All posts tagged: simple

Easy way to fight prejudice? Teach this simple fact, study suggests

Easy way to fight prejudice? Teach this simple fact, study suggests

Published by José

Want to improve global relations? The answer might be simpler than you think. A recent study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology demonstrated that showing people an eleven-minute video emphasizing the shared genes of all humans can lead to more positive attitudes towards people from other countries. This finding suggests a straightforward way to combat prejudice and encourage a sense of shared humanity. The motivation behind this research stemmed from a growing concern about prejudice and discrimination directed towards people perceived as outsiders. Across the globe, there has been a rise in nationalistic sentiments and exclusionary politics, with some leaders promoting the idea of protecting national borders and expressing bias against immigrants and minority groups. These attitudes are often rooted in the belief that different groups are fundamentally distinct from one another, and this perceived difference can fuel negative stereotypes and discriminatory behaviors. Interestingly, many people hold inaccurate beliefs about the genetic differences between racial groups. Previous research has shown that the average person estimates that different races share only about 68% of …

Want better focus and a happier mind? This simple smartphone change could be the answer

Want better focus and a happier mind? This simple smartphone change could be the answer

Published by José

Spending hours each day connected to the internet through our smartphones has become the norm for many. However, new research indicates that taking a break from this constant online access can lead to noticeable improvements in mental health, overall happiness, and the ability to focus. A study published in PNAS Nexus found that when people blocked mobile internet on their smartphones for just two weeks, they experienced better mental well-being, felt happier, and showed improved attention spans. The motivation behind this research stems from growing concerns about the potential negative effects of smartphone use on our minds and emotions. Smartphones offer unparalleled convenience, putting a wealth of information, entertainment, and social connections at our fingertips at all times. While these devices offer many advantages, there is a rising tide of public worry that constant smartphone use might be harming our cognitive abilities and emotional state. Surveys reveal that a significant portion of smartphone users are concerned about using their devices too much. Specifically, a 2022 poll showed that nearly 60% of American smartphone users, and …

The simple, one-page calendar that lasts all year

The simple, one-page calendar that lasts all year

Published by skeptic

Sign up for the Starts With a Bang newsletter Travel the universe with Dr. Ethan Siegel as he answers the biggest questions of all Notice: JavaScript is required for this content. Each year, most of us throw out our old calendar and replace it with a new one. Each month, we flip our calendar forward another page, and if we ever need to know which day-of-the-week corresponds to a particular day/month combination, we have to either calculate it ourselves or flip forward/backward to the relevant month. Simple but curious questions, such as: What date will American Thanksgiving fall on this year? Which months have a “Friday, the 13th” in them? What day of the week does July 4th fall on? Or which day of the week is Christmas Day? aren’t so easy to figure out unless you actually flip to the needed month (or look up all of the months) to figure out what the proper answer is. But it turns out that, mathematically, the answer to these questions — or any question where you …

A Simple, Down-to-Earth Christmas Card from the Great Depression (1933)

A Simple, Down-to-Earth Christmas Card from the Great Depression (1933)

Published by José

The Smith­son­ian sets the scene for this Christ­mas card sent in 1933, a few years into the Great Depres­sion. They write: Despite the glum eco­nom­ic sit­u­a­tion, the Pinero fam­i­ly used a brown paper bag to fash­ion an inex­pen­sive hol­i­day greet­ing card. They penned a clever rhyme and added some charm­ing line draw­ings of Mom, Dad, and the kids with the mes­sage: “Oh, well—in spite of it all—here’s a Mer­ry Christ­mas from the Pineros.” On Decem­ber 19, 1933, they mailed it from Chica­go to friends in Mass­a­chu­setts, using a one-and-a-half-cent stamp. For a min­i­mal out­lay of cash, they were able to keep in touch with friends and com­ment on their reduced cir­cum­stances with wit and humor. This hand-let­tered poem is a delight­ful exam­ple of light verse, a whim­si­cal form of poet­ry intend­ed to enter­tain or amuse, even if treat­ing a seri­ous sub­ject in a humor­ous man­ner. In the poem, the Pineros sug­gest that they had strug­gled eco­nom­i­cal­ly for some time, but now, due to the con­tin­u­ing Depres­sion, oth­ers shared their finan­cial plight, which enabled them to …

An expert trainer says you can build strength without weights as long you follow this simple training tip

An expert trainer says you can build strength without weights as long you follow this simple training tip

Published by skeptic

You might assume you need to lift weights to build muscle. While it’s true that dumbbell exercises and kettlebell workouts can help you get stronger, you don’t always need heavy equipment to reach your goals. Lots of studies have shown that you can build muscle with body weight alone. In fact, personal trainer and Peloton instructor Joslyn Thompson Rule encourages everyone to start with beginner bodyweight workouts. But how do you keep tabs on your progress and strength gains if you’re not lifting heavier weights each week? Instead of focusing on the numbers, Thompson Rule suggests tracking how every workout feels. “One thing I always encourage people to do when they’re starting is monitor how your body feels doing a movement,” Thompson Rule says. “So not where in the body you’re feeling the movement, but does it feel smooth? Does it feel clunky? Does it feel disjointed? Be aware of that feeling and then the next week, the same movement that felt clunky or disjointed might feel smooth—and that’s a progression.” Once you’ve noted that …

