Link Feast
Our editor’s pick of this week’s 10 best psychology and neuroscience links.
03 October 2015
Why It Was Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s
People today are apparently about 10 percent heavier than people were in the 1980s, even if they follow the exact same diet and exercise plans. That’s according to Olga Khazan who reports on an intriguing new study for The Atlantic.
Keeping a Spotless Mind: The Neuroscience of “Motivated Forgetting”
This year’s joint annual British Academy/British Psychological Society Lecture was by Dr Michael Anderson and you can watch it on YouTube (also check out this report from Ella Rhodes at The Psychologist).
Confessions of a Neurotic Extravert
Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman writes a deeply personal article for The Creativity Post.
A Glorious Hour
Colin Marshall at Open Culture looks back to 1924 when Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, described the ecstasy of feeling Beethoven’s Ninth played on the radio.
Noël Carroll on the Paradox of Horror (video)
The desire to be scared or disgusted is odd. So why do audiences enjoy the unpleasant in horror fiction and film? From Aeon Video.
Blindsight: The Strangest Form of Consciousness
Some people who have lost their vision find a “second sight” taking over their eyes – an uncanny, subconscious sense that sheds light into the hidden depths of the human mind. By David Robson for BBC Future.
Drugs and Talk Therapy Affect the Brain in Different Ways
And sometimes they offer complementary benefits, suggests a new study that I reported on for New York‘s Science of Us.
The Problem of Too Much Talent
It’s true of basketball players, businesspeople, and even baboons: When too many powerful personalities are present, discord ensues. Adam Galinsky and Maurice Schweitzer report on their fascinating research for The Atlantic.
The ‘No-Tech’ School Where Screens Are Off Limits – Even At Home
Pupils at London Acorn School are banned from using smartphones and computers and watching TV at all times, including during holidays. Sally Weale visits the school for The Guardian.
Why Music?
A whole host of programmes on the psychology of music, from BBC Radio 3 and the Wellcome Trust.
