Social Sciences
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Conversation
Will COVID-19 change our cities?
Perhaps not as much as we think, researchers suggest.
By Christian A Nygaard, Iris Levin and Sharon Parkinson, Swinburne University of Technology What will be the norma...
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To maximise learning, find the sweet spot
Study confirms the importance of challenging people and machines.
Learning occurs most quickly when the difficulty of the training is adjusted to keep the learner’s accuracy at around...
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Pretty boys have ski-slope noses
Nose shape strongly informs the assumptions observers make.
Men with “ski-slope” noses are regarded as more attractive and youthful than men with convex ones, according to a sur...
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Cremation in ancient Greece
Research suggests historian Thucydides played loose with the facts.
The story of the long conflict between Sparta and Athens in the fourth century BCE is considered one of the foundatio...
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Car exhaust exposure has lifelong mental health effects
Multi-decade New Zealand study finds childhood blood lead levels predict serious psychological ou...
Exposure to atmospheric lead during childhood results in lifelong mental health deficits, a 30-year study has found.R...
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Conversation
How did reading and writing evolve?
The beginnings of writing may lie in humanity's far distant past.
Our brains evolved in a world without reading. Semnic/Shutterstock The part of the brain that processes visual inform...
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‘You can’t kiss and make up with the environment’
Researchers suggest eco-friendly shopping is a kind of bargaining with the world. Stephen Fleisch...
While there is no genuine debate to be had over whether anthropogenic climate change is occurring, our Stone Age mind...
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Language analysis reveals recent and unusual 'moral polarisation' in Anglophone world
After many decades, use of moral signifiers in books underwent a sharp increase from 1980 onwards...
Going with the Gipper. A conservative swing in 1980 is tied to an uptick in moral language in books.Fotosearch/Getty ...
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Study claiming prejudice leads to early death for gay people retracted
A coding error rendered findings null, and efforts to fix things have ended. Andrew Masterson rep...
Prejudice against sexual minorities is, prima facie, a terrible thing, but a highly cited journal paper claiming that...
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Fabulous fun at Australia’s World Science Festival
Now in its fourth year, Queensland’s international science celebration has something for everyone.
Throughout March, the annual World Science Festival Brisbane will see hundreds of expert presenters and tens of thous...
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Punters’ instinct? Gamblers predicted Brexit before financial traders
Bets on referendum results confirmed the wisdom of the crowds. Nick Carne reports.
If you really want to know what’s going to happen with Brexit, it might be best to ask someone down the pub.Research ...
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Good corporate behaviour boosts sales
Study shows reputation influences consumer choices. Andrew Masterson reports.
Maintaining the good name of a company isn’t just a matter of feel-good brand politics but actually has a quantifiabl...