The Psychological Science of Storytelling

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Ryo

Microphone with blurry audience BG

ResearchBlogging.orgIt hit me about two years ago, sometime after I started this blog. Somewhere between the comedy shows and alarming amount of documentaries I began watching, and the seemingly endless number of people I have met in the last few years, I realized that the social world spins on the axis of stories. It’s hard to believe this fact unless you’re actually in a position where you exploit it. For me, it has become a hard fact of life – if you’re a good storyteller, good things come to you, and people want to be around you. It seems like the most popular people are often the best storytellers, and if you’re a good storyteller, you’re probably good at other things too. But just how do stories have such amazing effects on our lives?

This is a preview of The Psychological Science of Storytelling. Read the full post (1735 words, 3 images, estimated 6:56 mins reading time)
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Islamic Blasphemy and the “Freedom” to Choose your Own Religion

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Ryo

Hang the anti Islam written on street

In the last few weeks, Muslims from Bangladesh have been going crazy trying to fight back against the critical words of bloggers and other online heretics by violent riots that have so far led to the death of over 30 people. Over 100,000 rioters have been taking to the streets, and the Muslims have been arguing that things have to change for their allegedly secular government. Men must not “mix” with women, and the word of Allah must be brought into the nation’s constitution. And from there… the law against blasphemy can be brought to Western countries. Does that sound about right? It does to them.

This is a preview of Islamic Blasphemy and the “Freedom” to Choose your Own Religion. Read the full post (1261 words, 2 images, estimated 5:03 mins reading time)
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Inattentional Blindness and the Invisible Violinist

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Ryo

Anime violinist ao blue

If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s around to hear it, does it make a sound? It would be hard to prove if you weren’t there to notice it. But what if you were there… and you still didn’t notice it? This is something we experience every day. Even cavemen couldn’t possibly focus on all the stimuli around them at once – from the rustles in the bushes, to the winds blowing by, to the tribesmen hunting for food – so what chance do we have, in our world of constant advertisements vying for our attention? Our most natural coping mechanism is to (justifiably) unconsciously tune out most of the stimuli around us; but the case of the Invisible Violinist begs the question: What are we missing?

This is a preview of Inattentional Blindness and the Invisible Violinist. Read the full post (981 words, 1 image, estimated 3:55 mins reading time)
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Hamas-Israel Ceasefire Ends as Gaza Schools Drop Sports for Military Training

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Ryo

Hamas Children

I have been following the news regarding the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza that started in November of last year closely. The relationship between the two is incredibly tense, and the violent conflict that occurred then was thankfully over soon. The ceasefire was called, and both sides welcomed the truce, however temporary it may be. Despite the fact that Hamas actually broke the ceasefire by firing 12 rockets into Israel on Day 1 of the truce, it managed to officially hold for about half a year. The ceasefire, however, has certainly ended; and the militarization of the children of Gaza seems to be more determined than ever.

This is a preview of Hamas-Israel Ceasefire Ends as Gaza Schools Drop Sports for Military Training. Read the full post (1898 words, 1 image, estimated 7:36 mins reading time)
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Are Vocal Homophobes Really Just Homosexuals in the Closet?

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Ryo

Homo sex is SIN sign covered by GREAT

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. -Dr. Seuss

ResearchBlogging.orgWhat is it about homophobes that make them so gay? If this questions sounds controversial to you, then you may need to hear the science behind the answer. New research is showing that there actually is a link between homophobic rhetoric and homosexual tendencies. This article is about the notion that if you’re homophobic, you might just be compensating.

This is a preview of Are Vocal Homophobes Really Just Homosexuals in the Closet?. Read the full post (1839 words, 2 images, estimated 7:21 mins reading time)
Posted in Culture, Legal Issues, Psychology, Science, Sex and Sexuality, Social Psych | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Why Haven’t We Found the Missing Link in the Fossil Record? Science Answers!

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Ryo

missing_link_cl

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. -George Orwell

If evolution is such an incontrovertible “theory,” then why haven’t we found the “missing link” yet? A compelling question – if not boldly ignorant. In fact, creationists ask this question all the time, falsely asserting that there is a lack of evidence to support evolution. This article is going to look at why we don’t have all the information we want on the fossil record, and what the whole question of a “missing link” really means.

This is a preview of Why Haven’t We Found the Missing Link in the Fossil Record? Science Answers!. Read the full post (2363 words, 2 images, estimated 9:27 mins reading time)
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Bollywood Zombies and The Westernization of Indian Pop Culture

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Ryo

Go Goa Gone poster

Go Goa Gone, the first Western-style zombie flick to be made in Bollywood, was just announced last week. The trailer was released a few weeks ago and seems to be quite popular, with already over 2.5 million hits on YouTube. This may not seem like a particularly significant thing, but it’s just another example of how Indian TV and movies are taking cues from their American counterparts, effectively transforming their pop culture. What effect might this have on Indian popular culture?

This is a preview of Bollywood Zombies and The Westernization of Indian Pop Culture. Read the full post (995 words, 1 image, estimated 3:59 mins reading time)
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Hungary Solves Homelessness by Finding Places for All… in Jail?

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Ryo

Hungary Homeless

The brilliant move of Hungary lawmakers to criminalize the act of being a homeless person comes as a surprise to some. But this innovative solution to such a complex problem should certainly be known to the world. After all, this effectively makes all the homeless people – and the problems that come with them – disappear. From sight, that is. In fact, from the goodness of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s heart, these people will be given a home for free… in the form of a jail cell.

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The 2013 Pigasus Awards

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Ryo

gk324_flying-pig-rgb-final_lr_web

Every year, the James Randi Educational Foundation gives awards to recognize the special few uncritical thinkers who do more to peddle pseudoscience and damage the public in ways that only celebrities could. Below are five “winners” of various categories whose success in nonsense have given actual science communicators like myself a greater challenge – not only to inform the general public of the way things are, but to do so while battle the faulty preconceptions caused the non-scientific thoughts and beliefs caused by such purveyors.

This is a preview of The 2013 Pigasus Awards. Read the full post (650 words, 1 image, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)
Posted in Aggregators/lists/rankings, Biographical, Culture, Media, Science, Skepticism, Technology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Did Jesus ‘Want’ to be Nailed to a Cross?

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Ryo

Philippines Crucifixion god damn that looks painful

I’m pretty sure the answer to the question in the title is “no,” but there are many things I don’t know about religion. For example: Why is it that some Christians celebrate Easter by eating bunny-shaped chocolates (often after an informal hunt) and painting eggs, while others celebrate it by carrying a gigantic wooden cross up to the point well they will be literally nailed to it in a fashion that was – to my knowledge – reminiscent of how Jesus was forced to a few millennia ago? And for that matter… what part of that makes it “Good Friday?”

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