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sissij

A reason to believe - 2 views

www.apa.org/...believe.aspx

psychology knowledge brain science

shared by sissij on 29 Oct 17 - No Cached
  • They’re finding that religion may, in fact, be a byproduct of the way our brains work, growing from cognitive tendencies to seek order from chaos, to anthropomorphize our environment and to believe the world around us was created for our use.
  • “Religion is one of the big ways that human societies have hit on as a solution to induce unrelated individuals to be nice to each other,” says Norenzayan.
  • “The problem is, the more you look inward toward your religious group and its claims of virtue, the less you look outward and the more distrustful you are of others,” he says.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • That distrust causes much of the world’s strife and violence and is one of the reasons the “new atheists,” including British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, PhD, and neuroscientist Sam Harris, PhD, want to see religion disappear.
  • sissij on 29 Oct 17
     
    I find this article interesting because it analysis the reason of religion from the perspective of basic human nature.
sissij

Books are getting shorter; here's why - 0 views

www.consumeraffairs.com/...-shorter-heres-why-042613.html

social media bias technology

shared by sissij on 27 Oct 17 - No Cached
  • "A leading brain scientist in England points out that texting actually decreases the ability to think in complex ways because it eliminates complexity in sentence structure. Put it all together and it seems that no one has patience to sit quietly and read a book, as we might have a generation or even ten years ago."
  • "People are publishing books that are radically shorter than in the past," he says.
  • But books aren't just getting shorter, says Levin. What the reader wants from the author is changing too.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • "But it's also a little bit of intellectual laziness," he adds. "That's what happens in an era when people are famous for being famous instead of famous for having accomplished something distinctive. If you and the media say you're special, you probably are."
  • "It's a paradox," he says. "We distrust authority if it's in the form of a major institution, like government, business or Wall Street. But if an individual claims authority in a given field, we assume the person must be telling the truth about his or her credentials. It's the natural trust we extend others -- we typically assume that people are who they say they are."
  • He says readers no longer want an author to prove his or her assertions. They just want to know the author is giving legitimate answers to their questions.
  • With a printed book people feel more committed to reading the entire thing, but with a digital book not so much, which is another reason a lot of today's books are shorter.
  • sissij on 27 Oct 17
     
    Interesting analysis on how social media affect human behavior. Intellectual laziness and our desire for simplicity leads us in the path of logical fallacies.
sissij

How Inoculation Can Help Prevent Pseudoscience | Big Think - 2 views

bigthink.com/...can-help-prevent-pseudoscience

inoculation psychology science research

shared by sissij on 25 May 17 - No Cached
  • It is easier to fool a person than it is to convince a person that they’ve been fooled. This is one of the great curses of humanity.
  • Given the incredible amount of information we process each day, it is difficult for any of us to critically analyze all of it.
  • The state of Minnesota is battling a measles outbreak caused by anti-vaccination propaganda. And Discussion over the effects of misinformation on recent elections in Austria, Germany, and the United States is still ongoing.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • A recent set of experiments shows us that there is a way to help reduce the effects of misinformation on people: the authors amusingly call it the “inoculation.”
  • which even then were heavily influenced by their pre-existing worldviews.
  • teaching about misconceptions leads to greater learning overall then just telling somebody the truth.
  • sissij on 25 May 17
     
    Fake news and alternative facts are things that mess up our perception a lot. As we learned in TOK, there are a lot of fallacies in human reasoning. People tend to stick with their pre-existing worldview or ideas. I found it very interesting that people reduce the effect of misinformation by having an "inoculation". I think our TOK class is like the "inoculation" in a way that it asks us question and challenge us with the idea that everything might not seem as definite or absolute as it seems. TOK class can definitely help us to be immune of the fake news. --Sissi (5/25/2017)
sissij

Human-Like Thinking Is up to 1.8 Million Years-Old, Study Finds | Big Think - 0 views

bigthink.com/...-million-years-old-study-finds

science research brain science

shared by sissij on 24 May 17 - No Cached
  • I have a confession to make, I think I’m pretty smart.
  • And is it something we can measure?
  • Shelby S. Putt conducted the study. She’s a postdoctoral researcher with The Stone Age Institute at Indiana University.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Neuroarchaeology is a new field which seeks to understand how ancient hominids and humans evolved cognitively.
  • brain imaging technology
  • The more intricate Acheulian tools, required a lot more of the brain’s real estate. Fashioning one activates the superior temporal cortex, ventral precentral gyrus, and supplementary motor areas.
  • sissij on 24 May 17
     
