Derren Brown's Blog, page 67

Mobile phone calls annoy because of the halfalog

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Why are people more irritated by nearby cell-phone conversations than by conversations between two people who are physically present? Overhearing someone on a cell phone means hearing only half of a conversation—a "halfalogue."

We show that merely overhearing a halfalogue results in decreased performance on cognitive tasks designed to reflect the attentional demands of daily activities. By contrast, overhearing both sides of a cell-phone conversation or a monologue does not result in decreased performance. This may be because the content of a halfalogue is less predictable than both sides of a conversation.

In a second experiment, we controlled for differences in acoustic factors between these types of overheard speech, establishing that it is the unpredictable informational content of halfalogues that results in distraction. Thus, we provide a cognitive explanation for why overheard cell-phone conversations are especially irritating: Less-predictable speech results in more distraction for a listener engaged in other tasks.

Link via at Deric Bownds' amazing mind blog

Buddhist Monks Make 500 Mile Journey on Their Knees

Masters Zhiyuan and Hanliang expect that their holy trip will take some two months as they stop along the way to visit 99 temples. Their destination is the Putuo Mountains in eastern China and the statue of Guanyin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.

Guanyin is often depicted as a young woman holding a vase and pouring out water to save the multitude. She is the most worshipped figure in Chinese Buddhism and her name means, "observing the sounds." This refers to the belief that she would always observe the sounds of the world around her and listen to requests from her worshippers.

Some helpers from their home temple in Ganlu, southern China, claim that the two pious monks plan to spend each night under the stars in sleeping bags without even a tent for cover.

" When they reach the goddess, they will crawl and then every third step they will stop and bow as a sign of respect to the goddess," explained one monk from their temple.

It can only be hoped that a goddess of mercy will appreciate this painful sacrifice. For believers, surely, she will, but for most of us observers, with all due respect, these two holy men better bring some big band-aids and lots of iodine because she is not likely to have them on hand!

Story via WAN

The mimic octopus is truly the strangest thing in the sea

The Mimic Octopus is a truly strange animal. Discovered in the 90′s it's proven to be one of the strangest sites you'll see. It's ability to morph in to other shapes, colours and transform in seconds is an incredible ability. Some might say that it's truly a marvellous mollusc or an evolutionary elite – we prefer to just say it's totally super-freaky and pretty damn badass. Octopi rule!

Cyborg monkeys can control robotic arms – we're next

For DARPA, the secretive military research agency, it's not enough for a prosthetic limb to simply resemble a normal one, or for a patient to be able to move it through some remote control. DARPA-backed engineers are attempting to build a system in which peripheral nerves would be reattached to artificial limbs, which could send signals to a brain sensor that could reply.

This would be a vast improvement over prosthetics that require conscious directives, and could turn a prosthetic into something that responds the way an ordinary limb would.

According to the team behind the system at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, tests on monkeys have shown that the primates have remarkable success controlling a prosthesis through a cortical chip implanted in their brains, and researchers have undertaken some human tests. What remains to be seen, though, is how much dexterity people can get through this process.

Discover

Gay priest ice cream advertising controversy

An ad for ice cream which showed two priests about to kiss has been banned after it was ruled to be offensive to Catholics.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that the ad, for Antonio Federici ice cream, was likely to cause "serious offence". The company has already been censured for ads showing pregnant nuns and priests and nuns in seductive poses.

According to the ASA, six people complained at the gay priests ad, which had the tagline "We believe in salivation".

Full story over at Pink News

Amazon jungle reveals new species at a rate of 1 every 3 days

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Spectacular species previously unknown to the outside world are being discovered in the Amazon rainforest at a rate of one every three days, environment group WWF said in a report published Tuesday.

An anaconda as long as a limousine, a giant catfish that eats monkeys, a blue fanged spider and poisoned dart frogs are among the 1,220 animals and plants to have been found from 1999 to 2009, according to the study.

"It serves as a reminder of how much we still have to learn about this unique region, and what we could lose if we don't change the way we think about development," Ruiz said.

One of the most amazing discoveries was a four-metre (13-foot) anaconda in the flood plains of Bolivia's Pando province in 2002.

At least 500 spiders were also discovered, including one that was completely brown except for a pair of almost fluorescent blue fangs. Thirty-nine new mammals were also found, including a pink river dolphin, seven types of monkey and two porcupines.

Among the 637 new plant species discovered were sunflowers, ivy, lilies, a variety of pineapple and a custard apple. The Amazon is home to at least 40,000 plant species, and the WWF described the scale of diversity in some areas as "mind boggling".

The WWF said the protection efforts, in which foreign governments and organisations provide some of the finance to help run the projects, should serve as a model for the world in how to save rainforests.

Click here to see gallery and read more – Yahoo

Study Reveals the Secrets to Negotiating a Higher Salary

"A recent study conducted by George Mason University and Temple University researchers uncovered the most effective strategies to negotiating a higher salary. The study analyzed various approaches to the negotiation process, which methods were the most successful and which ones were more likely to leave both parties satisfied with the outcome.

Michelle Marks, associate professor in Mason's School of Management, and Crystal Harold, assistant professor at Temple University's Fox School of Business, wrote the study.

