When Less Information Is More: Why Vague Feedback Helps Weight Loss We are on a never ending quest for precise information. Just take the bathroom scale as an example. Several years ago we were happy to stand on the scale and get an estimate of how many pounds we weighed plus or minus ½ pound or so. Now, we can buy scales that give us feedback about our weight, % body fat and even hydration levels to three decimal places out. The more specific the information, the more in control we are, and the better we will be at managing our weight and reaching our health goals . As it happens, when you get precise information about how much you weigh, it forces you to be objective about your expectations for future weight loss success. To demonstrate the benefits of vagueness, researcher Himanshu Mishra and colleagues at the University of Utah asked volunteers interested in losing weight to participate in a three week health program. Some folks were told precisely what their HHI was and how it compared to the ideal.
An Open Web Best of Our Blogs: May 13, 2011 Marketers are so good at making it sound like your problems will disappear with a sweep of their magic wand. It could be a pill, the perfect exercise machine, skin cream, a juicer or the latest gadget to cure whatever ails you. And we want to buy into the magic. It’s so easy to want to believe that life’s greatest issues can be cured with a single product or belief. But in most cases, real change takes hard work-deep in the trenches kind of hard. Sometimes we’re not ready to face that change. Are you going through this now? Work: How to Use Our Computers to Plug into Mindfulness (Mindfulness & Psychotherapy) – If you’re flipping through multiple windows while checking your email and reading this post, you’re probably using technology to waste time. A Dozen Ways to Betray Your Partner (Always Learning) – You can do more harm to your relationship than just cheat on your partner. How to Piece Together an Attitude for Success (Adventures in Positive Psychology) – Want to be successful?
Les bibliothèques de Rennes Métropole à l’heure de l’Open Data Bonjour ! Vous vous trouvez sur l’ancien blog du collectif Open Data Rennes. Ses archives restent en ligne, mais nous nous trouvons à présent sur www.cod-rennes.fr. A très bientôt ! Depuis 2010, Rennes Métropole s’est lancée dans l’open data et a ouvert des données d’horizons variés. Un domaine reste malgré tout plutôt pauvre, c’est celui de la culture. Un acteur a quand même commencé à proposer certains jeux de données, il s’agit de la bibliothèque des Champs Libres, avec ses statistiques de fréquentations par heure et par jour. Néanmoins, nous pensons qu’il y a plus à faire avec l’information qu’une bibliothèque peut générer et manipuler au quotidien: nombre de documents empruntés, retournés, en retard, emprunts par heure ou jour, quelle section d’une bibliothèque est la plus dévalisée. Une approche en douceur Mais nous parlons d’open data, nous voulons des données structurées. Ne jamais hésiter à ouvrir la discussion, si vous trouvez le bon interlocuteur. Des contraintes à prévoir
Artificial grammar learning reveals inborn language sense, study shows Parents know the unparalleled joy and wonder of hearing a beloved child's first words turn quickly into whole sentences and then babbling paragraphs. But how human children acquire language-which is so complex and has so many variations-remains largely a mystery. Fifty years ago, linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky proposed an answer: Humans are able to learn language so quickly because some knowledge of grammar is hardwired into our brains. In other words, we know some of the most fundamental things about human language unconsciously at birth, without ever being taught. Now, in a groundbreaking study, cognitive scientists at The Johns Hopkins University have confirmed a striking prediction of the controversial hypothesis that human beings are born with knowledge of certain syntactical rules that make learning human languages easier. "This research shows clearly that learners are not blank slates; rather, their inherent biases, or preferences, influence what they will learn.
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Graduation as Gratitude Graduation time is here again. Over the next few weeks, undergraduate students around the country will be donning caps and gowns and attending commencement ceremonies where they will be awarded their degrees after four (or more) years of classes. At many of these ceremonies, famous and not-so-famous speakers will talk about the meaning of graduation and what life in the world beyond the ivied halls and walls of academe will be like, with its challenges as well as pleasures. As I sat with my faculty colleagues yesterday during my college's graduation ceremony, listening to the name of each and every graduate being read (a charming, if sometimes long, tradition), I had a slightly different thought. What should psychology majors, newly minted with their bachelor's degree, think about during this important ceremony? As many graduating psychology majors know, expressing gratitude refers to giving thanks to another or others who have rendered a kindness or delivered a direct benefit.
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New X-ray method for understanding brain disorders better Researchers including members from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new method for making detailed X-ray images of brain cells. The method, called SAXS-CT, can map the myelin sheaths of nerve cells, which are important for conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. The results have been published in the scientific journal, NeuroImage. The myelin sheaths of nerve cells are lamellar membranes surrounding the neuronal axons. The myelin layers are important to the central nervous system as they ensure the rapid and uninterrupted communication of signals along the neuronal axons. Changes in the myelin layers are associated with a number of neurodegenerative disorders such as cerebral malaria, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. Getting 3-D X-ray images "We have combined two well-known medical examination methods: SAXS (Small-Angle X-ray Scattering) and CT-scanning (computed tomography scanning).