By Radiolab
November 18, 2008
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and… and… how the heck did you decide which one take? This hour, we explore Choice. Why do some people seem better at making decisions than others? Should you listen to your head or your heart? We turn up the volume on the voices in our heads and try to make sense of the babble. Forget free will, some important decisions could come down to a steaming cup of coffee.
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Photo by:
Pulpolux /flickrCC
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Podcasts
By Radiolab
November 14, 2008
Listen to “Choice,” the first episode in Radio Lab’s fifth season, this Friday (Nov 14) at 3pm on 93.9 FM WNYC. Afterwards, go to themorningnews.org to join co-host Jad Abumrad and your fellow Radio Lab listeners for a live online chat from 4-5pm.
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Radiolab in the News
By Elizabeth Giddens
November 14, 2008
saintfortyfive/Flickr
Mrs. Murphy’s Manners for Women, a British how-to from 1897, has very particular ideas about the role of women’s laughter.
“Laughing should be carefully taught. The thing to be guarded against is that the inculcated laugh is apt to grow stereotyped, and few things are more irritating than to hear it over and over again, begin on the same note, run down the same scale, and consequently express no more mirth than the keys of the piano.
There is no greater ornament to conversation than the ripple of silvery notes that form the perfect laugh. It makes the person who evokes it feel pleased with himself, and invests what he has said with a charm of wit and humor which might not be otherwise observed.”
I wonder what Mrs. Murphy might have made of this peculiar ornament?
It has recently become clear that Mrs. Murphy’s strategy may be useful even when the witticism in question isn’t actually uttered by a man, but merely in the presence of one. According to Vanderbilt professor Jo-Anne Bachorowski, who has recorded more than 30,000 laughs, women laugh more frequently and at a higher pitch in the company of men than in the company of other women, even when they’re reacting to the exact same material (in this case, funny movies).
Perhaps this has inspired this (unintentionally) hilarious site plugging another how-to: “Closely Guarded Secrets To Attract Beautiful Women Using The Power Of Humor… Guaranteed!” Regular price: $97. Act now for deep discounts.
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The Centrifuge
