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What is a narcissistic pervert? Mar 22, 2020

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What is a narcissistic pervert?

It seems like we hear about narcissistic perverts pretty often these days. They are charming manipulators who often turn their partners’ or families’ lives into hell. So, are we all surrounded by narcissistic perverts?

The term has its origins in psychoanalysis. It was coined in the 1980s and began to get more attention at the start of the 21st century. Narcissus was a mythical figure from ancient Greek times, known for his pride and beauty. He met his demise when gazing into his own reflection in a pool of water. He became so entranced that he ended up drowning without realising what was happening.

Narcissistic perverts are characterised as having a negative self-image. They lie to and belittle others in order to increase their own self-esteem. They act like they are better than others, need to be admired and are conscious of their manipulation skills, all the while feeling no empathy when seeing others suffer.

More often than not, narcissistic perverts are male. They may cause harm to their romantic partner, but it could also be a work colleague, friend or family member. The causes of this behaviour haven’t been identified, but psychologists believe an overprotected childhood, with high expectations, may be a cause. On the other hand, narcissistic perverts could also have been abused or neglected as children.

There’s no need to overreact and fear encountering narcissistic perverts everywhere. The description has become prominent in popular psychology, often discussed in the media. It was also one of the most searched terms on Google in 2019. Nevertheless, they’re not hanging out on every street corner. The term is also not formally recognised in psychiatry, so there are no official figures on how many narcissistic perverts are really out there. But the similar sounding narcissistic personality disorder only affects between 0.5 and 1% of the general population. We might be too quick to label people, when they display one or more character traits which are synonymous with this disorder.

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What is Flygskam? Mar 21, 2020

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What is Flygskam?

Flygskam is a Swedish neologism, which literally translates into English as “flight shame”. Confronted with the high level of pollution generated by this form of transport, more and more people are ashamed of travelling by plane. Some are even going as far as boycotting it as a means of transport, a trend which is of course of concern to airlines and plane manufacturers.

The word originated in Sweden in 2017, but really entered the mainstream in the English-speaking world a couple of years later. That was largely due to the growing fame and speeches of Greta Thunberg. This shame of travelling by air comes from growing awareness of environmental issues. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that aviation is responsible for 3.5% of global climate change. They estimate that figure could grow to 5 - 15% by 2050, if action isn’t taken to cut emissions.

It’s the wealthy who contribute the most towards air pollution. According to a study by non profit organization The International Council on Clean Transportation, 12% of the American population account for two-thirds of total flights out of the USA. These frequent flyers average 6 or more return journeys per year. Of course, that means they are also responsible for two thirds of the resulting greenhouse gas emissions.

Some governments have taken action already, by bringing taxes on kerosene, one of the main aviation fuels. In the European Union, kerosene is currently exempt from taxation but activists are campaigning to revoke that agreement. In the meantime, another solution is to not take the plane at all, opting for shorter-distance journeys which can be made by train.

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What is Asperger Syndrome? Mar 19, 2020

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What is Asperger Syndrome?

Asperger Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder, characterised by difficulties in social interactions and restricted interests. Asperger’s is often diagnosed late, which is why associations run campaigns to increase awareness. International Asperger’s Day is celebrated every year on the 18th of February, to educate the general public and highlight the challenges faced by those with Asperger’s.

People living with Asperger Syndrome can have a hard time building friendships or romantic relationships, due to the difficulties they have understanding social conventions. They also have repetitive behaviour and very specific interests.

The syndrome was named after Austrian paediatrician Hans Asperger. As a child, Asperger himself had trouble finding friends and was talented in language. Years later he observed similar traits among child patients in his clinic and published a paper on the findings.

Asperger Syndrome came into mainstream consciousness in the 1980s and was added to the umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in 2013.

Asperger Syndrome is a form of autism, but autism itself is characterised by some intellectual deficit or language learning impairment. That’s not the case with Asperger’s. In fact, people with the syndrome tend to use a relatively sophisticated level of language. They may however struggle to understand metaphors or irony, usually taking things at face value and being very direct.

The lives of those with Asperger’s are complicated due to physical clumsiness, as well as hypersensitivity to noise, light and odours. More generally, they can have trouble recognising their own emotions and the emotions of others. They can’t always interpret forms of non-verbal communication like gestures and facial expressions.

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What is the Halo Effect? Mar 18, 2020

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What is the Halo Effect?

The Halo Effect is a form of cognitive bias, whereby we base our overall opinion of a person on a single characteristic. It’s most often a positive characteristic, hence the name - it’s as if we see the person as having a halo.

