stupidity for dummies http://stupidityfordummies.com ...because sometimes, you just can't dumb it down enough... Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:32:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 StupidityForDummieshttp://feedburner.google.com fight or flight http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/fd2X-5QmdyQ/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/06/04/fight-or-flight/#comments Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:32:50 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=112

When the danger is far away, or at least not immediately imminent, the instinct is to freeze. When danger is approaching, the impulse is to run away. When escape is impossible, the response is to fight back. And when struggling is futile, the animal will become immobilized in the grip of fright. Although it doesn’t slide quite as smoothly off the tongue, a more accurate description than “fight or flight” would be “fight, freeze, flight, or fright” or, for short, “the four fs.”

Discover Magazine via Schneider on Security

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/06/04/fight-or-flight/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/06/04/fight-or-flight/ worst-case scenario http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/j6gc4fm3wZk/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/06/01/worst-case-scenario/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:53:30 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=109 “The worst-case scenario is what’s happening now.” Web comic xkcd succinctly sums up the state of the oil spill coverage on the news.

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/06/01/worst-case-scenario/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/06/01/worst-case-scenario/ mass suffering http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/vyqn5KCGSEo/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/03/02/mass-suffering/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:14:53 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=107 The reason human beings seem to care so little about mass suffering and death is precisely because the suffering is happening on a mass scale. The brain is simply not very good at grasping the implications of mass suffering. Americans would be far more likely to step forward if only a few people were suffering or a single person were in pain. Hokget did not draw our sympathies because we care more about dogs than people; she drew our sympathies because she was a single dog lost on the biggest ocean in the world. Our hidden brain — my term for a host of unconscious mental processes that subtly bias our judgment — shapes our compassion into a telescope. We are best able to respond when we are focused on a single victim. -the Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/03/02/mass-suffering/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2010/03/02/mass-suffering/ down is up, bad is good http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/j9h1jg7ZRfY/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/12/30/down-is-up-bad-is-good/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:02:04 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=98 from the magazine The Week, 12/25/09 to 1/8/2010:

Feeling down sharpens your attention and makes you less gullible. …happiness…(removes) a layer of skepticism. …sadness “promotes information processing best suited to dealing with more demanding situations,” says psychologist Joseph Forgas.

Recessions may help us all live a little longer. When the economy tanks, people drink and eat less, sleep more, suffer fewer accidents, and live longer. Researchers found that americans were actually healthier during the Great Depression than they were in prosperous times immediately before and after…

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/12/30/down-is-up-bad-is-good/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/12/30/down-is-up-bad-is-good/ global salaries & expenses: India http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/6zQInJid9fA/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/09/27/global-salaries-expenses-india/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:53:13 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/09/27/global-salaries-expenses-india/ Salary of a 21 yr-old bellhop at the Shangri-La hotel: $274/month
Cost of one night at the Shangri-La hotel: from $255
Average annual salary in India: $1,000
Cell phone service: $2/month
One liter of milk: $0.40
Loaf of bread: $0.20
Cost of a 2-yr MBA program: $6,000 to $10,000

(All amounts in US dollars)

Source: Condé Nast Traveler, Sept 2009

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/09/27/global-salaries-expenses-india/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/09/27/global-salaries-expenses-india/ respect http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/LVgcP51V48c/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/09/19/respect/#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:12:54 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=95

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/09/19/respect/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/09/19/respect/ mob rule http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/RLAY-PwgE5k/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/06/03/mob-rule/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:03:51 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=83

Sometimes…sometimes, mob rule results in something surprisingly positive!

via the Calgary Herald

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/06/03/mob-rule/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/06/03/mob-rule/ car, bus, or bicycle http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/tEBOoSs7VYw/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/03/14/car-bus-or-bicycle/#comments Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:49:05 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=80 transportation space

via treehugger

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/03/14/car-bus-or-bicycle/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/03/14/car-bus-or-bicycle/ the new macbook wheel http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/C65oFWUL_NA/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/01/05/the-new-macbook-wheel/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:11:27 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=100
“…it remains to be seen if the wheel will catch on in the business world, where people use computers for actual work, and not just d*cking around…” Sign me up!

Onion News via Gizmodo

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]]> http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/01/05/the-new-macbook-wheel/feed/ 0 http://stupidityfordummies.com/2009/01/05/the-new-macbook-wheel/ priorities http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StupidityForDummies/~3/5RlWljMed-Y/ http://stupidityfordummies.com/2008/11/13/priorities/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:49:33 +0000 stupidityfordummies http://stupidityfordummies.com/?p=72 Estimated cost of the 2008 presidential campaign and congressional races: $5.3 billion
Estimated amount of money spent in 2008 on Halloween candy, costumes, and decorations: $6 billion

Source: USA Today

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