by david allan van nostrand | Mar 31, 2025 | Experiments, Human Behavior, Psychology
Scientists say high-emotion memories are triggered by familiar surroundings and events. You and I think of that as having a feeling of déjà vu — or as our table overheard when a Young Modern loudly proclaimed she was having a zsa zsa de va moment. Vu or va, the...
by david allan van nostrand | Mar 24, 2025 | Actively observing, Human Behavior, The world around us
As it happens more often than not, while I’m taking a closer look at a particular topic or subject, I come across things I know nothing about. Zip, zero, zed, zilch. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to enter into one of those Charles Kuralt-style On the Road...
by david allan van nostrand | Mar 17, 2025 | Americana, Behind the curtain, Human Behavior, The Wayback Machine
Every one of the weekly articles I’ve written for this site since 2016 starts with research. This is more or less wandering around and seeing what’s there. One of the things I enjoy most about conducting background research is how many interesting things are right...
by david allan van nostrand | Mar 10, 2025 | critical thinking, Human Behavior, Shaky Science, Using Information
The American Psychological Association doesn’t like the term used by most people, lie detector, because the machine does not detect lies. The APA prefers the more scientific term, polygraph, a Greek word that meant “writing much.” There is no detecting going on...
by david allan van nostrand | Mar 3, 2025 | Human Behavior, Items in the News, Organizational Behavior, Shaky Science
You have all the right qualifications for the job; the education, training, and skills. You hold an advanced degree from a good school in the field they’re looking for. You began working on the shop floor while other kids went on vacation. You quickly earned...
