Inform Not Persuade
Good morning. Each day, I share new insights from my research on ‘perspective agents’—intelligent products and ideas that change the way we see the world. If you want to learn more you can subscribe here.
November 24, 2020:
A group of social scientists at the University of Cambridge recently published five rules on improving communications believability, considering how people process uncertainty, decide on what evidence to trust, and ways narratives affect decision-making. During the pandemic, research teams surveyed participants from 13 countries to determine what sources of information they trusted and why. The primary takeaway: Help people understand what is known about a topic and make up their own minds based on the evidence presented. Inform don’t persuade. (source: Nature)
A new study uncovered a novel method of organizing and understanding color based on neuron activation patterns in the brain. In a paper published in Current Biology, Bevil Conway, a neuroscientist at the National Institutes of Health, was able to show how colors elicit specific patterns of neural activity. He says, “That there is a difference is instructive because it tells us that there is some kind of topographic map of color in the human brain.” Understanding patterns may help scientists restore people’s sight or help them communicate what they see. Perhaps most promising, the findings may shine new light on new laws for how we see and perceive the world around us. (source: Wired)
A long-running mathematics exercise has led to a wide-ranging theory of how the physical world comes together. Dating back to 2016, Hungarian mathematician Gabor Domokos chased a geometric vision, dissecting microscopic fragments, rock outcrops, and planetary surfaces to arrive at a hypothesis. It eventually synthesized into a new mathematical framework and a language to express how all things fall apart. It revealed that the world is assembled from roughly six to eight cube variations, helping geologists better understand erosion or preventing deadly rock slides. (source: Quanta Magazine)
Schools across America are under fire due to the lack of quality, distanced learning resources. To assist, SelfStudy introduced a new AI to create personalized learning environments, deliver the right content in the most effective medium possible, ranging from podcasts, video, and text courses. The platform matches the user’s learning needs and preferences to the most useful resources, delivering a hyper-personalized and optimized learning experience.
Quick Links: Daily news podcasts make up less than 1% of all produced but account for more than 10% of the overall downloads. A new AI helps scientists and research manage conflicts of interest. The 100 best free resources to learn data science and machine learning. How to run a virtual turkey trot this Thanksgiving.