    We tends to think we are the special ones that are the most intelligent form of living. However, the cognitive that we are so proud of actually existed millions of years ago according to neuroarchaeology. I think it is rather ironic. --Sissi (5/24/2017
sissij

Why Silicon Valley Titans Train Their Brains with Philosophy | Big Think - 0 views

bigthink.com/...learn-and-recommend-philosophy

philosophy psychology knowledge education

shared by sissij on 23 May 17 - No Cached
  • To alleviate the stresses and open their minds, the execs have been known to experiment with microdosing on psychedelics, taking brain-stimulating nootropics, and sleeping in phases. What’s their latest greatest brain hack? Philosophy.
  • The guidance focuses on using reason and logic to unmask illusions about your life or work.
  • He thinks that approach can obscure the true understanding of human life. In an interview with Quartz, he says that rather than ask “How can I be more successful?” it’s actually more important to ask - "Why be successful?”
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • introduces thought and balance to people’s lives.
  • Thomas S. Kuhn
  • sissij on 23 May 17
     
    I found this very interesting that philosophy can be linked to the modern silicon valley. The silicon valley always gives me a modern impression as if it is the lead of human technology and a believer of science. I am surprised that actually many people in silicon valley are interested in philosophy, something that I consider being not practical at all. I think this shows the importance of being cross-disciplined. --Sissi (5/23/2017)
sissij

Why Instagram Is Becoming Facebook's Next Facebook - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...g-facebooks-next-facebook.html

new york times technology social media

shared by sissij on 02 May 17 - No Cached
  • Instagram has thus triggered an echo — it feels like Facebook. More precisely, it feels the way Facebook did from 2009 to 2012, when it silently crossed over from one of those tech things that some people sometimes did to one of those tech things that everyone you know does every day.
  • But last year, you might have said there was a question whether a picture-based service like Instagram could have reached similar scale — whether it was universal enough, whether there were enough people whose phones could handle it, whether it could survive greater competition from newer photo networks like Snapchat.
  • Mr. Systrom said this plan to rapidly speed up Instagram’s pace of change to attract more users was deliberate.
  • sissij on 02 May 17
     
    I think the rise of the social media partly shows the changes in our society. By looking at how a social media make their success, we can see what the mainstream culture of the society is.
sissij

Do You and Your Partner Fight Too Much, or Not Enough? Turns Out There's a "Magic Ratio... - 0 views

bigthink.com/...-for-much-couples-should-fight

psychology research brain science

shared by sissij on 26 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • Everyone knows couples break up when they fight too much. But what if they don't fight enough?
  • the “magic ratio” of positive and negative interactions in successful relationships is about 5 to 1.
  • So, too much fighting leads to breakups. That’s obvious. But what’s interesting about the theory is it implies that one sign of a doomed relationship could be not enough negativity.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • The idea is that because people and environments are always changing, partners must provide one another with enough corrective feedback so they can be “on the same page.” 
  • Gottman and his colleagues found that couples who remained stoic during conflicts actually tended to fare worse than couples that were more “volatile".
  • These couples exert a healthy amount of influence on one another, both positively and negatively. But as long as their interactions favor the positive, they tend to enjoy relatively stable relationships over the long term.
  • The 5:1 ratio also seems to ring true in the business world.
  • The results showed that the most successful teams made an average of 5.6 positive comments per every negative one, while the average ratio among the lowest performing teams was just 0.36 to 1.
  • Negative feedback can prevent you from driving off a cliff.
  • sissij on 26 Apr 17
     
    I find it very interesting that sometimes having some negative things can result in a positive way. In TV series or books, we can always see a scene that when two people are arguing, there would be a third person saying that "wow, you guys have such a good relationship!" and they would reply "no" together. Bow there are research on that and we can see from the perspective of logic of evolution that human community needs correction and advices from others to adjust themselves. I think arguing may sometimes shorten the relationship between two people since they both show each other the worst side and there won't be much hide between them. --Sissi (4/26/2017)
sissij

