Recent work in cognitive psychology has shown that our sense of what is normal is influenced both by what we take to be statistically normal and what we take to fit prescriptive norms. In other words, what people consider to be normal is a function of both what they consider to be widespread and what
Department told to deliver textbooks and stationery. The Department of Basic Education is embroiled in a spat with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which has criticised the department’s failure to deliver stationery and textbooks in Limpopo. In the statement released on Friday, the SAHRC gave Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga until Thursday to
“Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it.” –Mark Twain Much research has tested the reliability of various lie detection techniques. Some methods are quite effective – if you’re properly trained and if you apply these skills frequently. However, there is no lie detection “magic bullet” that works every time and
Cambridge University researchers have created psychological tools that can combat fake news. Apparently, mixing misinformation with actual facts can help cancel out the effects of bogus claims. BBC reported that researchers at Cambridge University have suggested that “pre-emptively exposing” readers to small bits of misinformation can negate the effects of fake news. The study’s lead
The first year of life is a time of astonishing linguistic development Babies build knowledge about the language they hear even in the first few months of life, research shows. If you move countries and forget your birth language, you retain this hidden ability, according to a study. Dutch-speaking adults adopted from South Korea exceeded expectations at
It’s not only ABSA, there’s a range of companies that received loans which they should pay back. As Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane finalises her report into the missing apartheid billions, recovering that disputed money could go a long way to redressing the legacy of apartheid and helping to build a better South Africa. Activists who
If you’d asked farmers a few hundred years ago what skills their kids would need to thrive, it wouldn’t have taken long to answer. They’d need to know how to milk a cow or plant a field. General skills for a single profession that only changed slowly—and this is how it was for most humans
Cape Town – Only two out of 10 matriculants can expect to be accepted into universities in the 2017 academic calendar, a leading tax body estimates. Stiaan Klue, executive dean and chief executive of The Tax Faculty, believes low acceptance rates into universities “are becoming more of a reality today”. However, he urged prospective students
Everyone likes getting a little extra cash, but we shouldn’t think it makes us work any harder. Author and motivation expert Dan Pink knows this better than anybody. In his 2009 TED talk “The puzzle of motivation,” which was based on his hit book “Drive,” Pink explains the “fundamental mismatch” that exists between science and business.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed free tuition at the state’s public colleges for students from low- and middle-income families on Tuesday, seizing on an idea that became a rallying cry for many Democrats in last year’s presidential election. Under Cuomo’s plan, which he called the first of its kind in the nation, the state
