http://www.mixx.com/users/calinazaret Mixx of activity by calinazaret en-us @s_lockyer everything is affected by climate change. Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:21:42 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6042117/the_case_of_the_shrinking_sheep comment_710627 @s_lockyer yeah, evolutionary psychology is one of the new hot fields that hasn't really found it's groove yet. It seems to me like a bunch of speculation, but maybe it will be more refined with time. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:42:45 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6042702/people_prefer_information_that_supports_their_views_ars_technica comment_710572 @janejas There is no such thing as proving anything in science. Hypothesis are only supported or not supported, hence the concept of "theory." Admittedly, a lot of psychological theories are either weakly supported or have contradictory support, but psychological researchers have been able to gain a body of knowledge over time which does have a lot of support. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:41:30 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6042702/people_prefer_information_that_supports_their_views_ars_technica comment_710569 @heavypen I meant that we evolved specifically to have these biases. I'm pretty weak in the area of evolutionary psychology (it's kind of a weak field in general, to be honest) but I think the idea here is that our ancestors who were over-confident were move likely to succeed that people who were more realistic about their odds. What we end up with is a species which believes, on average, that they are better than average (see: Lake Wobegon effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better-than-average_effect). Some of the most amazing statistics have come out regarding this effect, like 95% of managers believe they're better than average managers. In my cognitive psych class we discussed one study where researchers found one group of people who were surprisingly accurate in their self-descriptions-- clinically depressed people. Funny, huh? Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:29:04 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6042702/people_prefer_information_that_supports_their_views_ars_technica comment_710114 @heavypen If you recognize a bias you have a better chance of correcting it, but these biases will always exist in us. There's no escaping it. You need some of these biases in order to think highly of yourself a be a productive member of society. So, I don't know if a bias can ever be "sterilized." Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:15:36 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6042702/people_prefer_information_that_supports_their_views_ars_technica comment_709276 There are a number of self-serving biases based around this phenomenon: false consensus bias, fundamental attribution error, false optimism for one's odds and so forth. It's kind of fascinating how we've evolved to have such a flawed perception of reality. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:29:16 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6042702/people_prefer_information_that_supports_their_views_ars_technica comment_709137 This is so cool. If I had one of these, I'd sit and watch it for hours. Well, maybe not hours but a long time. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:40:03 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6042604/wind_knitting_factory comment_709081 A wind-powered knitting machine! Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:40:03 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6042604/wind_knitting_factory thingy_6042604 calinazaret http://www.merelkarhof.nl/merel%20karhof/Blog%20merelkarhof/234C1792-CA2E-44F5-9A49-0B9669A9E4DD.html @McCaffertyHimself lol, sorry, I just couldn't even think of words after watching that video. I just kept making various "UHHG" and "EEWW" noises. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:06:25 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/videos/6037709/what_are_these_hideous_sewer_flesh_blobs comment_709031 @Trudster yeah, now I know how men feel when they watch another dude land on his nuts. That was a hard freaking thing to look at for sure! Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:00:52 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6036460/20_scary_old_school_surgical_tools comment_709016 God forbid parents should have to talk to their kids about SEX! I love how the father at the end says the school should send a counselor. Why? To make situation that much more awkward and traumatize the fucking kid for life? Just say "yeah, it was two people having sex. That's how human beings express their love for each other, have fun and reproduce." Fifth graders are just a year or two away from watching porn on the internet anyway. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:59:04 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/videos/6040969/teacher_goes_all_out_for_sex_ed_current comment_709013 @Trudster but, I really want to know what she MEANS by that, ya know?? Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:24:54 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6021724/cops_surprised_by_squirrel_in_woman_s_cleavage comment_708950 Sad news. I hoped that woman would get some jail time. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:40:23 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6039090/judge_throws_out_conviction_in_deadly_myspace_hoax comment_708416 UUUUUAALSHFALJDFHHAAA!!!!11! Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:27:50 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/videos/6037709/what_are_these_hideous_sewer_flesh_blobs comment_708399 That cervical dilator almost gave me a heart attack. OMG I can't even imagine . . . . ACK! Modern day trips to the gynecologist are awkward enough. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:12:42 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6036460/20_scary_old_school_surgical_tools comment_708245 @McCaffertyHimself Do you really not get that Greg never takes this stuff seriously? It's a fun game for him, as it should be for everyone. IT'S THE INTERNET!!!1!1! Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:55:23 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/5931716/twitition_mixx_should_remove_the_nofollow_tag_from_links_to_popular_stories comment_708220 @sirmarion The big fuss is that HE made a big fuss over Clinton being morally unable to lead and calling for his resignation. Either he was lying before about his beliefs to get ahead, or he's going back on his word now. That sort of blatant dishonesty and hypocrisy can not be tolerated. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:36:43 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6018798/s_c_republican_state_senators_want_sanford_out comment_708177 @kat136 It's a long ass story. I had to read it in three parts. But, if it weren't so hard to get me to cry I would definitely have been balling at this one. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:28:00 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6028631/fatal_distraction_is_infant_death_due_to_hyperthermia_a_crime comment_708157 @cGt2099 You are truly an inspiration to the mixx community :P Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:25:43 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/5931716/twitition_mixx_should_remove_the_nofollow_tag_from_links_to_popular_stories comment_708149 @kat136 strange . . . it works for me Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:15:47 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/stories/6028631/fatal_distraction_is_infant_death_due_to_hyperthermia_a_crime comment_708120 Officially the creepiest pattern I've ever seen. But actually pretty damn cool, and I think I can do this. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:14:14 +0000 http://www.mixx.com/photos/6037526/crocheted_eyeball comment_708117