Categories
Emotions & Psychology
Relationships and Social Psychology at Science Daily
Science Daily is a huge, well-researched site that carries stories on all of the science discoveries making the news (and a lot that aren’t, but should!). If you love research and new data, this is the site for you! This page focuses on new information on emotions, relationships, and socialization, and it’s a wonderful resource for anyone interested in becoming more emotionally and socially aware. When you’re at the site, bop around to your favorite research interests. Everything is here!
Psyblog – the fabulous Social Psychology site!
We know that I love Sociology, but my favorite bit of it is really Micro Sociology, which is the study of the unwritten rules of interpersonal or intergroup social behaviors. The Social Sciences (Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, Geography, History, and Economics) are in their adolescence right now, and they’re all fighting for turf (and grant money) and trying to separate rather than joining together … and as a wacky result, the field of Micro Sociology has sort of fallen unawares into the realm of Social Psychology. Kids these days! Who can figure them out?
But whatever they’re calling it, Social Psych. and Micro Soc. are just endlessly fascinating – mostly because many of the things you intuitively think are true are often totally wrong! At first, you might be offended by the stuff you learn, but after a while, it becomes a complete joy, where you think, “Whoa! I would not have expected that!” Keep this UK site on your favorites list and check them out often. Social Psychologists, Micro Sociologists, and Behavioral Economists are often the wackiest people – and the stuff they choose to study is strange, mind-expanding fun! Go! Learn! Think! Go!
Psych Central
This website is updated several times a day with new information about research on depression, anxiety, and other emotional disorders, new research about the brain, and current information on how to cope with stress, loss, and other issues. It’s a balanced, responsible site, and you can get a lot of good data and support. It’s very large and well-designed, with chat rooms, blogs, and forums, book reviews on dozens of mental health topics, and clear directions on how to get the information you need. You can also sign up for a weekly newsletter and keep yourself current with well-written articles on the newest psychological and neurological research findings. Excellent!
Cool Science & Cool Thinkers
Science Friday
This is one of my favorite radio shows ever! If you’re not lucky enough to be in range of an NPR station carrying this show, then sign up for the podcast. Host Ira Flatow clearly loves science, and his knowledge and questions make even the most obscure science come alive. Wonderful!
Science Daily
This may be a surprise to you, but a great deal of science journalism is really very bad (Science Friday excepted, of course!). In many cases, the reporters on the science beat are not trained in science; they’re just looking for a good lead. I worked as a radio journalist for a couple of years, and I was astonished at how often science stories would come off the AP wire not just wrong, but wildly wrong. So you always have to check on the science stories you read, and Science Daily is a good place to start. These guys take their science seriously, and they actually understand what they’re reporting. Huzzah!
The Tribal Scientist
Michael McRae is a science educator and philosopher in Queensland, Australia. His writing and thinking are clear, concise, accessible, and relevant. Mike’s explanations make science clear, and his stances on topics that make lesser thinkers rant and roil are refreshing and cogent. Mike’s book, Tribal Science is available in March, 2011.
Professor Dan Ariely
Dan Ariely is a hoot — he’s a behavioral economist who helps us understand how irrational (and funny) we are. Dan’s books help you understand the roots of human irrationality, and his blog is a great place to get your learn on. You can also contribute to science by participating in his studies (the links are on his site). Wonderful thinker, wonderful writer, wonderful guy.
Professor Bruce Hood
Bruce Hood, a professor at Bristol University in England, studies the development of the “super sense” or the human tendency toward paranormal, metaphysical, and superstitious beliefs. Hood is one of the most interesting and engaging thinkers on this topic, and one of the few to treat the super sense as a normal and non-pathological capacity common to all humans. Also, he’s a funny kook himself, and his blog is always worth reading. Go!
The Scientific Method
I searched high and low for a good explanation of the Scientific Method, and found it here on this site for the Biology 104 class at the University of Cincinnati’s Clermont College. Thanks to Professor Janet Clark Stein, this fun and informative page gives a quick and engaging explanation of the central tool of good science. If you haven’t had the fun of a science education, this is a great place to start. It will also help you understand why science is reductionist (it’s not a bad thing at all!), and how the scientific definition of “theory” is nearly the opposite of the everyday definition! When scientists call evolution a theory, it doesn’t mean they’re uncertain about it!
