FEATURES

Saturday, 13 August 2022 06:00

What keeping secrets does to you

I have secrets. So do you. So does everyone else. This is one of the many things human beings do — we hide stuff from other people. But why do we do this? Are we afraid of intimacy? Are we ashamed of our past? And perhaps more importantly, what does all that secrecy cost us? These are questions a new book tries to answer. It’s called The Secret Life of Secretsand the author is Michael Slepian, a psychologist at Columbia University. He’s spent a decade studying secrets and has a lot to say about what they are and what motivates…

Saturday, 06 August 2022 03:44

What is the most dangerous animal in the world? The surprising animal you've already met

From alligators to hippos to pythons, Earth's animals aren't always the most peaceful, especially wild ones. Ourworldindata.org says humans have identified over two million animal species; yet, there are an estimated five to 10 million species, including those undiscovered, on the planet. According to a study from Utah State University's Department of Wildland Resources, "over 47,000 people annually in the United States sought medical attention after being attacked or bitten by wildlife." What's the one animal that outranks all others in terms of danger, and what should you do if you come across it? What is the most dangerous animal…

Sunday, 31 July 2022 06:11

Did this man spend 20 years in prison for murdering a man who is still alive?

Matthew Bremner On an early summer’s day in 2000, Manuel Ramírez was hosting a dinner at his home in Tepexpan, a dusty mining town near Mexico City. Family and friends had come to meet his month-old son. Guests reclined in wicker armchairs, drinks in hand, and fawned over the newborn. At around 8.30pm, several men burst into the house. They claimed to be police officers but produced no identification or warrant, and gave no reason for the intrusion. They crowded into the front room waving guns and spouting threats. One man knocked Ramírez’s Dobermann unconscious. “Who is Manuel Ramírez? Where…

Saturday, 30 July 2022 06:54

To lead cross-culturally, be like a cheetah

The late Ghanaian economist and scholar George Ayittey distinguished between Africa’s ‘hippo’ and ‘cheetah’ generations and advocated for the latter. Because the cheetah is one of the most agile animals and features among the most successful hunters, it’s an appropriate analogy for business leaders on a culturally diverse continent. Ayittey described the cheetah generation as opportunistic, fast and agile. In the continent’s multicultural melting pot, a fundamental component for effective leadership and organisational success is cultural agility. The inevitability of diversity Because of globalisation and the technology that helps drive it, business leaders worldwide have increasingly been confronted by the…

Sunday, 24 July 2022 07:14

Researchers say they've developed a method that can train anyone to be creative. Here’s how

At least since the 1950s psychologists have been peddling creativity training, but ask the average person on the street if creativity can be taught and they'll probably shrug and say, not really. Sure, various techniques can marginally boost creative thinking, but a great many people still believe that you're basically stuck with whatever level of creativity your brain is naturally wired for. That persistent belief that creativity is basically unteachable doesn't say great things about the last 70 or so years of creativity training. Which is why a group of researchers recently set out to re-imagine the field entirely. In…

Sunday, 17 July 2022 05:42

How science stopped backing atheists and started pointing back to God

Stephen C. Meyer Headlines lately have not been encouraging for the faithful. A Gallup poll shows that the percentage of Americans who believe in God has fallen to 81 percent—a drop of 10 percent over the last decade and an all-time low. This accelerating trend is especially pronounced among young adults. According to a Pew Research Center poll, 18-29 year-olds are disproportionately represented among so-called "nones"—atheists, agnostics and the religiously unaffiliated. Pastors and other religious leaders have attributed this trend to many factors: young people being raised outside the church, an unfamiliarity with liturgy and church culture, even Covid-19. We…

Thursday, 14 July 2022 06:45

Book Review: The National Conversation: Interests and Intrigues that shaped the 2014 National Conference

Authors: Akpandem James and Sam Akpe Size: 633 pages Reviewer: Philip Afaha Publisher: Wordsworth Resources Year: 2022 The Amalgamation of 1914 by Lord Frederick Lugard brought the Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria together, but the 2014 National Conference can be said to be the first genuine attempt at the bringing together of the peoples of Nigeria to proffer solutions to their country’s fault-lines. Although the 2014 exercise was not the first time Nigerians gathered to dialogue about their country, it is widely believed to have been the closest Nigeria came to resolving the problems of her nationhood. The 2014…

