The world according to Itskov: Futurists convene at GF2045 (Part 1)
As many Phys.org readers undoubtedly know, Einstein famously said that imagination is more important than knowledge – but there's more to it.
Social Sciences news
What is the best way to measure a researcher's scientific impact?
(Phys.org) —From a qualitative perspective, it's relatively easy to define a good researcher as one who publishes many good papers. But quantitatively measuring these papers is more complicated, since they can be measured ...
The enemy of my friend: Altruistic punishment in humans called into question
(Phys.org) —That Homo sapiens exhibits both cooperative and competitive behavior is a topic that continues to be the subject of ongoing discussion. In terms of cooperation, altruism (a selfless type of prosocial behavior ...
Cooperation vs. Competition: Greed is good -- but only a moderate amount
(PhysOrg.com) -- Relationships between cooperation, competition, and society have long been pondered by psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, economists, philosophers, and mathematicians. While (as might be expected) ...
Why Things Become Unpopular
(PhysOrg.com) -- "Why is everybody suddenly wearing those new sandals and listening to that new band? It's so trendy!" A recent study has investigated this sentiment in order to understand why some cultural products and styles ...
The same novel can spark very different inner worlds in readers
Every storybook opens a window for our imagination to be freed from the reality of the world around us and escape into the fictional world. While the author's words act as a guide, everyone experiences fiction in their own ...
When a few people break the rules, bad behavior spreads quickly
The old saying that one bad apple spoils the barrel suggests that an individual behaving badly can have a negative influence on the entire group. The idea now has some fresh scientific backing.
Synchronized bodily responses do not always reflect cooperation, study finds
Sometimes, while people are interacting with each other, their movements and physiological responses can fall into step. Some past studies have linked synchronized bodily responses to cooperation and being attuned to the ...
Judging strangers' preferences may actually be easier when they're less like our own
Researchers already know that humans have a tendency to use egocentric anchoring—a cognitive bias in which people use their own preferences, beliefs and perspectives as a mental starting point (or anchor) to understand or ...
Math under pressure may make a gamble's downside seem smaller
People who tackled arithmetic problems while stressed by a countdown clock, error buzzers and an observer nearby later gave potential losses less weight when deciding whether to accept a gamble. This finding from a new study ...