FaceApp apologises for 'racist' filter that lightens users' skintone | Technology | The... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...-which-lightens-users-skintone

the guardian technology bias social media

shared by sissij on 26 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • its “hot” filter automatically lightened people’s skin.
  • “It is an unfortunate side-effect of the underlying neural network caused by the training set bias, not intended behaviour.”
  • which he said was a side-effect of the “neural network”.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • But users noticed one of the options, initially labelled as “hot” made people look whiter.
  • which usually adds filters, because it uses deep learning technology to alter the photo itself.
  • This is by no means the first time an app which changes people’s faces have been criticised for racial insensitivity.
  • sissij on 26 Apr 17
     
    This article reminds me of an article I read days ago about AI chatting program that picked up racial expression when it is learning in chatting people a lot of people. The faceApp obviously adapt a similar learning program that's similar to that of the AI robot. I think it can partly reflect what the mainstream society is thinking. It unveil this preference of whiter skin tone people have intentionally or subconsciously. This is the mainstream esthetic in the society now. --Sissi (4/26/2017)
sissij

New Research Suggests Working Out With a Friend, Even Online, Makes You Healthier | Big... - 0 views

bigthink.com/...ven-online-makes-you-healthier

research psychology social media

shared by sissij on 25 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • That exercise is a social activity is not surprising. For millions of years our forebears physically worked together to provide shelter, craft rudimentary tools, hunt, and gather. If anything is strange today it’s how little we need to use our bodies to survive, which helps account for so many of our physical and emotional problems. 
  • Being socially active is the main reason I’m drawn to teaching group fitness, which has accounted for half of my career since 2004 (and complements the solitary time spent writing and editing nicely).
  • As it turns out, your friends don’t even have to live near you—social media is helping foster this trend as well.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The researchers collected over five years of data from over a million runners, who collectively clocked in nearly 225 million miles. 
  • They noticed similar training patterns even if the runners were separated.
  • Weather, it turns out, did not dissuade one friend who saw their counterpart clocking in an extra ten minutes that day.
  • Risk of lagging behind proved to be a necessary catalyst for upping the ante. 
  • Which, obviously, is in good humor. But it helps.
  • sissij on 25 Apr 17
     
    Human is essentially a social animal. People cannot live without a community. Although loneliness is a aspect of life deep in everybody's heart, nobody can refuse their nature to make friends, talk to people, and emotionally engaged with others. This follows the logic of revolution. In cross-country, our coach always tells us to run together and work together in practices and races. I think maybe he is doing that in purpose since people tends to perform better with their friends around them.
sissij

Trump Wants It Known: Grading 100 Days Is 'Ridiculous' (but His Were the Best) - The Ne... - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...donald-trump-100-days.html

new york times bias

shared by sissij on 25 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • “As with so much else, Trump is a study in inconsistency,” said Robert Dallek, the presidential historian. “One minute he says his 100 days have been the best of any president, and the next minute he decries the idea of measuring a president by the 100 days.”
  • Mr. Trump has already told supporters not to believe contrary assessments, anticipating more critical evaluations by journalists, not to mention partisan attacks by Democrats.
  • If nothing else, Mr. Trump’s first 100 days have certainly been eventful.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Whether they have accomplished much is more a subject of debate.
  • Others were less weighty, like one officially naming a veterans’ health center in Butler County, Pa., the “Abie Abraham V.A. Clinic.”
  • To the extent that he is being held to a measurement he disdains, he has no one to blame but himself.
  • only one has even been introduced.
  • “It is hard to judge any of these other presidents after that, and I think all of them are cursing the idea that this got started,” said Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of “No Ordinary Time,” a book about Roosevelt. “That’s the one thing they might all agree on, the post-F.D.R. presidents: ‘No way; this isn’t fair.’”
  • “I don’t think the first 100 days are by themselves that important,” he said. “The first year is critically important, and the first 100 days set the tone for the first year.”
  • sissij on 25 Apr 17
     
    I think there is a confirmation bias in Mr. Trump's argument. He was quoting the previous presidents to suggest that the first 100 days of presidency is not important. However, what the previous presidents meant by saying "100-days" is not a fair grading mark is because the time is too short to show anything. It's not that it is not important. I think Mr. Trump himself is not even convinced with that since he tried so hard to make his first hundred days look good. Quantity does not equal quality. --Sissi (4/25/2017)
sissij

