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Melissa Dahl

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  1. Google Wants to Help You Actually Do the Things You Intend to DoA new feature for the calendar app borrows from the work of behavioral scientist Dan Ariely.
  2. Octopus Sneaks Away to Freedom in a Decent Impression of You Leaving Work EarlyInky’s story is remarkable, but it is not at all unique.
  3. The Global Cost of Untreated Mental Illness Is $1 Trillion Per YearThe world’s leading health organization is making mental health a top priority.
  4. Appropriately Trippy Images Reveal What Brains on LSD Look LikeIt’s the first visualization of the brain on the psychedelic drug.
  5. If You Can’t Have the Job You Love, Love the Job You HaveHow employees at all ranks, in all different sorts of professions, engage in something psychologists call “job crafting.”
  6. Maybe You Have Neurasthenia, a 19th-Century Diagnosis for BurnoutPeople like to believe that now is the most hectic time in human history, whenever now happens to be.
  7. These Are the Top Words People Say to Their DogsYou. Good. Gonna. Yay!
  8. World’s Loneliest Whale May in Fact Be the World’s Horniest WhaleNew Scientist just made this weird.
  9. This Is the Best Advice on Motivation I Have Ever ReadYou can do this, even if you don’t feel like it.
  10. How When Breath Becomes Air Is Helping Create Conversations About MortalityIf we’re not ready to talk about these things, at least we’re reading about them.
  11. This Researcher Is Studying the Self-Harming Subculture on InstagramThe behavior is nothing new. But the platform keeps changing.
  12. These Inspirational Birds Hold Grudges Against Individual HumansThey learn to recognize the specific jerks who messed with their nests.
  13. All Anyone Really Wants at Work Is AutonomyI got this. Leave me alone.
  14. Hearing Your Own Voice Can Change Your MoodAfter people heard themselves sounding happy, they became a little bit happier.
  15. How Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Illustrates the Psychology of Romantic Obsession“It’s over-the-top, because there’s song and dance and magical realism. But, I don’t know — a lot of it doesn’t seem that far-fetched to me.”
  16. A Linguist Attempts to Explain Why Donald Trump Often Sounds IncoherentIt’s about the use (and misuse) of something called “discourse markers.”
  17. A Harvard Nutritionist Gives You Permission to Drink 5 Cups of Coffee a DayCoffee science is the best science.
  18. Please Read This Essay a Woman Wrote for Her Sister, Who Died by Suicide“The lies of depression can exist only in isolation.”
  19. How Running and Meditation Change the Brains of the DepressedNew research that acts on an intriguing theory of the neurology of the mental illness.
  20. You’re Excited, Not Nervous. You Just Keep Telling Yourself That.It’s called anxiety reappraisal.
  21. Introducing Paleo-Happiness, Your New Excuse for Canceling PlansEvolutionary psychologists argue that smart people are happier the less often they are made to interact with other humans.
  22. How Schools Are Failing Their Quietest StudentsMeet the educators who are working to change that.
  23. Paying $100,000 to Clone Your Dog Won’t Give You Your Dog BackThe behaviors, and even looks, may be very different from the dog you knew.
  24. The Science of Having Wildly High Standards for Your RelationshipA four-year study on newlyweds.
  25. The Psychology of ‘Unnecessary’ MastectomiesMany women know it makes little medical sense. That’s almost beside the point.
  26. science of us
    Trump Is a Near-Perfect Example of Needy NarcissismNarcissists will tell you they’re confident and have high self-esteem. Their brains and bodies tell a different story.
  27. Sometimes Puns Are a Sign of a Damaged BrainIt’s called Witzelsucht, which translates to “joke addiction.”
  28. Depressing Study Finds Gender Stereotypes Haven’t Changed Since the 1980sFun!
  29. Behind the Scenes of an Audaciously Ambitious Social-Science ProjectNYU scientists want to track 10,000 New Yorkers for 20 years.
  30. Birds Can Be Grammar Nerds, TooHumans aren’t the only species that use this particular linguistic rule.
  31. Why Do I Forget Why I Entered a Room the Minute I Enter It?It’s called the “doorway effect.”
  32. To Improve Your Focus, Narrate Your Life As You Are Living ItDecades of research suggest that those who keep it together under pressure are the storytellers of their own lives.
  33. The Man Who Was Wrongly Labeled As HIV’s ‘Patient Zero’New evidence calls into question a long-held theory about the virus’s spread across the country.
  34. If You Believe Your Willpower Is Limitless, It IsPsychology’s favorite theory about self-control may be totally wrong.
  35. Brandi Chastain Is Going to Donate Her Brain to ScienceHow generous.
  36. Psychologists Discovered a Simple Thing You Can Do When You Run Out of IdeasThe gist is this: You’re more creative than you think.
  37. Are You Better Off Not Knowing Your Medical Future?Uncertainty may be a better life path for those who are at risk for Huntington’s.
  38. Tell Your Kid Even Einstein Struggled in ScienceStudents are less motivated (and probably more bored) when they only learn lists of famous scientists’ achievements.
  39. People Blindly Follow Their Robot LeadersEven if they are clearly going the wrong way.
  40. Thank God Neil deGrasse Tyson Is Here to Debunk Leap DayIs it possible to debunk something no one ever believed in the first place?
  41. Dr. Phil — Who Is Not a Medical Doctor — Wants to Talk to You About DiabetesHe’s now a paid spokesperson for a pharmaceutical company.
  42. Friendships Start to Seem Disposable When You Move a LotA social consequence of a mobile world.
  43. In the Future, a Brain-Reading Device Will Teach Your Children to Play PianoAnd also maybe to read.
  44. The Little-Known Medical History of HomesicknessIt was thought to be a dangerous, even potentially fatal, illness for many years.
  45. Why You Keep Signing Your Future Self Up for Stuff You Don’t Actually Want to DoIf you don’t want to go to that thing today, you won’t want to go next week, either.
  46. Why It Matters What Time Your Kid Takes an Important TestThe later in the day, the lower students tend to score on tests.
  47. Your Need for Tidiness Does Not Make You ‘So OCD,’ Psychiatrists Gently RemindWisdom from a Reddit AMA.
  48. Maybe It’s Time to Take Animal Feelings SeriouslyThe scientific case for anthropomorphism.
  49. Having Two Bosses for One Company Is Maybe Not the Best IdeaCreativity suffers, according to a large study of the world’s top fashion designers.
  50. free advice
    About That Thing That’s Bugging You — What Happens If You Ignored It?A thought experiment.
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