Science Confirms the Obvious

Science Confirms the Obvious

It Pays to Trust Your Instinct

New neuroscience study shows that going with your gut really works

Whether you call it a hunch or vibes, a reckoning or a feeling in your bones, humans know the power of a nagging suspicion. Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink stands as testament to the fact that snap decisions often turn out much smarter than those following a thorough think. Now, neuroscientists say they’ve not only proven what they call “subliminal learning” scientifically, but have found the brain area involved.

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Science Confirms the Obvious

Smoking and Coffee-Drinking Really Is High Among AA Attendees

But does it help twelve-steppers stay sober?

A church sits across the street from one of my previous apartments in Manhattan. In the evenings, I’d see a passel of people emerge from it for a spell of sidewalk chitchat, smoking, and coffee-slurping. I didn’t need a formal investigation to realize that these were adjourned Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. But now such a study has actually been done to confirm the legendary caffeine-and-cigarette culture of AA as a whole. It’s true: Twelve-steppers aren’t saying “Easy Does It” with these lesser vices.

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Science Confirms the Obvious

Party Schools Like to Party

A study years in the making finds that a collegiate drinking culture does indeed lead to collegiate drinkers

A team from the Harvard School of Public Health has deduced what an annual Playboy survey has been telling us for years: Partying is more common at party schools. In a review of the 14-year-long College Alcohol Study, Director Henry Wechsler and Assistant Director Toben Nelson conclude that heavy drinking among students was more common at schools with an established drinking culture, lots of liquor stores, and awesome drink specials, a condition the researchers call a “wet environment” (which, I’m assuming, may also lead to a higher prevalence of wet t-shirt contests).

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Science Confirms the Obvious

Mom Lights Up When Her Baby Smiles

Brain scans show that for new mothers, a happy baby is like a drug.

Another everyday emotion has been verified by the neuroimaging technique fMRI—this time, the warm and fuzzy feeling moms get when they gaze at their smiling baby.

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Science Confirms the Obvious

The Psychology of Karaoke Explained

Bad singers either don’t know it—or do, but sing anyway

Researchers have confirmed the unfortunate karaoke phenomenon whereupon terrible singers either do not know they sing poorly—or do, yet still hog the stage with little regard for the audience’s ears or glassware.

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Science Confirms the Obvious

Bunk Beds Declared Dangerous!

Broken toes, bloody noses and ceiling fan entanglement are the stuff of nightmares for all ages, report concludes

Clamber down a bunk bed ladder in the black of night at your own risk, says a large new study of the double-decker berths: falls, head entrapment, strangulation, and even ceiling fan entanglement may await.

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Science Confirms the Obvious

City Dwellers Are Greener

A study shows urban life produces less carbon per capita, but some cities are greener than others

New York Skyline: Photo by William Warby (CC Licensed)

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Science Confirms the Obvious

Recent College Grads Are Prone to Anger and Depression

But don't worry, the rat race becomes second nature within 7 years or so, researchers say

Ah, college graduation! The first rites of adulthood in which campus living, the meal plan, and 1-800-COLLECT are readily traded for a rented studio apartment, long hours at the office, and rush-hour traffic. What’s not to be depressed about?

Echoing the cold comfort your parents probably gave during this rude awakening as you sobbed to them using your non-subsidized cellphone, a recent analysis by Canadian researchers confirms that many recent grads feel this way . . . and things really do get better.

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Science Confirms the Obvious

Young Adults Drink to Boost Their Chances of Hooking Up

“Liquid courage” gets scientific backing

In testament to a tried-and-true move in the human mating game, European scientists have noticed that young people in bars and nightclubs across the land are using alcohol and drugs to grease the wheels of foreplay.

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