Learning! Roundup: Unicorns Were Real, Violent Video Games, Baby Logic, and More!

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Unicorns Were Real

Turns out that unicorns were real, but they were terrifying creatures. Instead of being beautiful, mystical horses with graceful horns that may or may not grant eternal life, it's more like a precursor to the rhinoceros with a little wooly mammoth thrown in: big and heavy, with a huge knife sticking out of its head.

Video Games and Violence

The research over whether or not violent video games lead to aggression in real life is still, well, in a battle. A new study has come out on the "don't worry about it" side, showing that violent video games do not produce any long-term effects on a person's behaviour (among adults).

Babies Get Logic

Since I am at that life stage where many of my friends have kids in the baby-to-toddler age range, I have heard them say many times, "Oh, she understands me," about a baby who is barely speaking and can't really respond. I always wondered how on earth they could tell. Research has now vindicated those parents, showing that babies without language are able to understand logic.

The Irish Weren't Slaves

Apparently there is a nice little internet myth going around that says that the Irish were once slaves. Naturally, it's used to try to undermine conversations about slavery of black people in America and any responsibility for white Americans for social change now, because people are the worst. Well, it's not true: the Irish were never slaves.

Raising Boys

This is a lovely collection of advice, based on scientific research, on what to do at various developmental stages for boys in order to raise them to care more about people's feelings and (just maybe) respect women when they are adults.

Coupling Up

Turns out that being in a good romantic relationship may lead you to have a healthier lifestyle overall, but it does also make you more likely to gain weight. I guess we really do just care a little less about social pressure to be thin once we've found someone!

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