One of the most powerful weapons a politician has is their words. By controlling language they can shape perceptions. Just think of the effect a phrase like “estate tax” has when turned to “death tax.” Far more powerful, right? In this TED Talk, Etymologist Mark Forsyth walks us through some historical examples of how politicians [...] Read more »
Sales of printed newspapers have been on the decline over the last decade. In attempts to save their companies and earn more revenue, most newspapers have put their content online for free. The model here being to earn money from advertising. But it does not appear this model is saving the industry completely either. Now, [...] Read more »
Is Albert Einstein turning in his grave because of the way we interact today? According to this image, the answer is yes. This viral meme has been getting passed around the Internet faster than you can say E=mc². The graphic contains a series of images which depict the way we now communicate with each other [...] Read more »
In today’s digital world, social media can quickly turn a company upside down if they’re not careful. And last month that’s what one man nearly did via Facebook. On October 2nd, a British man named Richard Neill captivated Facebook with a comment he posted on the page of Bodyform Maxi Pads. He wrote in response [...] Read more »
Jeff Hancock thinks you’re a liar. But not in some awful you’re-a-terrible-person sort of way. The cognitive science and communication professor from Cornell simply thinks we use lies to manage our relationships respectfully during a time when we’re constantly connected. In this digital age, people have access to us 24/7 via our phones, social media, [...] Read more »
A new infographic shows that texting has had a major effect on the English language in a short amount of time. Although the technology behind text messaging is less than 20 years old, some studies show that people who text often do not learn or process new words as efficiently as people who engage with [...] Read more »
I came into this Movember excited about the possibilities the month held for my facial hair — because it seems all other months of the year I can never find an excuse great enough to overcome the humiliation of a blonde mustache. I had never participated in Movember, but I decided this year would be [...] Read more »
The 2012 presidential election was especially tough, but a new video compares 60 years of presidential advertisements to show that the latest attack ads and stump speeches are part of a greater American political legacy. The video, created by Australian video editor Hugh Atkin, builds dozens of campaign advertisements from Presidents, candidates, VPs and first [...] Read more »
Jargon significantly slows down communication, and most people tend to tune out when they hear complex theories or research statistics. This is problematic when scientists and engineers need to explain their work to non-experts. Scientists use jargon for a reason–other words simply don’t fit–but if they cannot communicate clearly with non-scientists [...] Read more »
We know that nonverbal communication affects the way that other people perceive us, but social psychologist Amy Cuddy says that body language can also affect how we see ourselves. Nonverbal communication affects almost every aspect of our lives and often determines the people that we elect to public office, the grades that we receive in [...] Read more »