A sample of newly hired employees in various industry settings participated in the study, which showed that those who chose to negotiate increased their starting salaries by an average of $5,000.

"In today's economic climate, raising your annual salary is highly uncertain," Marks says. "However, our study results highlight the significance of effective salary negotiation and why it's important to be upfront with the issues, enabling both parties to consider creative ways to find win-win solutions."

According to the study, which will soon be published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the compounding effect of successful salary negotiation can be significant. Assuming an average annual pay increase of 5 percent, an employee whose starting annual salary was $55,000 rather than $50,000 would earn more than an additional $600,000 over the course of a 40-year career.

Five negotiation strategies were examined in the study: accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, competing and compromising. Individuals who negotiated using the collaborating and competing strategies —openly discussing issues and perspectives — had the best results. In contrast, those who used the avoiding, accommodating and compromising approaches were less successful in negotiating higherr salaries.

But there are some drawbacks to using the competing strategy, Marks warns. "While more aggressive negotiation strategies succeeded in raising one's starting salaries, people who used them felt less satisfied with their outcome than did those who used more collaborative approaches," Marks says. "Those who were overly accommodating ended up feeling the least satisfied and that the process was unfair.""

Read more at George Mason University (Thanks Mark)

World first anti-vertigo implant

"Scientists from the University of Washington will insert a vestibular prosthesis into a 56-year-old Washington man's head in a bid to stop the vomiting and dizziness caused by Meniere's disease – a balance disorder characterised by episodes of vertigo and tinnitus.

The device consists of a cochlear implant and processor made from a configuration of electrodes. The patient wears the processor behind the affected ear and activates it as an attack starts. The processor then wirelessly signals the implant device, which in turn transmits electrical impulses that will attempt to rewire the body's balance centre.

Dr James Phillips, one of the clinicians who spent four years developing the device, said, "It's an override. It doesn't change what's happening in the ear, but it eliminates the symptoms while replacing the function of that ear until it recovers".

The disease affects hearing and balance with varying intensity and frequency but can be extremely debilitating. Its episodic attacks are thought to stem from the rupture of an inner-ear membrane. Surgery is often an effective option, but it typically causes the patient to sacrifice function in the affected ear to halt the vertigo.

A successful human trial could lead the implant to become the first-choice surgical intervention for Meniere's patients, Dr Phillips said, and spark collaboration with other researchers who are studying more widespread balance disorders."

Read more at Heraldsun (Thanks Mark)

Why shaking someone's beliefs turns them into stronger advocates

"You don't have to look very far for examples of people holding on to their beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Thousands still hold to the idea that vaccines cause autism, that all life was created a few thousand years ago, and even that drinking industrial bleach is a good idea. Look at comment threads across the internet and you'll inevitably find legions of people who boldly support for these ideas in the face of any rational argument.

That might be depressing, but it's not unexpected. In a new study, David Gal and Derek Rucker from Northwestern University have found that when people's confidence in their beliefs is shaken, they become stronger advocates for those beliefs. The duo carried out three experiments involving issues such as animal testing, dietary preferences, and loyalty towards Macs over PCs. In each one, they subtly manipulated their subjects' confidence and found the same thing: when faced with doubt, people shout even

louder.

Gal and Rucker were inspired by a classic psychological book called When Prophecy Fails. In it, Leon Festinger and colleagues infiltrated an American cult whose leader, Dorothy Martin, convinced her followers that flying saucers would rescue them from an apocalyptic flood. Many believed her, giving up their livelihoods, possessions and loved ones in anticipation of their alien saviours. When the fated moment came and nothing happened, the group decided that their dedication had spared the Earth from destruction. In a reversal of their earlier distaste for publicity, they started to actively proselytise for their beliefs. Far from shattering their faith, the absent UFOs had turned them into zealous evangelists.

The case study inspired Festinger's theory of "cognitive dissonance", which describes the discomfort that people feel when they try to cope with conflicting ideas. Festinger reasoned that people will go to great lengths to reduce this conflict. Altering one's beliefs in the face of new evidence is one solution but for Martin's followers, this was too difficult. Their alternative was to try and muster social support for their ideas. If other people also believed, their internal conflicts would lessen."

Read more at Discover (Thanks Christopher C)

Silence of the dissenters: How south-east Asia keeps web users in line

"Governments across south-east Asia are following China's authoritarian censorship of the digital world to keep political dissent in check, the Guardian can reveal.

Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines have all moved or are moving towards monitoring internet use, blocking international sites regarded as critical and ruthlessly silencing web dissidents.

• In Vietnam, the Communist party wants to be your "friend" on the state-run version of Facebook, provided you are willing to share all personal details.

• In Burma, political unrest can be silenced by cutting off the country from the internet.

• In Thailand, website moderators can face decades in jail for a posted comment they did not even write, if the government deems it injurious tothe monarchy.

While much is made of China's authoritarian attitudetowards internet access, a majority of south-east Asian governments have similar controls and , rather than relaxing restrictions on internet use, many are moving towards tighter regulation.

The Guardian has spoken to five leading bloggers across the region about the present restrictions they face and future fears."

Read more at The Guardian (Thanks Ryan)