How an Argument Over Zombies Helps Explain What Makes Us Human | Big Think - 1 views

bigthink.com/...es-to-understand-consciousness

human psychology knowledge bias

shared by sissij on 25 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • Zombies are a big part of our pop culture. They are both a cathartic exploration of what it means to be human and a vehicle for social commentary. The word “zombie” comes from Haitian folklore and refers to a corpse animated by witchcraft.
  • The concept is kind of a mind trick. Imagine a being that looks and even talks like a human. It goes through all the normal motions of a human and yet has no consciousness. And you would have no idea that it is not like you.
  • If a p-zombie that is exactly like us, except for the sense of self and consciousness, is possible to logically conceive, then it could support dualism, an alternative view that sees the world consisting of not just the physical but also the mental.
  • sissij on 25 Apr 17
     
    What is human? In the past paradigms, we thought what separates human from all the other things is spirit. Then we thought it is reason that distinguish human from other animals. However, as we talked about in the modern paradigm, we say that there is no spirit or reason in human and all the decision we make is basically not our own. It is the result of numerous subconscious suggestions. So is there really a difference between zombie and human? I think there are people who live like a zombie and there are "zombies" that live like a human. --Sissi (4/24/2017)
sissij

What 'Snowflakes' Get Right About Free Speech - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...t-right-about-free-speech.html

new york times bias research psychology language

shared by sissij on 25 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • “Madame, you are an experience, but not an argument.”
  • it has taken on renewed significance as the struggles on American campuses to negotiate issues of free speech have intensified — most recently in protests at Auburn University against a visit by the white nationalist Richard Spencer.
  • Lanzmann’s blunt reply favored reasoned analysis over personal memory.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Freedom of expression became a flash point in this shift.
  • Then as now, both liberals and conservatives were wary of the privileging of personal experience, with its powerful emotional impact, over reason and argument, which some fear will bring an end to civilization, or at least to freedom of speech.
  • “The Postmodern Condition” of how public discourse discards the categories of true/false and just/unjust in favor of valuing the mere fact that something is being communicated, examined the tension between experience and argument in a different way.
  • Lyotard focused on the asymmetry of different positions when personal experience is challenged by abstract arguments.
  • The rights of transgender people for legal equality and protection against discrimination are a current example in a long history of such redefinitions.
  • The idea of freedom of speech does not mean a blanket permission to say anything anybody thinks. It means balancing the inherent value of a given view with the obligation to ensure that other members of a given community can participate in discourse as fully recognized members of that community.
  • which aim to educate students in how to belong to various communities — should not mean that someone’s humanity, or their right to participate in political speech as political agents, can be freely attacked, demeaned or questioned.
  • sissij on 25 Apr 17
     
    This article reminds me of the topic we discussed today in TOK class. The modern paradigm doesn't provide us any positive guidance. It states that god does not exist. Since there is not limits in this paradigm, people can do whatever they want theoretically. I think this freedom of speech has the same problem. Sometimes people use the freedom of speech as their shield of saying things that hurts others' feelings. Freedom should some limits. --Sissi (4/24/2017)
sissij

There's a Major Problem with AI's Decision Making | Big Think - 0 views

bigthink.com/...black-box-ai

science research bias

shared by sissij on 24 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • For eons, God has served as a standby for “things we don’t understand.” Once an innovative researcher or tinkering alchemist figures out the science behind the miracle, humans harness the power of chemistry, biology, or computer science.
  • The process of ‘deep learning’—in which a machine extracts information, often in an unsupervised manner, to teach and transform itself—exploits a longstanding human paradox: we believe ourselves to have free will, but really we’re a habit-making and -performing animal repeatedly playing out its own patterns.
  • When we place our faith in an algorithm we don’t understand—autonomous cars, stock trades, educational policies, cancer screenings—we’re risking autonomy, as well as the higher cognitive and emotional qualities that make us human, such as compassion, empathy, and altruism.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Of course, defining terms is of primary importance, a task that has proven impossible when discussing the nuances of consciousness, which is effectively the power we’re attempting to imbue our machines with.
  • What type of machines are we creating if we only recognize a “sort of” intelligence under the hood of our robots? For over a century, dystopian novelists have envisioned an automated future in which our machines best us. This is no longer a future scenario.
  • sissij on 24 Apr 17
     
    In the fiction books, we can always see a scene that the AI robots start to take over the world. We humans are always afraid of AI robots having emotions. As we discussed in TOK, there is a phenomenon that the more robots are like human, the more people despise of them. I think that's because if robots start to have emotions, then they would be easily out of our control. We still see AI robots as lifeless gears and machines, what if they are more than that? --Sissi (4/23/2017)
sissij

