Scienceofus
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Internet Searching Might Make People Feel Smarter Than They Actually Are
Google makes it easy to pull up just about any information that’s available, but some psychological researchers think it comes with a cost. The “Google effect,” as one team dubbed it, is our tendency to forget information that can be easily looked up. Now a new study adds a new layer to the question of what effects our endless Google-searching might have on us: There’s a chance it’s making us overconfident about stuff we don’t know as well.
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The Two Types of People Who Come to Work Even Though They’re Sick
(Photo: Jamie Grill/Tetra Images/Corbis) During a given day at the office, some people are their normal work-selves, typing away productively (well, arguably), while other people are home sick. Then there’s the third, murky category researchers called “presenteeism” — coming to work even though you’re sick and therefore not likely to be particularly productive. Researchers are curious about which pressures lead people to do this, since there are obvious ramifications both for public health (espe
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In Defense of (Sometimes) Giving Up
(Photo: Corbis) The quote “Never, never, never give up” — usually, if mostly erroneously, attributed to Winston Churchill — is the kind of inspirational motto that certain kinds of people really like to post on sites like Instagram and Pinterest, and it’s easy to imagine why. Perseverance is something to aspire to; after all, tenacious types are the ones who ultimately tend to get things done. Related: Don’t Underestimate the Simple Power of Writing Down Your Goals Likewise, in the past decade o
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To Get Better Sleep, Maybe Try Staying Awake
An estimated 30 percent of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia, and the sensible, standard advice given to them is to practice sleep hygiene and simply try going to bed earlier. It’s called sleep restriction therapy, and it’s a component of CBT-I — that is, cognitive behavioral therapy specifically for insomnia.
