November 24, 2014
As Thanksgiving approaches, it may feel like everyone else has so much more to be thankful for. Just check your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram: your friends seem to dine at finer restaurants, take more exotic vacations, and attend more exciting parties. Research suggests this is not simply a matter of perception, but a mathematical fact […]
Read moreOctober 30, 2013
“Both theoretical and empirical research may be unnecessarily complicated by failure to recognize the effects of heterogeneity” – Vaupel & Yashin Big Data is daily topic of conversation among data analysts, with much said and written about its promises and pitfalls. The issue of heterogeneity, however, has received scant attention. This is unfortunate, since failing […]
Read moreMarch 22, 2013
Got your attention? Now that I have it, I would like to take a few minutes to discuss the role of limited attention and information overload in science. Attentive acts such as reading a scientific paper (or a tweet), answering an email, or watching a video require mental effort, and since the human brain’s capacity […]
Read more