A recent study from my alma mater (UCLA) by grad student David Frederick reported some interesting data on the way women judge men on the basis of muscularity. As usual, the popular press got it a bit wrong. For example, a Reuters headline proclaimed, “women drawn to men with muscles.” A more careful Read more…
Cheryl Olson and her colleagues at the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital recently completed a study of the videogame habits of middle school youth. What is most interesting to me is that the results of the study have been described as “surprising.” One suspects that Read more…
I always wanted to be one of those people who lost weight when stressed. Unfortunately, I could pretty much track my stress levels as a function of how my weight fluctuates: more stress = more me. Like many Americans, Roger and I found that we had added more than a Read more…
When our oldest daughter was little, Roger convinced her that if she told a lie, her nose would turn purple. He had no idea that she had actually believed him until she approached him one day with her hand carefully covering her nose. To this day, Kristin is a very Read more…
With Father’s Day arriving this Sunday, I thought it was a good time to reflect on the value of fathers I know. In spite of Judith Rich Harris’ hypothesis that parents really don’t matter other than their contribution of a few genes, my own father had an enormous influence on Read more…