Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Science has a fascinating piece on how cultures developed words for numbers – many languages don’t have words for numbers above five.
The majority illusion. The social illusion covered by Tech Review where something can seem socially common despite being rare in the overall group.
Wired has a thought-provoking piece on the potential role of the internet in hastening the demise of dying languages.
Researchers who reported a study on how oxytocin increases trust try and fail to replicate their own results. Good coverage from Neuroskeptic.
The LA Times has a good piece in light of the Hajj disaster that dispels some crowd behaviour myths.
There’s a brilliant piece from boxer Jerome Wilson on what it’s like to recover from a serious brain trauma in The Telegraph. Really, it’s great, go and read it.
The Guardian covers the news that a man completes a 3.5-metre course thanks to computer system that reroutes signals from his brain to electrodes on his knees.
DeepMind’s AI can now beat humans at 31 Atari 2600 arcade games, reports TechRepublic. Still thinks ET was rubbish.
Pacific Standard has a fascinating piece on how our understanding of Neanderthals has dramatically and rapidly shifted.
Guy puts cameras in his home to record every second of his new baby’s life to record his exposure to language and work out how new words emerge. Great study and findings covered in Science News.
AlterNet has a good piece critiquing the concept of ‘sex addiction‘.
Mind Hacks 