Free Soloing

No science, just pure insanity

Hurricanes 101

Informative clip on science of hurricanes

Of Babies and Property Rights

Research investigated young children's understanding of property rights. 2 and 3-year-olds participated in situations where an actor (1) took an object for himself, and (2) attempted to throw it away. Sometimes the actor owned the object, sometimes the child, sometimes a 3rd party.

Results found that 2 and 3-year-olds protested frequently when their own object was involved, only 3-year-olds protested more when a third party's object was involved as compared with the object being the actor's. This suggests that by 3, children begin to understand property rights.

Smaller Fingers = More Sensitive Finger Tips

Research finds that people with smaller fingers have more sensitive fingertips, probably because of a higher concentration of touch receptors in that area.

100 volunteers' index fingertips were measured. Researchers pressed parallel grooves against the subjects’ fingertips. If they could feel those grooves, then they pressed a narrower set, and so on (kind of like an eye test where you read progressively smaller letters until they’re indistinguishable).

Those with the smallest fingertips felt the narrowest grooves. Scientists think its because of a higher density of receptors - like a larger pixel count that creates a clearer image. Researchers then measured sweat pores density because touch receptor cells cluster around sweat pores. They found that smaller fingers did have a higher concentration of sweat pores.

Talk it Out

Research finds that students who worked out math problems out loud got more accurate results, and faster. Math students solved math problems and researchers found that students who reasoned through their thinking out loud, or drew out pictures for the problem, answered questions quicker and more accurately than their counterparts

Fitter = Smarter

Research suggests that adolescent physically fit men tend to be more intelligent than their non-athletic counterparts.

Animal studies have long shown a link between physical activity and better memory. In humans, aerobic exercise can boost cognitive function in old people. Scientists found that of 1+ million men enlisted for military service @ 18, cardiovascular fitness, not muscle strength, was associated with overall intelligence (in the Swedish army). Physical fitness at 18 also foreshadowed greater academic achievement later in life for the public in general. Even among the twin pairs, the fitter brother tended to be the smarter.

Faster = Funner

Instead of "Time flies when you’re having fun," research indicates that when you're having fun, time flies.

In a 10-minute test, “time’s up” was called when only five minutes had passed. The other half worked for 20 minutes before their 10-minute test was done. Results found that the 5 minute team said they had more fun.

Plants Kind to Relatives

Research shows that plants know if they're next to a relative and will grow to allow the relative more access to light.

Previous research showed that plants can recognize relative's root systems from the same mother plant and will give them a fairer share of nutrients. The new study found when impatiens plants shared a pot with seeds from the same parent plant, they grew taller with more branches and fewer leaves. When planted with other non-sibling impatiens, they grew more and larger leaves that crowded out non-relatives. Roots alert plants to the relationship of nearby plants because when impatiens were planted near siblings but in separate pots, they didn’t recognize their relatives.