Nearly four decades ago, Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie launched a game-winning, mid-field touchdown pass to upset the University of Miami on the game’s final play—prompting a subsequent surge in applications to the school in what has been dubbed the “Flutie Effect.” A team of NYU researchers has now found evidence of this effect beyond...
New research from the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has provided a complicated glance into young women’s responses to interpersonal conflict, with retaliation often the answer to rejection and perceived social exclusion by other females. The study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, highlights the complicated nature of women’s interpersonal relationships by examining the stress arising from rejection, and...
Ayahuasca, a sacred drink made from the stem and leaves of a tree vine, has many names: psychedelic brew, hallucinogenic tea, mood medicine and more. It is even known as a teacher or a healer for its reported ability to help a person turn inward and come into alignment with past traumas. The plant and...
A review of research to-date reveals the complex nature of revealing a diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) to a partner ahead of engaging in sexual activity. With individuals experiencing a variety of feelings and emotions related to the prospect of disclosure, the research shows that only around half or fewer individuals felt able...
The Knights Templar, a legendary monastic military order forged in the fires of the Crusades, continue to enthrall 21st-century audiences. From the time of their founding in 1119 C.E. to their dissolution in 1312 C.E., the Templars’ mission was to defend Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land against the various Muslim powers that sought to...
Changes to the definitions of conceptual words like ‘woke’ and ‘gaslighting’ are harming our ability to communicate and understand our experiences, a Leeds academic argues. In a new paper published in The Philosophical Quarterly journal, an ethicist at the University of Leeds has coined a term for the harm caused when language change leaves us lost for...
In 2023 alone, the board game industry topped US$16.8 billion and is projected to reach $40.1 billion by 2032. Classics like “Scrabble” are being refreshed and transformed, while newer inventions such as “Pandemic” and “Wingspan” have garnered millions of devotees. This growing cardboard empire was on my mind when I visited the American Antiquarian Society...
Humans have the capacity to imagine civilizations and creatures that have never existed, and our language reflects that ability. It would therefore be understandable if the stories we tell ourselves stretched beyond the bounds of local ecology. However, research has shown that many cultural artifacts and ideas are strongly affected by environmental factors. Researchers in...
If you’re like me, you enjoy savoring a well-poured cocktail, glass of wine, or regional ale with your partner, on a fairly regular basis. You might also enjoy sharing sips of each other’s drinks and taking notes, comparing and contrasting each other’s beverages. We thought we were indulging in this because it just tasted good...
“Cancel culture” has a bad reputation. There is growing anxiety over this practice of publicly shaming people online for violating social norms ranging from inappropriate jokes to controversial business practices. Online shaming can be a wildly disproportionate response that violates the privacy of the shamed while offering them no good way to defend themselves. These...
