Quote of the day
When men saw the woman with the tattoo, they judged her as less athletic, less motivated, less honest, less generous, less religious, less intelligent and less artistic than when she displayed no tattoo. Guéguen noticed one curious set of findings in this thin research area: While men see tattooed women as less attractive, they also see them as more promiscuous.
~VINITA MEHTA, Ph.D, author of Paleo Love: How Our Stone Age Genes Complicate Modern Relationships
THE MIND
Power has a scary effect on the brain, according to science [Understanding Emotions
], Huffington Post | Tweet
A little bit of power never hurt, right? Well, a study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests otherwise.
A neuroscientist explains why we look at porn [Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind]
, Motherhood | Tweet
Why is porn so enormously popular? There are several types of answer to that simple question. While some porn is used in the service of getting in the mood for sexual activity, the vast majority of porn use, by both women and men, functions to help the user achieve orgasm through masturbation. In fact, many people find it difficult to achieve orgasm through masturbation without the use of porn. But why does porn help?
PSYCHOLOGY
How do people view women with tattoos? [Paleo Love: How Our Stone Age Genes Complicate Modern Relationships], Psychology Today | Tweet
It’s no secret that when it comes to the mating game—whether it be for a liaison or a lifetime—men tend to place a higher premium on beauty than women do. Ample research shows that men are sensitive to a range of physical cues in women, such as a low waist-to-hip ratio, larger breasts, effective cosmetics use, revealing clothing, and wearing the color red (which signals sexual receptivity). But according to psychologist Nicolas Guéguen of the Université de Bretagne-Sud, the research also highlights another sensitivity: Men tend to overestimate women’s sexual intentions. Put another way, men often misinterpret women as having more sexual interest than they really do.
7 secrets top athletes can teach you about being the best at anything [The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance
], Barking Up The Wrong Tree | Tweet
We’d all like to be better at what is most important to us. Top athletes know the secrets to constant improvement but most of us don’t hang out with gold medalists or top coaches and we’re not familiar with the sports research. So I called a guy who is.
STARTUPS
How founders can tell a great startup story [Startup Stories
], Fortune | Tweet
Your story is way more than a chronological history of your company. The biggest mistake most companies make is they start with the love story of the founders. (i.e. “My co-founder and I met when we worked together at Company X. We built these 3 successful products together and had had fun doing it, so we decided to build this new thing because we think there is a market for it.”) This is the absolute wrong foot to start on.
SOCIAL MEDIA
10 significant things you likely didn’t know about social media but should, FastCo | Tweet
We love to make decisions and form strategies based on statistics. It’s why we A/B test and how we change directions on our social sharing. Who doesn’t love a good statistic, especially one that has an actionable next step? You’re likely to find a sea of statistics for social media—I know I’m amazed at how many are out there. My favorite finds are those that are just a bit surprising or unique or even counterintuitive.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The designer who gives half his work away for free, Priceonomics | Tweet
When Matthew Manos was 16-years-old, he decided he wanted to be a designer. So, he did what any aspiring teen entrepreneur would do: he bought a Mac. Then, he enrolled in a digital art class and spent long nights learning Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. He began with the usual stuff – like rendering his friends’ faces onto cats – but soon craved more fulfilling work. A few months later, while hanging out at his local skatepark in Sunnyvale, California, an opportunity arose.
WINE
Drinking red wine could help overweight people burn fat better, scientists claim [The Red Wine Diet
], The Independent | Tweet
Dr Neil Shay, a biochemist and molecular biologist at Oregon State University, said the findings suggested that Muscadine grapes could help people better manage obesity and related metabolic disorders like fatty liver disease.
WRITING
4 research hacks for writing thrillers [White Gold
], Writers Helping Writers | Tweet
One of the most common questions I’m asked as an author is, “How can you write thrillers if you’ve never served in the military/emergency services/spy agencies/etc.?” It’s a fair question. But before I explain my research process, I’d like to share some background about where I get my love of the thriller genre.
Science fiction or Science fact? [Journey into the Light
], Roger Mckasson | Tweet
This brings me to my topic of the week. When is a story Science Fiction or Science Fact? Many would think that would be a pretty easy question to answer, but is it really?
