Giving Up Texting For Lent
During Lent, the churches typically ask their constituents to refrain from eating meat on Fridays and to pray more regularly. In Italy, though, the church has apparently gotten hip to the hold that technology has on its brethren. The diocese of Modena-Nonantola in Italy in particular is calling for text-messaging-free Fridays as a way for the faithful to at least temporarily rid themselves of rem... posted on Mar 14 2009, 3,573 reads

Estonians Build a Happiness Bank
In times of economic woe, Estonians are banking on ideas to lift their spirits above the gloom and doom of recession with an online "happiness bank" and forums on better governance. In the virtual "happiness bank", people will be able to earn virtual money on their accounts by doing good deeds for those in need. Organisers hope it will give people the idea that doing good is as valuable as earnin... posted on Mar 02 2009, 4,665 reads

100 Most Beautiful Words
Ever wondered what the most beautiful words in the English language are? Dr. Robert Beard, who has been defining words for the last 30 years, shares his top 100.... posted on Feb 04 2009, 48,442 reads

Modern Day Slavery
Most people imagine that slavery died in the 19th century. Since 1817, more than a dozen international conventions have been signed banning the slave trade. Yet, today there are more slaves than at any time in human history. ... posted on Dec 27 2008, 4,790 reads

What Happy People Don't Do
Happy people spend a lot of time socializing, going to church and reading newspapers -- but they don't spend a lot of time watching television, a new study finds. That's what unhappy people do. Although people who describe themselves as happy enjoy watching television, it turns out to be the single activity they engage in less often than unhappy people, said John Robinson, a professor of sociolo... posted on Nov 23 2008, 4,879 reads

Dow Jones Average of Well Being
Staying healthy and happy is a struggle for about half of Americans, according to a massive survey that attempts to measure the nation's general welfare, much like the Dow Jones Industrial Average portrays the health of the stock market. "There's never been anything quite like it," said Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winner in economic sciences. "You're getting details about what it's like to li... posted on Jun 04 2008, 4,477 reads

Meet the Proverbial Scholar
Paremiology -- the study of proverbs, from the Greek "paroimia." I stumble across this curious word in my background research, but I haven't a clue what it really means until I meet Wolfgang Mieder from the University of Vermont. This animated gentleman has built up a worldwide reputation during his 30-plus years of reveling in the common phrases people use to persuade, humor, or moralize. But the... posted on Mar 06 2008, 3,333 reads

Old Master, Young Genius
Despite Robert Frost’s musing about the possibility of veering off toward "the road not taken," he and other artists are, by their inclinations, pretty much destined to follow one of two major pathways to success, contends David Galenson, Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago. Galenson, whose recent work has used economic data to examine the careers of painters, has expanded his wo... posted on Dec 06 2007, 2,529 reads

Perils of Praise
"Praise junkie" may just be an expression, unless you pay attention to the recent research of Dr. Robert Cloninger. His studies show that young kids who have been praised too often, develop a chemical need for constant reward. "A person who grows up getting too frequent rewards will not have persistence, because they'll quit when the rewards disappear," Dr. Cloninger concludes. For a few decade... posted on Nov 23 2007, 3,491 reads

Economic Power of Positive Thinking
Optimists are more likely than others to display prudent financial behaviors but extreme optimists tend to have short planning horizons and act in ways that are generally not considered wise. According to new research from Duke University, optimists work long hours, invest in individual stocks, save more and pay their credit card balance on time while extreme optimists work fewer hours, are often ... posted on Nov 11 2007, 2,948 reads