Imagine if your hobby became your profession — or, indeed, if it started a whole new profession. This year, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference features someone who can make that claim: Bill James, the baseball analyst whose pioneering work opened up the entire field. A high school English teacher and factory watchman from Kansas, […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
You too can do sports analytics
Society: Step to to save the planet
Scientific knowledge alone isn’t enough to save the planet – we must also act on that knowledge and radically change our behaviour, according to the authors of an international study. The study, carried out by researchers from The Australian National University and colleagues in Germany, the UK and the USA, suggests that the greatest barrier […] … learn more→
Hopeful consumers choose fruit, happy consumers choose candy bars
Many people fall victim to emotional eating, but it doesn\’t happen only when they\’re feeling bad, according to researchers. Having a good day at work, for example, can sometimes lead to a candy bar treat from the vending machine, according to Karen Winterich, assistant professor of marketing, Penn State Smeal College of Business, and Kelly […] … learn more→
Stanford study suggests girls can \’rewire\’ brains to ward off depression
What if you could teach your brain to respond differently to things that make you feel sad, down or stressed out? What if doing that helped ward off depression? Early findings from an ongoing Stanford study of girls at risk of becoming depressed suggest that such rewiring is possible – and is surprisingly easy. The […] … learn more→
Study finds lure of entertainment, work hard for people to resist
Trying to resist that late-night tweet or checking your work email again? The bad news is that desires for work and entertainment often win out in the daily struggle for self-control, according to a new study that measures various desires and their regulation in daily life. “Modern life is a welter of assorted desires marked […] … learn more→
Make LOHAS a family activity
What is LOHAS? LOHAS is an abbreviation for ‘lifestyles of health and sustainability’. People who subscribe to LOHAS values are focused on their personal development, health and fitness, on the environment and sustainable living, and on social justice. Research indicates that 25% of adults in the USA endorse these lifestyle choices – an encouraging percentage […] … learn more→
Beer belly is biggest body issue for men
New research shows that men have serious issues and that talking about your body is no longer confined to women. A major national study examining British men\’s attitudes to their appearance reveals that over four in five (80.7%) men regularly engage in conversation about one another\’s body and that most are unhappy with their muscularity. […] … learn more→
11 benefits of being positive
Over the years I’ve done a lot of research on the positive effects of being positive and the negative effects of being negative. The research is clear. It really does pay to be positive and the benefits include enhanced health and longevity, happiness, career advancement, athletic performance, team building and financial success. Being positive is […] … learn more→
The role of social media in protests
A study has explored the dynamics behind social network sites in recruiting and spreading calls for action that contribute to riots, revolutions and protests. Led by Oxford University and published in the journal Scientific Reports, the study finds that the most influential group consists of a small group of users close to the centre of […] … learn more→
Forgetting of things past
You park your car. You lock it up, grab your bag from the trunk, and head into work. As you do, your brain quietly gets in high gear, racing like it’s in the Indy 500. Even though it seems you’re hardly thinking about where you activated your parking brake, nerve cells in your gray matter, […] … learn more→