To those who compile collections of trivial and spurious words for phobias: here’s a brand new old one to add to the list. From the November 19, 1904 New York Medical Journal, volume LXXX (issue 21), page 987: Web searches for “dapanophobia” finds absolutely nothing, except for this one paragraph published in various venues. “δαπανοφοβία” finds nothing […]
The Mirror Reversal Effect – a new angle
If you’re one of those people who looks into a mirror and wonders – ‘Why is left-right reversed, but not up-down?’ – then you’re not alone. “No agreed-upon account of mirror reversal is currently available although it has been discussed for more than two thousand years since Plato.” – explains mirror researcher Yohtaro Takanoa, Professor […]
Leaping lizards, and some who simply fall
Two looks at how and when lizards fall. First: “Total recoil: Perch compliance alters jumping performance and kinematics in green anole lizards,” Gilman C, Bartlett MB, Gillis G, Irschick DJ., Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 215, 2012, pp. 220-226. Click on the image here to see video from the experiment. The authors explain: “Many species […]
Van Gogh, Lady Gaga and the implications of eccentricity (study)
Attn. artists! Can you get a higher appraisal for yourself and your art by behaving more eccentrically? Say, by hacking off your own earlobe or “cavorting around in little more than a thong”? Such questions have been examined in a new study from Dr. Eric R. Igou (University of Limerick, Ireland) and Dr. Wijnand A […]