FEATURES

Wednesday, 13 April 2022 06:10

Why Nigeria's historic dye pits in Kano risk closure

For more than six centuries, a vast area of land in the historic city of Kano in northern Nigeria has been home to dye pits, where beautiful fabrics are produced using ancient techniques. The materials - dyed a signature deep blue colour - have long been sold across Africa and the Middle East. But many worry the industry is now at risk. "The young generation do not want to join the dyeing folks," complains Baba Muhammad as he squats near a wide pit, filled with a murky, indigo coloured liquid. The 75-year-old dips a piece of cloth into the hole,…

Sunday, 10 April 2022 06:32

Here are the biggest signs that someone is lying to you, according to body language expert

Want to be a pro at spotting liars? Pay close attention to their body language. Whether in your personal or professional life, your success depends on your ability to protect yourself again deception. Knowing how to decipher truth from lies helps you make better deals, find the right partners and land the right hires. As a behavioral scientist and body language expert, I study and teach people how to read verbal and physical cues. Here's how to know if you're dealing with a dishonest person: Step 1: Determine their baseline A person's baseline is how they act when they are…

Saturday, 09 April 2022 05:52

Men overestimate and women underestimate their IQ. Here’s why

When asked to estimate their own intelligence, most people will say they are above average, even though this is a statistical improbability. This is a normal, healthy cognitive bias and extends to any socially desirable trait such as honesty, driving ability and so on. This pattern is so common that it’s known as “the above-average effect”. In a recent study, my colleagues and I explored how consistently men and women estimated their own intelligence or IQ (intelligence quotient). We also assessed measures of general self-esteem and masculine and feminine personality traits. We found the strongest predictors of overestimating IQ were…

Saturday, 02 April 2022 06:08

Couples who pool their money are more likely to stay together, research finds

Whether or not couples combine their money, specifically liquid wealth, may help determine whether their relationship will last. Couples who communicate openly about money tend to feel that they're on the same team. "Feeling like you're on a team together with your partner promotes relationship satisfaction," one expert said. There are ways all couples can increase their chances of success. When it comes to money, couples face a big question: Combine finances, keep them separate or do a combination of both? Now, research finds that those who do pool their money are more likely to stay together. The study, titled…

Sunday, 27 March 2022 06:29

Want to be happier, healthier, and wealthier? Science says start seeing 'future you' the right way

The more connection you feel between who you are now and who you will be, the greater your later life satisfaction and well-being. Imagine yourself 10 or 20 years in the future. Not physically--because 40-year-old me would not have been happy with 60-year-old me--but in terms of who you are inside. How you answer that question tends to put you in one of two basic camps. Some people see themselves as basically the same: Where you live might change, your profession might change, your circumstances might change, but deep inside you see yourself as roughly the same. As social psychologists…

Saturday, 26 March 2022 06:14

Stress and anxiety wear down your brain. Here’s how to fight back

Perhaps you find yourself caught in an endless scroll on social media, or closing apps just to immediately reopen them. Perhaps you pick up a book only to put it back down shortly after because none of the words are registering. Perhaps you have so much on your plate that your mind keeps jumping from thought to thought without actually finishing any of them. If any of that resonates, you’re not alone. The ongoing, prolonged pandemic has unbalanced our health and wellbeing in every sense, including our ability to focus and pay attention. The good news is that this damage…

Sunday, 20 March 2022 06:25

The all-too-common grammar mistakes even very smart people make

I have a Master's degree in English, and I've done it myself. Have you made the mistake of mismatching pronouns? Almost everyone has. That includes the venerable and usually perfectly grammatical New York Times, most of your favorite writers--and me. I have a Master's in English, I've studied linguistics, and I've been a professional author and journalist for decades. I've still messed this up in my own writing. If you want your own prose to be clear and also grammatical, you need to follow the rules governing pronouns and antecedents. That may sound obscure, but it comes up in pretty…

Saturday, 19 March 2022 06:02

Happiness among UK young people hit 13-year low, study finds

Britain’s youth has lost its social swagger, with happiness and confidence among 16- to 25-year-olds plunging to a 13-year low, according to research exposing the impact of Covid. With music festivals cancelled, nightclubs shuttered and students confined to halls of residence, 40% of young people now report being anxious about socialising with people, one-third say they don’t know how to make new friends and 35% say they’ve never felt more alone, a study by the Prince’s Trust has revealed. Even as the last lockdown restrictions are lifted this week, youth workers say they face an uphill struggle persuading people to…

Friday, 18 March 2022 06:21

How China’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could upend the World Order

Jake Sullivan looks flushed and his jaw is clenched. Across from President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser, over a row of ferns at a matching table draped in blue cloth, sits China’s senior foreign affairs official Yang Jiechi, his mouth frozen in a sanguine smile. The official photograph released by China’s state-run news agency of the two men sitting face to face on March 14 in Rome is a snapshot of how Beijing wants to be seen at this moment as China’s sometime ally Russia continues its deadly invasion of Ukraine: as a confident, emerging power facing a frustrated and…

Friday, 18 March 2022 06:09

How to calm anxiety during turbulence, according to flight attendants

It’s an experience all too familiar with air travelers: One minute the flight is going smoothly, and the next thing you know it feels like the plane is bumping and shaking in all directions. Turbulence is a very common part of air travel, but that doesn’t make it less unpleasant. In fact, research has shown that turbulence is one of the biggest causes of flying anxiety, as many passengers tend to catastrophize and take it as a sign the plane is going down. If you’re someone who gets anxious when you’re on a plane that hits a stretch of rough…

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Sunday, 13 March 2022 06:23

The body part that you first wash in the shower says a lot about you – what’s yours?

When you step into the shower, what's the first body part that gets your attention? Well, lifestyle expert Anu Mukherjee revealed that the body part you wash first says a lot about your personality. FACE According to Mukherjee, people who wash their faces first in the shower love money. These people can often struggle to get along with others, as their point of view on the subject is hard to understand. SHOULDERS Next, it's believed that those who scrub their shoulders right away tend to "carry the world on their shoulders." Describing their devotion, she said that these people don't…

Saturday, 12 March 2022 06:12

Just one drink per day can shrink your brain, study says

Just one pint of beer or average glass of wine a day may begin to shrink the overall volume of the brain, a new study has found, and the damage worsens as the number of daily drinks rises. On average, people at age 50 who drank a pint of beer or 6-ounce glass of wine (two alcohol units) a day in the last month had brains that appeared two years older than those who only drank a half of a beer (one unit), according to the study, which published Friday in the journal Nature. The brains of people that age…

Friday, 11 March 2022 06:08

What bad leaders teach us about leadership

Developing your leadership style is a lot like working out: there’s no quick fix, and you must use a variety of techniques to see progress. As leaders work to define their leadership persona, the focus is often on what they should be doing. Whether it’s listening to others’ perspectives, consulting the advice of a mentor, or investing in continuing education, we all try to learn from and mirror the leaders whose success or character we admire. That said, there’s an argument to be made that you can learn just as many valuable leadership lessons from poor leaders. Early in my…

Thursday, 10 March 2022 06:17

5 biggest red flags that a friend or partner can’t be trusted, according to psychotherapists

The closer you get to someone—romantically or platonically—the bigger the role trust tends to play in your relationship: As you naturally divulge more of yourself to the other person, you increasingly trust them to handle your vulnerability with care. But it’s also in these closest of partnerships that our vision can get clouded by any number of emotions, like lust or love, or even a mental image of how we expect a friendship or relationship to look. As a result, it’s helpful to really internalize the key signs of an untrustworthy person, so you can identify one in your midst,…

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