Nicole Richie Shares Her Go-To Looks for the Holidays and Why They Don’t Include Trends From ‘The Simple Life’

Nicole Richie Shares Her Go-To Looks for the Holidays and Why They Don’t Include Trends From ‘The Simple Life’

Published by skeptic

Get into the holiday style spirit! When Nicole Richie dresses up for the holiday season, she loves to experiment with the latest trends, but you won’t catch her reprising any former looks from The Simple Life. The designer told ET her tips for creating festive outfits while hosting an exclusive cocktail hour at REVOLVE’s Holiday Shop at The Grove in Los Angeles, California with House of Harlow 1960 and The Flamingo Estate on Nov. 21. BFA/Cody Marquez “Fall and winter are my favorite seasons for dressing. I think it’s the time where I can be the most creative,” she explained. As for how the actress does this: “I love wearing warm jewel tones and getting in with the holiday vibes. … I love the House of Harlow burgundy and hunter green leather jackets. They add a little bit of edge to holiday outfits that feel a little bit more dressy and conservative.” Another way Richie, 43, amps up her get-ups is by piling on baubles.  “Jewelry always works to help add a little sparkle to the …

Discover the CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual: A Timeless Guide to Subverting Any Organization with “Purposeful Stupidity” (1944)

Discover the CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual: A Timeless Guide to Subverting Any Organization with “Purposeful Stupidity” (1944)

Published by José

I’ve always admired peo­ple who can suc­cess­ful­ly nav­i­gate what I refer to as “Kafka’s Cas­tle,” a term of dread for the many gov­ern­ment and cor­po­rate agen­cies that have an inor­di­nate amount of pow­er over our per­ma­nent records, and that seem as inscrutable and chill­ing­ly absurd as the labyrinth the char­ac­ter K nav­i­gates in Kafka’s last alle­gor­i­cal nov­el. Even if you haven’t read The Cas­tle, if you work for such an entity—or like all of us have reg­u­lar deal­ings with the IRS, the health­care and bank­ing sys­tem, etc.—you’re well aware of the dev­il­ish incom­pe­tence that mas­quer­ades as due dili­gence and ties us all in knots. Why do mul­ti-mil­lion and bil­lion dol­lar agen­cies seem unable, or unwill­ing, to accom­plish the sim­plest of tasks? Why do so many of us spend our lives in the real-life bureau­crat­ic night­mares sat­i­rized in The Office and Office Space? One answer comes via Lau­rence J. Peter’s 1969 satire The Peter Prin­ci­ple—which offers the the­o­ry that man­agers and exec­u­tives get pro­mot­ed to the lev­el of their incompetence—then, David Brent-like, go on to ruin their …

Outgrown your light dumbbells? Try this simple trick to make your workouts more challenging

Outgrown your light dumbbells? Try this simple trick to make your workouts more challenging

Published by skeptic

If you’ve outgrown your light dumbbells but are waiting for payday for a Black Friday dumbbell deal to upgrade to a heavier set, I’ve found a little trick you can use. Fitness trainer Danica Osborn adds a mini looped resistance band to this six-move shoulder workout to make it more challenging. Osborn told her 735,000 Instagram followers: “This is a fantastic full shoulder and rotator workout. Great for stabilizing and strengthening, and especially good if you’re limited by the weights you have at home. A band will really kick things up a notch!” If you need to buy a set of bands, the good news Amazon’s best-selling set is currently 50% off. How to do Danica Osborn’s workout Osborn holds 5lb dumbbells and the ends of the band in each hand. As she moves her hands apart, the band adds extra resistance. If this combination still isn’t enough to challenge you, try taking longer to complete the movements. Be sure to warm up for at least five minutes before trying this workout—try the bodyweight movements …

Simple fix could make the census more accurate but just as private

Simple fix could make the census more accurate but just as private

Published by skeptic

The US government uses census data to distribute resources fairly Valentyn Semenov/Alamy A change to the US government’s system for processing the census could improve the accuracy of publicly disclosed data – without compromising the privacy of individual citizens and residents. The government relies on national census data – gathered every 10 years by the US Census Bureau – to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding to state and local communities. Such data also plays a key political role by helping states draw Congressional district boundaries and determining how many seats in the US House of Representatives… Source link

Millions of Vehicles Could Be Hacked and Tracked Thanks to a Simple Website Bug

Millions of Vehicles Could Be Hacked and Tracked Thanks to a Simple Website Bug

Published by skeptic

In January 2023, they published the initial results of their work, an enormous collection of web vulnerabilities affecting Kia, Honda, Infiniti, Nissan, Acura, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Genesis, BMW, Rolls Royce, and Ferrari—all of which they had reported to the automakers. For at least half a dozen of those companies, the web bugs the group found offered at least some level of control of cars’ connected features, they wrote, just as in their latest Kia hack. Others, they say, allowed unauthorized access to data or the companies’ internal applications. Still others targeted fleet management software for emergency vehicles and could have even prevented those vehicles from starting, they believe—though they didn’t have the means to safely test out that potentially dangerous trick. In June of this year, Curry says, he discovered that Toyota appeared to still have a similar flaw in its web portal that, in combination with a leaked dealer credential he found online, would have allowed remote control of Toyota and Lexus vehicles’ features like tracking, unlocking, honking, and ignition. He reported that vulnerability to …