The Nazis in particular were very fond of anthropometry and the like — the idea that "scientific" measurements of the dimensions of the head/skull could be used to make determinations about racial purity. This links back to even older and more pseudoscientific concepts like phrenology and physiognomy, or the idea that…

Has anyone else read that JG Ballard short story Manhole 69? I always think about that one whenever I read studies like this. Brrr.

100% agreeing with you there.

I can see how someone finds a B-52 aesthetically pleasant. I still remember driving down the freeway on a fine Sunday morning and seeing a massive B-29 come soaring up from behind some of the buildings. Turns out it was one of the few operational ones that are still around; it's housed on a base nearby where I live.…

Plus you get to ride off into the sunset with Otacon if you fail to save her. That ending always cracked me up.

I don't think it's a blanket cure-all for everyone's stress/anxiety (everyone is different, after all), but I wish someone had taught me to meditate about a decade ago. Someone should have shaken me and said "All that nonsense you worry about? you can train yourself to stop worrying about it. And you will get so much…

I've started meditating more seriously and getting good results from it, which has made me way happier than therapy or legal/illegal drugs ever did. I can't describe how great it is to get relief from racing, anxious thoughts and a habitually pessimistic outlook on life.

Perfect choice of image for the article.

Nope.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I've answered my own question as to why we keep cranking out more babies — cultural inertia in some countries really doesn't allow much of anything else. Women often have no alternatives to getting married (if only because they'd be unable to make a living otherwise), sex can't…

Did they collapse now? wasn't aware. But no, this is a book by the author of Guns, Germs and Steel.

That makes sense — it shouldn't be possible for the population to continue increasing in a resource-poor location unless some sort of external aid prevents mass starvation.

Thanks for replying! I wasn't even aware that something perceived by the senses doesn't immediately reach the short-term memory storage, though the idea of short-term memory being "overloaded" and unable to take in new information is very practical — even if the limitation lies in the "hardware", having less data to…

Jared Diamond's Collapse is a good read on this topic. Highly recommend it.

That really sounds terrible. I hope this isn't a rude or ignorant question, but is it difficult to avoid recollection of said memories? My recall is far from perfect, but most of the time I can successfully stop myself from fully remembering negative experiences, or divert my attention elsewhere.

This is pretty interesting stuff; I'd imagine most people are familiar with the idea of having seen something that you just can't recall. If I understand the hypothesis, do they think the transfer of information from short- to long-term memory is what's causing the AB? Or is the data being dumped too quickly for it to…

Studies have shown that shopping and acquiring things gives a short-term dopamine high (like gambling does), if I remember correctly. It would make sense that this sort of behavior is addictive, especially when you rely on it for a significant part of your happiness. Too many people are out there trying to fulfill…

And Gogol too; his story inspired the opera.

This is precisely the first thing that came to mind.

When I was younger all I wanted to read about (and write, for that matter) was books about cats living like people, doing people things and having a little cat society. I was mad about the idea.