The Weiter Denken blog distilled, into about 700 words, the essence of the Ig Nobel Prizes. Here’s a machine translation, from German into English, of what they wrote: A prize for the square from the round Scientists always keep to themselves in the academic ivory tower? The Ig Nobel Prize proves that there is another […]
Tag: why
Hot stuff by Cook & Berns: Why Did the Dog Walk Into the MRI?
The question “Why?” head the menu in this research study served up by Cook and Berns: “Why Did the Dog Walk Into the MRI?” Gregory S. Berns and Peter F. Cook, Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 25, no. 5, 2016, pp. 363-369. The authors, at Emery University, explain: “Because he was trained to.” Peter […]
Why Isn’t Why Simpler?
Richard Feynman, asked a question that begins “Why…”, explains why that kind of question is tough:
“Why does coffee make you poop?” Four videos.
Several organizations try to answer the same question (a question that is laden with assumptions): “Why does coffee make you poop?” Discovery News: Nickipedia: ACS Reactions: Nathan and Rose: (Thanks to Vaughn Tan for bringing this to our attention.)
You Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
A single question can arise in different contexts, and have different answers. Here’s an example — a study and a book both written in the late 1960’s: “The influence of vocal behavior on the performer’s testicular activity in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus),” Barbara F. Brockway, The Wilson Bulletin (1967): 328-334. and I Know Why the Caged […]
Certain questions about eye examinations in England
Investigator Adrian Smith alerts us to this pair of studies which, he says, “leaves some scope for further studies, not in England, however”: “Why don’t older adults in England go to have their eyes examined?” Darren Shickle and Marcus Griffin, Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, 2014 Jan;34(1):38-45. “Why don’t younger adults in England go to have their eyes […]