on

(mods please if Cal interjects on this duff him up )

[psychodiva]

The science of falling in love

Results from Ortigue's team revealed when a person falls in love, 12 areas of the brain work in tandem to release euphoria-inducing chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin, adrenaline and vasopression. The love feeling also affects sophisticated cognitive functions, such as mental representation, metaphors and body image.

[ILOVEJESUS]

I did watch a documentary about some college kids making a very attractive woman on their computers. She came to life and helped them through some odd and troubling times.

[psychodiva]

[Eva]

but that's not good science.
that's just weird....