Clenching your muscles increases self-control. So does having a loud super-ego, or at least some form of inner monologue. Isolation disrupts our will power, as does having too much dopamine in our systems, like ADHD sufferers chronically do. Sugar boosts self-control. So does a short burst of exercise. For smokers, the same restorative effect happens […]
Miscellaneous
LWON is a group blog run semi-anarchically by 12 science writers. If you think that sounds like a recipe for chaos, just contemplate SciLance, an even more anarchic group of 35 science writers. Usually, SciLance is just a discussion group, so the chaos is relatively subdued. But last week, the writers of SciLance published their […]
29 April – 3 May This week, Richard’s new book came out! Oh, nothing, just the one he co-authored with Temple Grandin about the autistic brain. I don’t know how to put this, but he’s kind of a big deal. Jessa and Ann ask him many questions. And yet, in middle of a busy book-signing schedule, Richard […]
How much time would you need to count to a million at the “One Mississippi” rate of one number per second? At some point in my writing life I figured I should contemplate that question if I were ever to appreciate the kinds of numbers that astronomy uses. Knowing that our galaxy contains more than […]
22 – 26 April This week, guest poster Tienlon Ho broke LWON with her post about what happens when the cloud breaks up with you. LWON power couple Ann & Abstruse Goose took on the topic of penis envy. Eric continues our series on debunking Hollywood with a look at the annoying legitimisation of fringe […]
I am just sitting down to dinner at makeshift cafeteria a few miles away from a Maya dig site, called Xultun, in the jungles of Northern Guatemala. It’s my third day there, and I am still not used to the howler monkeys and giant insects. But most of the students around me have been here […]
April 15-19 Can a country have post-traumatic stress disorder? This week, guest poster Amy Maxmen reported back from two weeks in Sierra Leone, where survivors and perpetrators eke out an uneasy truce after a ten year war. Cassie realised in the aftermath of the Boston bombings that no matter how fast Twitter and CNN can […]
8 – 12 April This week, Richard marveled at the quantum carnival that rages in the decimal points. You might have heard that birds and wind power don’t mix. Erik brings home the heartbreaking reality — and shows that there might be a solution. Erika explains why you don’t want any austerity cuts in the […]
