Tag: science

The Science of Happy Design

July 3, 2014 / Paul / 0 Comments

So much of the news about technology tells us that websites, mobile apps, and social media are bad for us. Supposedly, technology makes us anxious, our smartphones take us out of the present moment, and social media ensnares us in a dopamine loop. A Google search of “happiness and technology” pulls up hundreds of articles about how technology is making us miserable. Can that be true? What if instead, the design of a favorite website or a trusted mobile app might make us happy – and influence our long-term actions? Happy, But Not an Accident As someone who attempts to make experiences with technology better, it makes me sad to think that my work might be making people unhappy. There has been some research to show …

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The Science of Happy Design

10 Happiness Hacks: Backed By Science

June 25, 2014 / Paul / 0 Comments

I would love to be happier, as I’m sure most people would, so I thought it would be interesting to find some ways to become a happier person that are actually backed up by science. Here are ten of the best ones I found. 1. Exercise more – 7 minutes might be enough You might have seen some talk recently about the scientific 7 minute workout mentioned in The New York Times. So if you thought exercise was something you didn’t have time for, maybe you can fit it in after all.Exercise has such a profound effect on our happiness and well-being that it’s actually been proven to be an effective strategy for overcoming depression.

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10 Happiness Hacks: Backed By Science

How to Read and Understand a Scientific Paper: A Step-by-Step Guide for Non-Scientists

June 19, 2014 / Paul / 0 Comments

To form a truly educated opinion on a scientific subject, you need to become familiar with current research in that field. And to be able to distinguish between good and bad interpretations of research, you have to be willing and able to read the primary research literature for yourself. Reading and understanding research papers is a skill that every single doctor and scientist has had to learn during graduate school. You can learn it too, but like any skill it takes patience and practice.Reading a scientific paper is a completely different process from reading an article about science in a blog or newspaper. Not only do you read the sections in a different order than they’re presented, but you also have to take notes, read it…

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How to Read and Understand a Scientific Paper: A Step-by-Step Guide for Non-Scientists

After This Audio Illusion, You’ll Never Trust Your Ears Again

June 19, 2014 / Paul / 0 Comments

It might be a little too early in the morning to have your mind blown, but this audio illusion is worth your time because it demonstrates your brain’s uncanny ability to use new information to help process something that is otherwise incomprehensible. In the experiment a spoken sentence is turned into complete nonsense using audio filters – at least as far as your brain is concerned the first time you hear it. But after hearing the original unprocessed version, suddenly your brain is able to make sense of what before sounded like gibberish. It’s a similar phenomenon to optical illusions where your eyes only see a specific image until other details are revealed, like the well-known old/young woman trick. But your brain applies the same processing…

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After This Audio Illusion, You’ll Never Trust Your Ears Again

After Decades of Silence, a Vintage Spacecraft Says Hello to Earth

June 7, 2014 / Paul / 0 Comments

Posted by Jason Davis 06-06-2014

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A group of space enthusiasts and vintage hardware experts walk into a radio observatory. They contact a 36-year-old spacecraft to ask how it’s doing. The spacecraft responds and says it’s well. The group leaves and continues to stay in touch with the spacecraft from their laptops, working out of an old McDonald’s building at the NASA Ames Research Center. It’s no joke – that’s the latest news coming from the ISEE-3 Reboot Project, a crowdfunded effort to repurpose NASA’s International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE-3), launched in 1978 on a mission to study Earth’s magnetosphere. In 1983, ISEE was sent on a …

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After decades of silence, a vintage spacecraft says hello to Earth