21st March 2011 - Sleep, Crocodiles, Washing Machines and Anger

The first few posts were written at facebook but I've decided to move them here.


Some bits and pieces I read today. Some I'd seen before but not in so much detail.

• Sleep -Taking an afternoon nap helps us to filter out negative emotions. [1] Makes sense and a good excuse for a nap!   Funny to read this today having listened to a short TED talk [2] yesterday about how important sleep is whereas in today's society people brag about lack of sleep. 

•  Crocodiles - Since a crocodile has no sex chromosones, the sex of crocodiles is determined by the temperature at which their egg is incubated.  The eggs are incubated in rotting material. [comment #23 3]  This reminds me of gardeners using rotting manure to produce a heated bed for plants early in the year.[4]  Although it's hard in the lab to produce a batch of just male crocodiles at a constant temperature, this is achievable for alligators. [5]  Crocodiles chirp at each other from inside the eggs which enables them to coordinate hatching and call mother to dig them out.

• Washing Machines - I watched a new TED talk on washing machines [6] where Hans Rosling shares some personal stories about how a washing machine changed his family's life. Only about 2/7 of the world population has access to a washing machine.  Imagine how much time it would take if you had to wash all your clothes by hand, and how little time you'd have for other things.  What difference would it make if everyone had access to a washing machine? What would they be able to spend that extra time on?

• Anger - When we are angry, we want to fight against something so we are more likely to pick articles  which counter our point of view and thus we gain the other side of the story making it easier for us to make more rational decisions.  I wonder if this is limited by the level of our anger.[7]  On reading the research paper, and not just the sumamry, there are references to other negative moods such as sadness leading to us wanting to only read things which confirm our viewpoint. [8]  Not only do people when angry choose information contrary to their position, but they also pay attention to it to the extent that, in the study, some changed their opinions.