Blogs

CharlesDarwin in the Origin of Species explainsthe reasons for sexual behavior to be for the purpose of passing down one’sgenes and increase one’s chances of survival. This does not always seem to bethe case as research shows that there are many sexual behaviors that don’t fitin with Darwin’s theory. Some of these include human sexual behavior and manyof them include animal sexual behavior. If Darwin had known about these sexual behaviorsit is possible that he would have altered his theory to better fit the actualworld.

by Akua Peprah

A mentor is more effective in teaching when he/she manages to incorporate students' interests in the lectures. 

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby is the story of  the chief editor of Elle magazine who suffered a massive stroke and became affected by what is known as “locked in” syndrome. Although his mental abilities, memories and senses remained intact he was unable to move his body except for the ability to shake his head slightly and blink his left eye. Despite all of this he managed to write a memoir about his experience and how he used the power of his own imagination to overcome his paralysis. Along with his descriptions of how his friends reacted, how he feels about the situation, he intersperses the story with vignettes where his mind creates an alternate, surreal reality and allows him to escape from his immobile body through memories and dreams.

Through the centuries, generations have passed on wisdoms about the mind. Recently cognitive and social psychology research has indicated that a lot of this wisdom was true. In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt discusses ten such wisdoms and how they can be applied to our lives today. Haidt also discusses the evolution of certain parts of the mind. In this commentary, I will be focusing on the origins of the storyteller and how it advises and explains our intuitive gut reactions.

“A good many times I have been present at gatherings of people who, by the standards of the traditional culture, are thought highly educated and who have with considerable gusto been expressing their incredulity at the illiteracy of scientists. Once or twice I have been provoked and have asked the company how many of them could describe the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The response was cold: it was also negative. Yet I was asking something which is the scientific equivalent of: Have you read a work of Shakespeare’s?”-- C. P. Snow

            Since 1975, PepsiCo has been hosting the Pepsi Challenge, in which Pepsi representatives give two unmarked cups to participants. One of the cups contains Pepsi, while the other contains Coke. In this blind test, it was found that a greater number of participants preferred Pepsi over Coke. However, Coke repeatedly reaps greater revenue (La Monica, 2002). Why is it that despite preferring the taste of Pepsi, people tend to buy Coke? How is it that although both sodas are very similar in composition, they elicit strong behavioral preferences