Nostalgia: Why we think things were better in the past

HotlineThey just don’t write blogs like they used to. Back in the good old days there was none of this Twitter or Facebook piffle. Web pages were once simple and images didn’t instantly appear but – like a photo being developed – gradually formed out of a pixelated mess. In the 1990s, receiving an email was still a fun novelty. Ah, the how things were better back then. You kids don’t know you’re born.

Contrary to what you might think, it’s not senior citizens who are the experts in nostalgia. At the tender age of thirty, I’m as adept at reminiscing as anyone. I can fondly remember a bygone era where social engagements weren’t cancelled on the whim of a text-message. Foolish sentimentality? We rose-tinted nostalgics are perhaps the ones most capable of dealing with modern-day life. Today’s blog post is for everyone who thinks things were better when they were a kid… Read more

Do old people get more grumpy?

Happy 95th!It is said that during our twenties we spend our time worrying about what other people think . In our thirties, we blame our parents for all our problems. In our forties, we finally realise that no one was really paying us that much attention and all our issues aren’t our parent’s fault after all.

Not so very long ago, a certain Sir Michael rather publically lamented today’s teachers – accusing them of being a group of whinging bums (I paraphrase). One commenter wondered whether it was just his age getting the better of him. She questioned whether there is any research about age-related ‘grumpiness’. In today’s post, you will find out whether there really is any truth to the “grumpy old codger” stereotype – and whether we are all destined to get grumpy as we get old… Read more

How can I stop…… stammering?

London 1940 was a grey place. In June, smog and grey skies made way for sunshine. Not that there was any summer cheer. Homes were in a perpetual gloom because of blacked-out windows. Food was scarce and kitchen broth was the family staple meal. And then the Germans were approaching.

Against this backdrop, the new Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, made a series of inspiring speeches that strengthened the resolve of this despairing nation. His most famous, ‘we shall fight on the beaches’, remains etched in the British psyche even today. The bald, rotund cigar-smoker suffered from a stutter and yet is remembered as one of the greatest orators of all time.

A concerned blog reader contacted me to ask whether it was possible for her to stop stammering. King George and Winston Churchill overcame their speech impediments, as did actor Bruce Willis. Had they not, the world would look very different today (and there would be no Die Hard movies). But how did they do it? How can a stutterer gain eloquent prose, sufficient to rally the troops and entertain the masses? Let’s find out, and dispel some false assumptions along the way…

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Ofsted Head says Teachers don’t know Stress. Perhaps Sir Michael Wilshaw should have done his homework.

Source: Ofsted

Teaching is an incredible privilege. It’s hard to underestimate the importance of inspiring and motivating young people – helping them achieve and grow. It was therefore more than a little surprising when Sir Michael Wilshaw, head of the UK schools inspectorate Ofsted, started a finger-wagging tirade accusing teachers of being shirking whiners.

“You youngsters don’t know you’ve been born!” Teachers today surely don’t know what stress is – real stress, he lambasted. “Why, when I was a teacher, I had to walk to work in the wind, rain and snow…” Ok, he didn’t say that, but it was close. Rather than face up to their responsibilities, he says that bad teachers blame ‘stress’ and blame everyone else for their problems.

As an ex-hospital doctor, I can say with some authority that teaching is far from stress-free. But personal experiences and emotions aside, has Sir Michael Wilshaw made some important – if uncomfortable – points? Let us take a, hopefully unbiased, look at his actual statements and whether or not they are justified… Read more

Rare, Medium or Well done? The science of a perfect steak

Gone, but not forgotten....Ribeye FridayVegetarians, look away now. Today’s post is distinctly carnivorous. Read on, you red meat eaters, as we are discussing an issue of upmost culinary importance…

You can’t beat a good steak, I say. Quality medium-rare beef fillet; served with fries and salad is true feel-good food. I know I’m not the only one: it is one of the most popular last meals for death row inmates (after deep fried chicken). Not that that should necessarily be a measure of good taste.