Bearing Witness to Executions: Last Breaths and Lasting Impressions - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...s-and-lasting-impressions.html

new york times bias research psychology

shared by sissij on 23 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • The death penalty holds a crucial, conflicted place in a nation deeply divided over crime and punishment, and whether the state should ever take a life. But for such a long, very public legal process, only a small number of people see what unfolds inside the country’s death houses.
  • There is no uniformity when they look back on the emotions that surround the minutes when they watched someone die.
  • You’re watching through glass, and then the process starts.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • They had a chance to offer last statements, and I was disgusted because they were so self-serving, narcissistic statements for these people who had caused so much pain and suffering.
  • A prosecutor has to have no doubt: not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but no doubt that a person committed those crimes. As long as you have no doubt, I don’t think there’s any valid argument against the death penalty.
  • They caught him right there where he shot my son. I just don’t understand: 20 years before they killed him.
  • I cannot even tell you how unbelievable it was to see people deliberately get ready to kill your client.
  • When they pronounced him dead, I think I felt happy that he was no longer being hurt as part of the process.
  • It is probably the shortest yet longest 11 minutes of my life. No matter what anyone says, there’s really nothing to prepare you for what you are about to see.
  • The victim’s family is hurt, and the family of the individual. You’re not just killing a person. You’re killing his whole family. There’s a lot of people involved in this, not just the poor kid lying on a gurney.
  • People don’t realize that you never get over it, unless you’re just cold and calculated. I’ll never forget it. Not a day goes by. Not a day goes by. And I don’t expect it to. If it does, then I didn’t do what I was supposed to do, as a Christian and as a chaplain and as a human being.
  • sissij on 23 Apr 17
     
    Death penalty has long been a very controversial topic. Do people have the right to take away another person's life as the punishment of their wrong-doing? Those five witnesses offer their own opinion and feelings towards death penalty. Some of them think it is deserving because their wrong-doing caused too much damage to others. Some think it is painful because as a person is killed, their families and relatives are also "killed" in a way. Life is not a calculation. One life never equals to another life. --Sissi (4/23/2017)
sissij

Is the March for Science Going to Change Any Minds? | Big Think - 0 views

bigthink.com/...ence-going-to-change-any-minds

science research bias

shared by sissij on 22 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • "Make contact with that part of America that doesn’t know any scientists. Put a face on the debate. Help them understand what we do, and how we do it. Give them your email, or better yet, your phone number...  The solution here is not mass spectacle, but an increased effort to communicate directly with those who do not understand the degree to which the changing climate is already affecting their lives. We need storytellers, not marchers."
  • sissij on 22 Apr 17
     
    Although the society now is closely intertwined with science, real and up-to-date science is still very far away from the general population. As we discussed in TOK when we talked about science, the science that the general population talk about and quote from is mostly not real or scientific science. They don't really care the scientific methods and all those theories behind those conclusions. They just use those "science facts" to satisfy their confirmation bias and support their argument. From this research, we can just see how the general population don't really care about real science. Science is becoming more like a special thing that is only in the hands of the minority elites. Although they say that general population is not important for science, I think it is really important that the science that the general population perceive is real science. --Sissi (4/21/2017)
sissij

What does an LSD-style drug-induced 'higher state of consciousness' feel like? | Scienc... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...ate-of-consciousness-feel-like

the guardian psychology research science

shared by sissij on 21 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • A study published this week that looked at brain scans of people on psychedelics suggested that one effect is “a mixing of the senses” – an accurate description.
  • “fountains of colour”
  • Can I see the colours begin to glow brighter, or are they humming loudly into new levels of vividness?
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • synaesthesia
  • But tripping isn’t just about the drugs. As the shaman Julian Vayne explains in his manual for getting the best out of psychedelics, Getting Higher, all highs are products of their context.
  • sissij on 21 Apr 17
     
    I found it very interesting that LSD light patterns can actually be a kind of drug. Drugs are not limited to the ones we eat. It includes the ones that we feel. As we know, there are all kinds of addictions. Some people are addicted to certain object or certain pattern. There are even music drugs. -- Sissi (4/21/2017)
sissij

