How Medical Data Revealed Secret to Health and Happiness
The Framingham Heart Study began in 1948 and followed over 5,000 participants for decades. The volunteers made up 40% of the population of Framingham, Massachusetts.
In 2003, Nicholas Christakis, a social scientist and internist at Harvard, and James Fowler, a political scientist at UC San Diego, began searching through the Framingham data. But they didn’t care about LDL cholesterol or enlarged left ventricles. Rather, they were drawn to a clerical quirk: The original Framingham researchers noted each participant’s close friends, colleagues, and family members.
“They asked for follow-up purposes,” Christakis says. “If someone moved away, the researchers would call their friends and try to track them down.”
Christakis and Fowler used the social data to study changes in the population over time. They constructed networks of the volunteers social connections to see how these connections affected any changes. The findings? Some behaviors are contagious. Social connections with up to three degrees of separation influence whether we quit smoking or become fat. And even happiness is contagious, both online and offline. The social connections of the Framingham volunteers are graphically illustrated at Wired. Link
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Face vs. Body
There have been many studies about what body part attracts the opposite sex, but few studies that compare the importance of body parts to each other. A new study suggests that people assign more importance to faces than bodies when they are looking for a long-term relationship. For a potential short-term relationship, men assigned slightly more importance to the appearance of a woman’s body, while women cared more about a man’s face.
Statistical analysis of men rating women indicated that, even though both the body and face ratings were significant positive predictors of the ratings given to the combined images, the face ratings were stronger predictors of the combined ratings. It was also observed that the ratings for combined images was slightly higher for short term relationships as compared to long term relationships. One other significant observation – when the short term and long term relationship data were analyzed separately, the body ratings stood as more significant predictors to the combined ratings than face ratings, for short term relationships. In the case of females rating men, similar to men – the body and face ratings were both significant predictors with the face ratings being very strong predictors as compared to the body ratings. However, females ratings for men did not show any difference under the short term and long term decisions.
This only makes sense, as we tend to cover our bodies most of the time, but you have to look at that face a lot. Link -via Digg
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America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up
U.S. News and World Report surveyed cities across the US to determine the best places to raise kids. They took into account crime rates, school system ratings, cultural opportunities, recreational activities, child-friendly policies, and other factors. The results:
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Madison, Alabama
San Jose, California
Overland Park, Kansas
Boston, Massachusetts
Denver, Colorado
Rochester, Minnesota
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Plano, Texas
Edison, New Jersey
The advantages of each city are listed in the story and slide show. Link -via Digg
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How Americans Spend Their Time
This interactive graphic from the New York Times shows what activities Americans over age 15 are engaged in at different times of the day. It may look confusing at first, but if you go to the link, just run your mouse over the graph for help and explanations. Link -via Metafilter
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AskMen's Great Male Survey 2009
AskMen has just released the results of their second annual Great Male Survey, involving more than 50,000 of their readers worldwide, to find out what the modern man is thinking about.
As with their first survey last year, some results are interesting and some are quite unexpected. For instance, here are the top 100 most interesting answers:
10. 38% – Own more than seven pairs of shoes
9. 78% – Require more than $1 million to retire comfortably
8. 77% – Think moral standards in business are on the decline
7. 84% – Think it’s important that a girlfriend have "wife potential"
6. 83% – Are actively environmentally friendly
5. 48% – Would dump a girlfriend if she became fat
4. 78% – Exaggerate in the sex stories they tell to friends
3. 36% – Are scared of terrorists
2. 83% – Surf the web on their phone
1. 91% – Believe in marriage
Check out the full survey result here: Link – Thanks Daniel!
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Churchgoers Are More Likely to Support Torture
The Pew Research Center conducts a lot of surveys – but this one yielded a very surprising result: churchgoers, especially Evangelicals, are more likely to support torture than those unaffiliated with any religious organization.
The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.
More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according to the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified — more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.
(Photo: sduffy [Flickr])
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Sexiest Profession: Architect
What profession is found to be the sexiest by women? A survey done by a London dating agency Drawing Down the Moon (date unknown, this has been floating on the Web since 2005) revealed that architects get all the ladies:
Architects are seen as being "balanced and rounded individuals who combine a creative approach with a caring, thoughtful disposition," the survey found. It concluded: "Their ability to cope with pressure of work in a relaxed manner was also deemed to be a significant plus."
Male architects beat stockbrokers, doctors, film directors and teachers to the top spot.
Link – via Swiss Miss
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The Ethics of American Youth
The Josephson Institute Center for Youth Ethics surveyed 29,760 American high school students about their ethics and activities. The results are disturbing.
*a total of 30 percent overall — admitted stealing from a store within the past year.
*More than two of five (42 percent) said that they sometimes lie to save money.
*A substantial majority (64 percent) cheated on a test during the past year
*More than one in four (26 percent) confessed they lied on at least one or two questions on the survey.
*A whopping 93 percent said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character
The report released yesterday covered honesty and integrity. A later report will have survey results on drug use and violence. Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!
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