Shiny Objects and Half-baked Ramblings
Leo Lincourt, or neuralgourmet, is one of my favorite minds on the web. He’s brilliant and kind, skeptical and welcoming, ethical and slyly humorous, and an all-around clear thinker and excellent mensch. I really don’t know how he keeps his focus on so many blogs, news sites, and inner circles … but the guy posts several times a day and always has something pithy or well-considered to say.
Mental Floss Blog
Mental Floss is Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix. It’s a fun, quirky, and wide-ranging mag that’s always surprising. This blog will keep your mind active and engaged! Check out all of the links, stretch your mind, and impress your friends!
How People Learn
This is essentially an online college textbook that delves into some current thinking on how people learn, how the brain gathers and stores information, and how that information can best be accessed. If you love your brain, this book is a must read.
Pico Fermi!
This number-guessing game is a wonderful way to learn some of the rules of logic and deduction. The computer will choose a random 4-digit number, and you have 10 chances to guess what it is. If your deductions are sound, you should be able to solve the puzzle in 6 guesses or less. Pico Fermi is a great game for sharpening your mind!
Urban Myths & Legends
Snopes.com – the fabulous Urban Legends site!
Snopes is penultimate go-to site for all questionable e-mails, chain letters, urban myths, and virus warnings. This is the place to go when something seems hinky. Bookmark this baby! Any virus warnings, consumer alerts, info about new laws or bills, petitions, Amber Alerts, or fables that come to you on e-mails should be checked at Snopes first, before you do anything to your computer, and definitely before you forward the e-mail to all of your friends!!! The Snopes duo collects and monitors, and then attempts to confirm or disconfirm each of the wild rumors zinging around the Web. Any time you spend browsing through the strange and comical subject categories at Snopes is time well spent!
Warning: Some of the Snopes content is NSFW (Not Safe for Work – for those of you who browse on your employer’s dime).
Paula’s Choice Cosmetics
Why a site about cosmetics? Cosmetics is a multi-billion dollar a year business in America, and the number of false, misleading, and even dangerous ideas and products boggles the mind. Paula Begoun started out as a writer of books such as Don’t Go to the Makeup Counter Without Me!, wherein she helps consumers sort through the mountains of nonsense and focus on products that do what they say they will. Paula eventually started her own line of cosmetics, but still reviews hundreds of makeup, skin care, and hair-care products every year. She also answers questions on her site from understandably confused and overwhelmed consumers who sometimes approach her angrily. Paula does her research, seeks out experts, and offers sound information with tact and grace. Now that’s some brilliant use of the interwebs!
Fun & Silliness!
I Can Has Cheezburger?
The do-it-yourself lolcatz site of destiny. Don’t know what lolcatz iz? You go learn nao!
Strindberg and Helium
Wacky! August Strindberg was a late 19th-century Swedish author and playwright who wrote a number of intense books and plays that have haunted the lives of English majors ever since. This site reimagines what Strindberg’s life might have been if he had a little friend named Helium who kept him company and tried to cheer him up. This is seriously goofy stuff, but if you’re ever feeling deeply depressed, Helium will bring you back from the dark side. It’s for you!
Human Clock!
A strange-funny site, created by just the right kind of kooks. This site changes every minute, and gives you a choice of destinations to click on, where you’ll find photos of people creating or capturing a set of numbers that correlate with the current time. At 12:10, you can click on a photo of Barcelona or London (or any number of other cities), and see the numbers 12:10 on a street sign, or a bus, or a clock in the public square, or a T-shirt, or …? But don’t linger too long, because at 12:11, the site will update, and you’ll have an entirely new list of photos to click on. It’s a motley collection, sent in by thousands of people from dozens of countries. Will you send in a photo and join the human clock? What time will you be?
Strongbad’s E-mails
How to explain the Homestarrunner.com site? You can’t. It’s just the silliest thing. Scroll down to the bottom of Strongbad’s e-mail list, where it all started, and work your way up. In the middle, the e-mail entitled “Dragon” is a perennial favorite. You’ll be singing the Trogdor Burninator song for weeks!