Sunday, 10 July 2022 06:48

How to be a little less judgmental

Casting judgment on others has never been so easy. Social media gives onlookers the opportunity to scoff at a person’s every choice, from how they dress to what they feed their children. How people have behaved during the pandemic has inspired plenty of judgment in its own right: At the height of restrictions, adherence — or lack thereof — to masking and social distancing measures practically became barometers of people’s characters, indicating a lack of personal responsibility and empathy or an abundance of hysteria and over-caution, depending on your views. While it gets a bad rap, in pre-modern times, judgment…

Saturday, 09 July 2022 06:35

The effortless way to dramatically improve your memory, backed by science

Want to remember more? Close your eyes and daydream for a minute or two. Say you need to remember something important. Information from a meeting where taking notes wasn't possible. A pitch you'll make to investors. A presentation you'll make to employees. So you take mental notes, or review written notes. You study, highlight, or rehearse. If you're smart, you also sleep: According to a 2016 study published in Psychological Science, people who studied before bed, then slept, then did a quick review the next morning not only spent less time studying, they also increased their long-term retention by 50…

Monday, 04 July 2022 06:09

From AM to PM, the fickle force of government is with you

When you groggily roll out of bed and make breakfast, the government edges up to your kitchen table, too. Unlike you, it’s perky. It’s an unseen force in your morning. The government makes sure you can see the nutrients in your cereal. It fusses over your toast, insisting that the flour it comes from has no more than 75 insect fragments and one rodent hair per 50 grams. The government also tends to your coffee, mandating that no more than 10% of your beans be moldy. Its satellites inform the weather forecast on your phone for the day ahead. The…

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Sunday, 03 July 2022 06:49

Can this Bible-inspired diet bring you better health?

It’s not uncommon for people to eat food in accordance with their religious beliefs and culture; the Daniel Diet is a diet based on the Book of Daniel. Many individuals have tried it and found it to be effective, despite what their beliefs may be. Also known as the Daniel Fast Diet, it is a 21-day partial fast that is said to promote weight loss, boost energy, and general wellness. It has been used and endorsed by celebrities like Chris Pratt and Jimmy Kimmel, and with its interesting history, it just may be the diet for you. If you are…

Wednesday, 29 June 2022 06:23

Ukraine war shows limits of drone warfare

In early June, as the U.S. was rushing to provide financial and military support for Ukraine, reports said that four American-made Gray Eagle drones would be part of the package. These are armed drones that are larger than the well-known Predator drone, which became a symbol of the global war on terror. However, the planned sale of these few expensive, complex drones has run into some hurdles because of concern that they might get shot down and their sophisticated systems could fall into Russian hands. While the Pentagon isn’t elaborating on the status of the Gray Eagle sales, the overall…

Tuesday, 28 June 2022 06:52

Travelling to this country scares me more than anywhere else on earth

Nope, it’s not Rwanda, Afghanistan or El Salvador. It’s the increasingly terrifying United States of America. I’ve had some harrowing travel experiences in my time. I’ve been robbed in a tiny town in the middle of Ecuador, where a couple of tourists had been killed days before. I’ve accidentally wandered into Burundi in central Africa, which holds a fairly steady spot on Australia’s ‘reconsider all travel’ list. But there’s one country on earth that puts my heart in my throat more than either of these places; where I feel a near-permanent sense of unease, simply when I’m walking the streets:…

Monday, 20 June 2022 06:58

In Moscow, shoppers feel far less pain than Americans from Ukraine war - Report

As the Russian army intensifies its artillery assaults in eastern Ukraine, life in the Russian capital remains relatively unchanged. Despite the exodus of Western brands from the Russian market, the parks and cafes of Moscow remain as crowded as ever. "I haven't noticed any change in consumer behavior," Iakov Yakubovich, head of Moscow's Tsverskoy Municipal District, told Newsweek. "Other than the obvious rise in price of many goods and services, there's no difference that's visible to the naked eye." On the streets themselves, Moscow's annual season of bicycle-lane installation and sidewalk enlargement is already underway. "We recently allocated an 8%…

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