No, I am not talking about women driving the self help book industry. I am talking about the “True Crime” novels. Before I go any further I must say that I was surprised to see that women were the main purchasers of true crime novels. But the question is why? In the inaugural issue of Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE) they talked about this phenomenon. Apparently it is women’s fear of attack that leads them to want to understand it and therefore prevent it from happening to them. But instead it is causing some sort of reverse effect because women who read them are more afraid.
This doesn’t really surprise me. It is easier to just accept evil than to understand where it is rooted. Once you see its roots you see that it isn’t that rare. Hitler as a twisted person wasn’t a fluke and neither was Ted Bundy.
I have always had an interest in criminology and procedure but I blame that less on being a woman than having a mother who has a criminology degree and 2 step dads who were cops;). What do you think?
The Exploratorium has put up a great site based on the science of cooking! It has eggs, pickling, and all kinds of food on it. They look at all the components and reactions. It even has activities and recipes. Go check it out! Who says science has to be pricey or hard?
Scripps Research Institute has come out with a study that looks at the addictive nature of junk food. Apparently these rats were so addicted that they were willing to take a shock in order to get the beloved junk food. They are trying to prove that the junk food is just as bad as drugs.
As a fat girl I don’t know what all to think. On one hand I can totally agree because I don’t know why my logic doesn’t control my intake better. But on the other hand I can’t say that I really cut a lot of slack for addicts so why should I be able to use it as an excuse because if you have a problem you should get help. The one thing that I get out of it that makes me feel better is that changing food choices is hard. Not due to my weak will but it really is hard.
So what do you think? Is the fact it may be addictive give us an excuse? Should junk food be illegal like the drugs? What?
This was cool and easily do able! I think we will have to do this experiment soon with the kids. Ahhh, the fun of homeschooling. Get to play with toys and call it school!
Recently I have been part of a few discussions about how hard it is to find non-fiction books for young readers. I can say here in the NerdFamily house it has always been a challenge. With our oldest we struggle with a child who can read quite well for his age but at the same time the non-fiction books at that level contain such advanced data that it is hard for him to really comprehend the information. With NerdPie she wants to learn real information but is still really developing her reading ability. Then we have our 4 year old. He can’t read but he loves to be read to. I want to encourage him to understand what I am reading so I don’t want books that are to hard. With all of these kids it would be a shame to lose this sponge like time.
At my local library I have found a few different series that we have used. Typically what happens is that I find 1 in a series, like it, and then request every other book they put out. So in order to help others, in a way I wish someone would have helped me, here are a few series that I have found. I am not going to really talk about math because I have already posted a bit about some good options here and here.
Awesome isn’t it? There really is metal velcro or, without the trademark term, hook and loop fastener. It is so cool! From the press release:
Hook and loop fasteners made of spring steel have now been developed at the Institute of Metal Forming and Casting of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen. These fasteners are resistant to chemicals and can withstand a tensile load of up to 35 tonnes per square meter at temperatures as high as 800°C.
This is so cool! I love watching materials innovation. In the article it says that they were looking for automotive innovations and uses in construction. How neat!
NerdDad shared a piece on the Gorn Cannon that Mythbusters is going to do in the next season. The picture and the information was found on Grant Imahara’s Twitter. While the Gorn Cannon is cool (it is from Star Trek for those who don’t know) I was more shocked that I wasn’t following Grant. I have to say he is my favorite, he reminds me of some high school friends. But I rectified the situation;).
