Danger and Creativity

Mueller et al demonstrate in a couple of experiments that

People often reject creative ideas, even when espousing creativity as a desired goal.

This makes sense.  According to Read Montague, brain scans of our reactions to familiar things have the same signal as when we react to actually good things. In a risky environment this seems powerfully adaptive to me. On the other hand, a capacity take unnecessary risks indicates a biological surplus so should be a plus in the sexual selection stakes provided it doesn't happen to kill you.

For example, this lad is demonstrating a biological surplus.  Of course, he may not describe it like that.  

Sex and personality, methodological error alert

In conclusion, we believe we made it clear that the true extent of sex differences in human personality has been consistently underestimated [due to deficient methodologies and sloppy statistics.]

The primary problem is a poor multivariate distance measure.


The Distance Between Mars and Venus: Measuring Global Sex Differences in Personality
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029265

Fatherhood lowers testosterone: Ingeneous, Mr Evolution!

Cross-species comparisons suggest that if paternal care is indeed an evolved behavior in humans, men’s biology would likely accommodate the transition to fatherhood/caregiving in specific ways, including changes in testosterone.

http://blogs.plos.org/neuroanthropology/2011/12/14/on-testosterone-and-real-men-an-interview-with-lee-gettler/

The Real Global Warming Signal

Foster & Rahmstorf compare five different 30 year global temperature records and use a regression to remove most of the effect three big interfering variables: the el Nino southern oscillation, atmospheric aerosols (mostly from volcanic eruptions), and variations in solar energy received by the earth.  The temperature records use different source data sets and measure somewhat different things, eg, surface v lower atmosphere temperature.

The result:

http://tamino.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/the-real-global-warming-signal/

Bitcoin, libertarianism v the real world

A young bitcoiner, The Real Plato, brought On the Road into the new millennium by video-blogging a cross-country car trip during which he spent only bitcoins.

The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/mf_bitcoin/

Water and Other Toxins

http://puffthemutantdragon.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/from-salami-to-soda-pop-what-does-toxic-really-mean/

She was found dead that afternoon; poisoned by water.

Shortest abstract ever?

http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.2832