#Scientific Studies

[i-amusemyself]

me: peer review is an essential part of the scientific process and helps maintain trust in and integrity of the research we publish

also me, the second anyone suggests an edit to my work:

[jo-snicket]

Is there a magazine or something similar that shares cool and quirky scientific studies? Like the kind of studies that do numbers on tumblr? Tagging some of the sciences that might have such studies.

Basically I really miss Mental Floss magazine and I want a similar, physical magazine subscription.

[thepro-lifemovement]

[penwrythe]

Currently writing my concerns about the objectum discourse in the OSC from yesterday. I have a few things to say about it.

Before I post it, here's some educational material I think the OSC needs to look through to understand what exactly Objectum and Objectum sexuality is. CW, the following links discuss (sometimes intimate) sexual attraction. The studies linked here also may need the Unpaywall addon to be read.

[imkeepinit]

[alighted-willow]

[Taking notes.]

should be able to leave kudos on scientific studies. i liked your paper dude keep at it

[surinderbhalla]

Do Cleanses and Detoxes Work? Scientific Insights and Real-Life Stories

Embarking on a journey towards better health often leads many to consider cleanses and detoxes. The idea of purging toxins from our bodies is alluring, promising a fresh start and improved well-being. Let’s delve into this topic: Do Cleanses and Detoxes Work? Scientific Insights and Real-Life Stories and expert insights to uncover the truth behind these popular health regimens. Do Cleanses and…

[authortoberecognized]

DOOMED BY PROGRESS: A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY, PART II

DOOMED BY PROGRESS Due to technical difficulties, I will need to postpone my posting of The Ultimate Experiment. So for now, I will begin posting my short story, Doomed by progress. This is an unpublished story. The United States had decided to turn back to coal for the main source of power, primarily based on politics. Also decided was to relax pollution standards also the product of a weak…

[tj-withers-author]

Help! It's too noisy to learn

When an airport moves, the children who've been living with that extra background noise at home can improve in long-term memory, short-term memory, and reading performance! Learn why in my latest post about #memory #learning #reading and #teaching

We’ve known for a long time that some learners need a certain type of noise or quiet in order to learn. For example, auditory learners will learn best by listening or by having noise in the background while they’re trying to learn something. And learners with sensory-avoidant sensitivity often need quiet to learn – like an ADHD or autistic student needing to wear noise-cancelling headphones in…

[the-defiant-fluffball]

I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about, but let me explain what I'm talking about!

This article focuses primarily on the boomerang effect, that is, the idea that telling people a fact will somehow make them believe the opposite. It says so right at the start:

This idea is what the article ultimately presents a case against. The whole thing about changing someone's belief is secondary at best, and the article doesn't seem to come to a clear conclusion about it (because that's not the main topic):

(you can see that in both of these quotes, it even says straight up that people tend to cling to their beliefs, although it's not supported by a source - probably because the article is not really about that, like I said.)

The main study they refer to throughout the article is Skurnik, Yoon, and Schwartz, which is all about a flyer about facts and myths backfiring:

You can see that this is not actually about the students' pre-existing beliefs, but rather about telling them facts and seeing if doing so will somehow be worse than not saying anything. The vast majority of the text is talking about how this study was being repeated and the results came out different.

So what does it actually say about changing one's beliefs?

One study is mentioned at the very beginning, but I couldn't find any references to it being refuted:

Other than that, the closest we get to talking about pre-existing beliefs is this study:

You can see that there's not a whole lot of info here. We don't know what the false statements were, but the example given in the article is non-political and more about general knowledge. The average strength of belief seems to be 6 out of 10, which is kinda middlish. So what this seems to show is that if corrected about a topic you don't feel very strongly about, by someone who has authority over you, you'll be likely to at least temporarily accept the new info. Which, great, but this only covers a small amount of scenarios where someone is presented with information that's contrary to their belief.

So the article mentions another study about people (not) changing their opinion:

(See how the focus is on doubling down, aka the boomerang effect? That's because it's what the article is about.)

So there was a repeat of this study with updated methodology,* and:

So no boomerang effect was shown, but people also didn't seem to change their minds. (Based on both the wording in the article and the actual paper - looking at the graphs, I'm not really seeing a flip from 'this statement is 100% true' to 'this statement is 100% false'.)

I could go on, but I hope it's now clear what I meant - this article primarily refutes the boomerang effect, and doesn't prove very well that people change their minds when confronted with facts. (They might be slightly less convinced though, but this is not enough to say 'those sources were wrong'.)

_____

*They used MTurk, and only MTurk, to get data from more than 10k people. MTurk data is generally considered to be pure trash, but if you don't believe me, here's a pretty persuasive paper about how unreliable studies using this tool can be, but this is a whole different topic.

[di-kot-o-me]

States with higher narcissism had lower obesity and depression rates, and a lower likelihood of heart failure and hypertension deaths. However, these states reported less sleep and higher demand for plastic surgeons.

[ecomehdi]

Unraveling the Cholesterol Enigma: Navigating the 42% Higher Dementia Risk

Cholesterol, the often-misunderstood compound in our bodies, has been a topic of debate for decades. Recent studies have revealed a surprising connection – a 42 percent higher dementia risk linked to what we commonly refer to as ‘good cholesterol.’ In this article, we will unravel the complexities, explore the science behind the statistics, and understand what this means for our overall…

[calmwithkari]

Stress, MS, and a Little Bit of Mindfulness

New research is out on the relationship of stress to MS progression and disability. In this entry, I break down my thoughts about why this is important and how to take action to break the cycle.

It’s no secret that stress can have a negative impact on many aspects of someone’s health, both mental and physical. But with an autoimmune condition like multiple sclerosis, the effects can have an even more lasting impact. Because stress can trigger disease activity — an MS relapse — it can lead to disability or faster progression of the disease, something I know I certainly don’t want to put…

[zenosanalytic]

eh, it's from the University of Arizona; I wouldn't trust it without further confirmation.

"Men should put the seat down when they're done peeing so that I don't fall into the toilet when I sit down to pee"

"Actually women should be putting the seat back up when they're done peeing as a courtesy so that I don't have to touch it and put the seat up before I pee"

Actually, both the seat AND lid should be down when no one is actively using the toilet, because this prevents things from accidentally falling into / accidentally being dropped into the toilet. Also having the lid down when you're flushing is important because it prevents the toilet from spraying out bacteria.

[allpleasuer]

Consciousness and Free Will Behind the Science

The Science Behind Consciousness and Free Will ALL PLEASUER Introduction The Science Behind Consciousness and Free Will Ever catch yourself wondering how you decide what to do? Like, what’s actually happening in your brain when you make a decision? Scientists and philosophers have been scratching their heads over this for ages. It’s all about consciousness and free will, and as we learn more…