The Halo Effect was named in 1920 by American psychologist Edward Thorndike. He carried out an experiment among commanding officers in the military. They had to evaluate their soldiers on a number of physical characteristics and personality traits. The officers tended to associate superior physique with superior intellect, loyalty and leadership. On the other hand, when their perception created a negative aura around a soldier, they could only see negative characteristics. This is known as the “reverse halo effect”, or “horns effect”.

Our brains find it hard to accept anything that contradicts our first impression of another person. That rings true even when we are presented with evidence to the contrary. That’s because our minds actively look for information to confirm pre-existing beliefs.

The Halo Effect can lead to forms of appearance discrimination in many domains. In the professional world, a physically attractive job hunter may be seen as more intelligent and competent than other candidates, even if it’s not really the case. If a recruiter notices a positive trait in the candidate, they tend to pay less attention to their flaws.

The candidate would then have a higher chance of being recruited for a skilled job, as well as greater salary expectations. Being tall is also beneficial in terms of earning more money. According to one study, we earn 300$ more per year for every extra centimetre in height.

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What is a power nap? Mar 16, 2020

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What is a power nap?

A power nap is a short sleep which is long enough to give an energy boost, but not so long that you enter deep sleep. The term was coined by American social psychologist James Maas, a professor at Cornell University. Science shows that power naps could be of benefit to employees in the workplace, where efficiency is key.

Sometimes, a power nap lasts just a few seconds, in which case it’s referred to as a microsleep. Dali would do it in a seated position, holding a spoon between his fingers. When he started to fall asleep, his grip on the spoon would loosen and the sound of the spoon hitting the floor would of course wake him up immediately. Microsleeps can be experienced in front of our computers, or in public transport, when we are woken by our heads nodding. Power naps supplement regular sleep, in order to maximise its benefits for the body. That’s especially true for those who don’t get enough sleep at night time.

The ideal length of a power nap is 15 to 20 minutes. This allows the body enough time to enter a light sleep stage and remain there for at least 2 minutes. It also helps us to feel in good shape for a whole afternoon. Nevertheless, be careful not to go over 30 minutes when napping. Otherwise you may enter a deep sleep phase. That can result in feeling groggy and disoriented when waking up, basically more tired than before starting the nap and wiping out its benefits.

For many years, scientists have been studying the benefits of sleep, in the form of both naps and longer length. Tests have been run on a wide range of cognitive processes, generally showing naps to be as beneficial as a full night’s sleep for some memory-related tasks. Other studies have shown the possible impact of napping on our health, in particular reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

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What is Deep Learning? Mar 13, 2020

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What is Deep Learning?

Deep learning is a machine learning method based on artificial intelligence. With deep learning, machines are able to learn by themselves. That differs from programming, where they simply execute predetermined rules.

Deep learning relies on artificial neural networks inspired by the human brain. These networks are made up of tens or hundreds of layers of neurons, each receiving and interpreting information from the preceding layer. Deep learning is based on these algorithms, as well as image recognition and robotic vision. The higher the number of neurons, the deeper the network. The system learns to recognise letters and words in text, or faces in photos, which it can then identify.

Let’s imagine we want to use a neural network to recognise photos in which at least one cat is present. In order to identify cats in the images, the algorithm needs to be able to distinguish different types of cat, and to recognise the cat no matter what angle the picture is taken from.

To do this, the neural network has to be trained. It has to compile a selection of images to practice deep learning. This would be made up of thousands of examples of different cats, mixed with images of objects which are not cats. These images are then converted into data and transferred onto the network. The artificial neurons assign a weight to each different element. The final layer of neurons reassembles all the information to determine if it is indeed a cat or not.

The neural network then compares this response to correct answers given by humans. If the answers match, the network remembers this success and will reuse it later in order to recognise cats. If wrong, the network also notes the error and adjusts the weight on the various neurons to correct it. The process repeats thousands of times until the network is able to recognise a cat in an image without fail.

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What is a pension fund? Mar 12, 2020

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What is a pension fund?

A pension fund is a retirement scheme created by a company or public employer in order to save money for its employees. Belonging to a pension fund may be compulsory or optional. Employees make contributions to the fund, as do employers most of the time.

When an employee retires, they can choose to receive a lump sum right away, or a series of regular payments throughout their retirement, like an annuity. That’s how a funded pension scheme works, because the plan has enough assets to pay retirees for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, with unfunded plans, payments are made directly from contributions and no capital is accumulated.

The pension fund system first developed in Scotland, with the creation of the “Scottish Widows” scheme in 1815. That insured widows of Scottish soldiers killed during the Napoleonic wars with France. Nowadays, pension funds are particularly common in the United States, but the largest pension fund in the world is Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund. It was created in 1954 and now manages assets of $1.4 trillion.

Pension plans rely on asset management companies to look after the contributions they receive. These companies, generally banks, insurers or specialists, aim to maintain the capital held in the fund and make a profit. American global investment management corporation BlackRock is the number one in the world, with over $7 trillion in assets managed as of the end of 2019.