Personal preferences aside (an overcooked sirloin is a travesty), is there a secret to grilling the tastiest, most nutritious steak? Whether or not you like yours with mustard, here’s some science to guide you in the kitchen… Read more

Does eating Celery burn calories? The Science about ‘Negative Calorie’ diets (finally).

1.31.10 CeleryScience can be great for answering life’s little questions – you know, the sort of thing you ponder whilst sitting on the toilet or waiting for the number 49 bus. Does chewing gum take seven years to digest? No. Will eating bread crusts make your hair curl? You should be so lucky. Will eating an apple a day keep the doctor away? Probably not, but it might do you some good. Once in a while, there’s a question that is a bit harder to prove one way or the other.

Take celery. I was recently asked whether eating it caused you to lose weight. Sounds crazy, but the logic behind it is half plausible. It goes something like this: Celery has hardly any calories in it (6 calories per stalk) and the process of digesting food burns energy. Because celery is quite a bulky, fibrous plant it’s going to take a lot of chewing and digesting. Surely that’s more than those meager six calories? If true – eating celery will help you loose weight.

After a bit of digging into the scientific literature, I think I may be able to resolve the negative calorie food debate once and for all… Read more

Looking for a bargain? Don’t shop on a Sunny Day

This post was chosen as an Editor's Selection for ResearchBlogging.orgSpending MoneyForget twitter, Facebook and social networking. If you want real followers – the physical ones – just get yourself a roll of yellow labels. Come early evening when supermarkets start reducing short-dated produce, a rabble of anxious-looking shoppers will invariably tail staff members as they mark down food. It seems many of us are ravenous for bargains in this age of austerity.

If you’re someone who loves snapping up deals – take some advice: avoid the high street on a sunny day. Blue skies are great for lifting the mood, but as recent research shows – it also impairs your ability to spot a shrewd bargain… Read more

The psychological cost of being a stripper

Gorgeous LibrariansA few days ago I heard an interesting radio debate. Following the news that footballer Mario Balotelli was caught out visiting a strip club, BBC Radio 5 Live held a late-night telephone discussion about the rights and wrongs of ‘gentlemen’s clubs’. A feminist speaker argued that such establishments unfairly degrade women. Opposing her, a female strip bar owner claimed strip joints were nothing of the sort – striptease performances were ‘natural’ and ‘harmless fun’.

Remarkably, morality never entered the debate and the arguments hinged on personal choice and the psychological wellbeing of the strippers. The strip club proprietor claimed all her workers were well-informed adult women who enjoyed showing off their bodies. Her antagonist gave anecdotes of women who had suffered serious psychological harm.

Neither party gave any evidence to support their claims – only personal experiences. And whilst very little scientific research has ever explored the issue, there is sufficient to peep in on the truth of a female stripper’s mental wellbeing… Read more

Most people think dreams predict the future. Do you?

Falling SkywardFreud told us that dreams are the ‘royal road to the unconscious’. Many religions say that dreams are a way to hear from a higher power. But how many of us in today’s secular culture actually believe that? More than you might expect.

If you thought most people ignored their dreams – you would be wrong. Imagine that you were warned of an impending disaster – what would it take to make you do something? What if you dreamt last night that something terrible was going to happen today? As irrational as it sounds, most of us, it seems, value our night-time ruminations much more than our waking ones… Read more

Drinking Alcohol makes you pee more – but how much?

Original 16Too much tipple and you’ll know about it the next day.

The dreaded hangover – headaches, fatigue and nausea are normal Sunday morning sensations for many a Saturday night reveller. Dehydration is frequently said to be the reason for hangover symptoms – and some swear that a pint of tap water before bed thwarts any alcohol-induced ill-effects. But given the amount of fluid drunk during a night on the town, it sounds like quite an odd idea.

So just how dehydrating is alcohol – and can lack of water really explain a hangover? The data is difficult to find: no-one seems very interested in researching hangovers these days. It’s therefore time to blow the digital dust of a seventy year-old research paper to find an answer… Read more