the evolving mind

New research has revealed that extended travel may be good for creativity and imagination. May. Sacre Jet Bleu! Where shall we fly to, mon ami?

You may ask, How do they know this? Excellente question! Via creativity tests on subjects who have spent substantial amounts of time abroad and those that have not. The data also included an experiment involving the cognitive priming (by recall of travel or living abroad and experiencing a new culture, or not) and a test of creativity.

But for me, more significant than the science involved (not great, not bad) was the science reporting. And relative to other merde I frequently encounter, it was magnifique. And, perhaps as no surprise, it started with the title:

Living outside the box: New evidence shows going abroad linked to creativity.

Merci for that “linked.” And check out the appropriately sober attitude expressed in this paragraph -

Although these studies show a strong relationship between living abroad and creativity, they do not prove that living abroad and adapting to a new culture actually cause people to be more creative. “We just couldn’t randomly assign people to live abroad while others stay in their own country,” said Maddux.

Give that researcher and the writer of the report an ovation! Well done.

Technorati Links: critical thinking, education

What is this? The backside of a jasmine leaf at x60. What are those tiny white dots? I don’t know. As for the lump — a group of vessels that transport water and whatnot. One lane on the vegetative superhighway.

The winter jasmine in our yard are blooming and boy do they smell to high heaven. So to speak. In a good away. Mostly. They can make nose tingle and cause more histamines to be released.

Technorati Links: microscope, puzzle

The article seems so reasonable. A couple’s perceptions of one another influence how happy they are in marriage. Why doubt that? In general, I don’t. But the overall conclusion of a recent piece of research “I do.”

Believing a partner is there to help you grow into the person you aspire to be predicted higher relationship satisfaction for both dating and married couples, the study showed.

My beef with the study (news release) is all about one word, really.

First, a few all-important words about the data. 92 non-married, heterosexual couples and 77 (presumably heterosexual) married couples -

completed a battery of questionnaires that included an assessment of how much they thought their partner understood and supported both the hopes and responsibilities they had set for themselves. To measure how different types of perceived support were related to happiness with the relationship, couples also completed well-validated measures of satisfaction, intimacy and trust.

The data, by the way, was not mentioned until the 7th paragraph, after much discussion about what makes relationships work. I kept thinking, “Okay, but how do you know this?” And then I learned what the talk was based upon. One thing in particular stood out to me. And it is important. The measures were taken at t=0. Time one, call it. What happened when the measures were taken at time two? There was no time two. And how is this important?

Scrutinize this sentence from the tail of the write-up and you might figure it out:

The study also showed that different types of perceived support predicted differences in people’s overall satisfaction with their lives.

Predicted. Can you honestly use that word if you are describing the activity of analyzing a data set post hoc? Would a more accurate wording include something about the variables being associated or correlated?

Consider this hypothetical. Say you perform a “battery of measurements” on people who voted in the 2008 presidential election. And you discovered that individuals who owned foreign-made vehicles were more likely to have voted democrat. Would you then be justified in concluding that driving an import predicted voting for Obama?

Predict implies both importance and causality (at least it can). Correlation or association, on the other hand, do not so much. So why the use of predict?

What’s in a word? Some times too much.

Technorati Links: research, semantics

More red mums are blooming in our yard. And I don’t seem to tire of them. I’ve taken photos this year as I have in years past. I’ll take many more.

I wonder if people who don’t habituate to stimuli as rapidly have a more wonder-full life. Or maybe it isn’t a case of failing to habituate, but of succeeding at seeing at a finer grain, where things are rarely the same.

Technorati Links: flowers

One of my all-time favorite quotes is by Salman Rushdie -

The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas – uncertainty, progress, change – into crimes.

I believe strongly in first amendment rights. And in exercising them. And not just because it opens up more material for comedy and humor. For the cause of progress.

In that light, enjoy this Jesus and Mo cartoon. Yes, the content is heretical. It violates the sacred notions of some people. But that is a good thing.

Technorati Links: belief, liberalism

Yesterday during a developmental psychology class I mentioned in passing that sometimes diverse traits can be associated in people — they occur together. Often without apparent reason. The example I used was social inhibition, blue eyes and allergies. Shy children, on average, are more likely to have blue eyes. And allergies.

A few students were clearly flummoxed by this. Shy and blue eyes and allergies? Why would that be? Perhaps the better question is, How could that be? By asking how we are less likely to grasp at quick, meaningful but potentially mistaken answers. To inquire how we need to explore and understand the mechanisms behind some phenomenon. And while that may not bring a neat and tidy answer, it will foster a more scientific worldview.

This morning I conducted a quick Internet search to assure I had recalled the three traits correctly. And I had. Additionally, as a person combating allergies in high-allergy season, I discovered two additional trait associations.

First, hooray for me, Allergies Linked To Lower Risk Of Brain Cancer.

People with a history of allergies and related diseases have nearly a third lower risk of developing a certain brain cancer than those without the condition.

Before I broke out the champagne to celebrate a potential benefit to seasonal rhinitis, however, I also discovered this -Study Links Allergies To Parkinson’s Disease.

Researchers from Mayo Clinic have discovered that allergic rhinitis is associated with the development of Parkinson’s disease later in life.

Darn. What is the meaning of the associations between allergies and blue eyes and introversion and brain cancer and Parkinson’s disease? Well, that’s probably not the best question to ask. The better is: How are these things related? As for me, I anxiously await an answer, tissue in hand.

Technorati Links: genetics, neurology

Are dreams important?  Do they have meaning?  The Onion has its own, wonderfully warped perspective on this topic.

“Studies have shown that the majority of people committed of violent crimes have a history of dreaming.”  OMGawd.  Funny!

Technorati Links: psychology, video

What and where? Answer below the fold.

Continue Reading »

Technorati Links: cosmos, NASA

New research has revealed that almost 10% of this nation’s youth is addicted to video games. Well, if you actually read the article you might want to add a “sort of” to that claim. Why?

First, the data: A survey of 1,178 youths. Hmm. Did the youths’ addiction cause them to be unable to complete the survey, so drawn were they to playing more video games?

Second, the author of the study himself, Douglas Gentile, say’s this -

“Although the general public uses the word ‘addiction,’ clinicians often report it as pathological use,” said Gentile.

So the better term is probably “pathological use.” Not addiction. And, fortunately, what qualifies as pathological use is clearly defined. If subjects showed at least 6 of 11 symptoms of disturbed functioning, they were classified as engaging in pathological use. And the very questionable term “addiction” was affixed to the article title. (Bad copy-writer/editor!)

In detail -

The pathological gamers in the study played video games 24 hours per week, about twice as much as non-pathological gamers. They also were more likely to have video game systems in their bedrooms, reported having more trouble paying attention in school, received poorer grades in school, had more health problems, were more likely to feel “addicted,” and even stole to support their habit.

“Pathological use” seems to me a much better term. Would I make the conclusion that nearly 1 in 10 teens in our nation use video games to the extent it damages their functioning? Not yet. Not from a survey. More study is needed. Fortunately, science never sleeps.

Hmm. Is any percentage of scientists pathologically addicted to their life’s work?

Technorati Links: culture, media, skepticism

Do you recognize a distant cousin? (A hairless chimpanzee.)  That cousin is an atheist.

For more writings by god-free humans, you may want to check out the most recent Carnival of the Godless.

Technorati Links: animals, chimpanzees