Is Crime Forensics Flawed? | Big Think - 0 views

bigthink.com/...is-crime-forensics-flawed

science research bias

shared by sissij on 21 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • This is concerning because in recent years, time honored methods such as fingerprinting, hair and fiber analysis, firearm analysis, and others, have come under intense scrutiny.
  • Sessions plans to replace the commission with an internal body called the department crime task force, headed by a senior forensic adviser who will report to him directly. No one has been named for the position as of yet.
  • Since 1989, DNA evidence has exonerated 329 individuals. Bite mark and hair analysis—part of what is known as pattern forensics, helped convict 25% of them.
  • sissij on 21 Apr 17
     
    I have long been interested in forensics. There was a late night show called forensic files that I really like to watch. As I learned in biology that human fingerprint is very unique, I have never imagined that there are actually serious flaws in forensics. As long as there is human involvement in this activity, it couldn't be one hundred percent reliable. --Sissi (4/21/2017)
sissij

Prejudice AI? Machine Learning Can Pick up Society's Biases | Big Think - 1 views

bigthink.com/...ng-can-pick-up-societys-biases

society science brain science

shared by sissij on 20 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • We think of computers as emotionless automatons and artificial intelligence as stoic, zen-like programs, mirroring Mr. Spock, devoid of prejudice and unable to be swayed by emotion.
  • They say that AI picks up our innate biases about sex and race, even when we ourselves may be unaware of them. The results of this study were published in the journal Science.
  • After interacting with certain users, she began spouting racist remarks.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • It just learns everything from us and as our echo, picks up the prejudices we’ve become deaf to.
  • AI will have to be programmed to embrace equality.
  • sissij on 20 Apr 17
     
    I just feel like this is so ironic. As the parents of the AI, humans themselves can't even be equal , how can we expect the robot we made to be perform perfect humanity and embrace flawless equality. I think equality itself is flawed. How can we define equality? Just like we cannot define fairness, we cannot define equality. I think this robot picking up racist remarks just shows that how children become racist. It also reflects how powerful the cultural context and social norms are. They can shape us subconsciously. --Sissi (4/20/2017)
sissij

There Is No Such Thing As Soy Milk | Big Think - 0 views

bigthink.com/...e-is-no-such-thing-as-soy-milk

science language bias

shared by sissij on 19 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • But are they all milk? No. There is no such thing as soy milk.
  • The same goes for almond, coconut, hemp, rice, cashew, hazelnut, and oat. Milk comes from mammals and there are no lactating almonds.
  • since the Chinese company Vitasoy entered the US market in 1979, the Food and Drug Administration still has a very specific, cow-centric, definition: "Milk is the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows."
  • sissij on 19 Apr 17
     
    I found that the definition of milk is gradually changing as people have new inventions and ideas. It shows that language is not dead and unchanging. Language is closely associated with the development of the society. I think another reason why we call it soy milk is partly because of the translation problem. Soy milk is originally from China and I think western country has never seen it before. The Chinese use soy milk as the name of their product is because they want to give a connotation to their product therefore the western customers would be less afraid about it. People tends to accept things that has some familiarities to them. --Sissi (4/29/2017)
sissij

Are You Lucky? How You Respond Affects Your Fate. | Big Think - 0 views

bigthink.com/...-you-respond-affects-your-fate

brain science research psychology

shared by sissij on 19 Apr 17 - No Cached
  • Humans are superstitious creatures. Our rituals are vast. We tie one shoelace before the other; if we tie one, we have to tie the other even if it’s not loose.
  • Luck is the ever-present elephant in the room, dwarfed in our vocabulary by destiny and blessings.
  • But a roll of seven has more to do with the flick of a wrist than fate. 
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Considering yourself lucky is a good thing. Rather than having a negative worldview—“that’s just my luck”—thinking yourself to be lucky results in positive brain functioning and overall well-being.
  • To navigate this tricky terrain, Frank suggests asking someone about their luck rather than informing them of their luck.
  • As should we all. Luck is not a mystical ally.
  • sissij on 19 Apr 17
     
    I think luck is very tricky thing in human social science. As study suggests, luck is not a real thing, it is just something that human invented to comfort themselves. However, the belief of luck does have an effect on people's performance. I remembered once I saw in a study that people who believe that they are very lucky would have a better chance of good performance. This does not necessarily means that there is some unknown force called luck. It just means that believing in oneself would have a positive effect. I think it is very interesting that people are so used to use the word luck when a thing that is low in possibility happened to them. I think the language itself is giving people suggestions that there is some force that helps people in their action. --Sissi (4/19/2017)
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