Their activities are strictly regulated. Each country has its own prudential standards. All capital collected must be divided between a number of asset classes. The primary law governing pension plans in the USA is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Some funds are defined benefit pension plans, whereby the pension payment or lump sum is guaranteed. But these are getting rarer and rarer, giving way to defined contribution schemes. This means only the contributions collected are guaranteed.

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What is 5G? Mar 11, 2020

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What is 5G?

5G is the fifth and newest generation of mobile connectivity. Its commercial rollout has already begun, with the four major US carriers having begun deployment in 2019. The GSMA estimates that 5G will account for 20% of all global connections by 2025. What’s more, this technological advance is at the heart of many economic and geopolitical issues. But associations and researchers have also warned on the potential risks 5G represents to health and the environment.

Supporters of 5G have made big promises. Compared to 4G, the technology should allow for connection speeds which are 10 to 100 times faster, with minimal latency. These connection speeds are perfect for playing the most demanding of online games and streaming series in the highest quality available without any loading.

Above and beyond that, 5G marks a further step in the development of “Smart cities”, in which all kinds of connected objects communicate between one another. One of the main technologies standing to benefit from 5G is the driverless car. It’s anticipated that the reaction time of self-driving cars will improve to 1 millisecond thanks to 5G, making them smarter and safer.

That’s why this new generation is presented by governments as being a major strategic industrial development.

On the other hand, associations have warned about risks of insomnia, infertility and even cancer. The World Health Organisation does indeed class electromagnetic waves as a possible cause of cancers.

Experts have responded by saying that 5G waves have a length of around 3.5 GHZ, thus smaller than 4G waves. Therefore, they couldn’t cause cell damage, but may still be harmful to skin, eyes, eardrums, nerve endings and blood circulation.

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What is blue light? Mar 09, 2020

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What is blue light?

Blue light is a type of high-energy visible light, with a wavelength between 400 and 450 nanometers. It is emitted by many sources of light, from the Sun to LED screens. Scientists have issued warnings about the dangerous nature of blue light. All the same, it’s not certain that the “night mode” on our devices is any better for our eyes.

In recent decades, the general public’s exposure to blue light has massively increased. This is due to LED screens being much more present in society, in artificial lights, as well as smartphone, tablet and computer screens.

According to scientists, blue light can be dangerous. It can lead to impaired version, and is allegedly a risk factor for cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Furthermore, being exposed to blue light in the evening or at night can disturb our circadian rhythm. Past studies have suggested that it suppresses melatonin, a hormone which affects sleep. To sum up, the more we are exposed to blue light, the more our sleep quality is affected.

Since the risks associated with blue light were discovered, smartphone and PC manufacturers have developed “night modes” for their devices. When activated, displays automatically shift to an orange-yellow tint from a certain time in the evening through to sunrise.

But a study published in December 2019 showed that night mode may not actually be better than blue light, and could even be worse. Researchers at the University of Manchester carried out experiments on mice. They found that blue light was less disruptive to their sleep, compared to yellow light of the same brightness.

This may be because “cold” colours, such as blue, are closer to the colour of natural nighttime light. Whereas on the other hand, it’s more natural to look at warmer colours during the day. Our body clocks rely on shades of light to determine whether it’s time to sleep or be awake. Blue light may therefore disturb sleep less than night mode, which uses daytime colours.

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What is the Green New Deal? Mar 07, 2020

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What is the Green New Deal?

The Green New Deal is a proposed package of legislation in the United States, designed to tackle climate change. It was introduced by Democrats and could revolutionise the American economy, if it is ever put into practice.

If the name “Green New Deal” sounds familiar, it’s likely because it refers to President Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s. That consisted of a series of public works programs and financial reforms, aiming to revive the economy in response to the Great Depression of 1929.

This important moment in American history is indeed inspiring the left wing, who wish to implement a Green New Deal. They believe that global economic and environmental crises are both caused by a system which is at breaking point. And that if governments do nothing to combat this, we could be on our way to disaster.

The proposals call for a 10-year mobilisation to drastically reduce carbon emissions in the USA. Firstly, fossil fuels (gas, carbon and petrol) would be abandoned and workers would be trained to perform new jobs in a post-ecological transition society.

Massive investments in transport, agriculture and energy would be required to make them cleaner. Meanwhile, polluting energies would no longer be subsidized under the Green New Deal. By 2030, 100% of the USA’s electricity would be sourced from renewable and zero-emissions power. To address social justice, the government would have a duty to provide job training to those who previously worked in fossil fuel industries.

One of the leading figures behind the Green New Deal is Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She first made history by being the youngest ever woman to be elected to Congress in 2018, and has made a name as a real media phenomenon.

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