A large blue diagram fills the computer monitor in James Frew's office at the University of California, Santa Barbara; it’s a graphical representation of the life history of data used to create a map of ocean color around the world. Several tightly spaced vertical lines run down the left side of the screen, illustrating the flow of information toward the end product. As he scrolls down, small boxes containing data source labels come into view on the right side. Horizontal lines lead from the boxes to the vertical lines on the left, mapping how each boxed element, or data source, feeds into ... Read More
Distrust Feeds Anti-Atheist Prejudice
November 15, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Plenty of people are reviled for their religious beliefs. But a lack of faith seems to inspire even more intense antipathy. A landmark 2006 study, analyzing data from a large survey of Americans, found that atheists “are less likely to be accepted, publicly and privately, than any others from a long list of ethnic, religious and other minority groups.” Writing in the American Sociological Review, researchers noted that “while rejection of Muslims may have spiked in post-9/11 America, rejection of atheists was higher.” So why are atheists “among the least liked people ... in ... Read More
Oxytocin Increases Trust — Under Certain Conditions
August 9, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
Oxytocin, the subject of this month’s Miller-McCune magazine cover story, has been called “the love hormone” or “liquid trust.” As our Michael Haederle reports, raising levels of the neuropeptide has been shown to make people more altruistic and generous. Before we start putting this stuff into the water, however, it’s worth asking the question: Does it also make us more gullible? Trust is great, but not everyone is trustworthy. A research team led by psychologist Moira Mikolajczak of the Universite catholique de Louvain in Belgium addressed that question in a study, which ... Read More
Corruption Leads to More Corruption
June 6, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
Once upon a time, there was a monarchy. Like many governments, it required a number of people — dukes, knights, lords, etc. — to function. These people were chosen based on their proximity or loyalty to the royal family, which was itself royal because it had more money and land than other families. The members of the court were rewarded for their service to the royal family, and they drew their power from having more money and power than everyone else. Back in the days of monarchies, government officials who were in with the king (and/or queen) were, to a large extent, allowed to do ... Read More
