Recent Science News

Mathematicians’ blackboard work turns unpredictable minutes before a eureka moment
Video of mathematicians solving hard proofs showed that their shifts between blackboard inscriptions became steadily less predictable starting more than two minutes before they voiced a sudden insight, an early warning sign like those that precede tipping points in ecosystems.

Facebook and LinkedIn messaging boosts right-wing populists in the EU, not the left
Across the EU-27 from 2014 to 2020, political messaging on Facebook and LinkedIn boosted the electoral success of right-wing populist parties, while left-wing parties' activity on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn did not.

Paying people $20 to vote would be legal and could lift low-income turnout, Note argues
A California Law Review Note argues that a small payment for voting, perhaps $20 in a local election, would draw low-income voters more than wealthy ones and would survive federal vote-buying law and constitutional challenge.

Activism is pushing out theory in social science, a sociologist argues
Ashley Rubin argues that research on punishment increasingly swaps explanation for moral condemnation, as an activist logic of exposing injustice displaces the scientific logic of explaining it. The result, she says, is stalled theory and eroding public trust in academics.

Saying “2 hours and 59 minutes” makes time feel longer than “3 hours”
Describing time with a large and a small unit, like "2 hours and 59 minutes" or "by 8 PM on June 30", makes durations feel longer than a single unit does, nine preregistered experiments and online course platform data show.

Couples who met through online dating report slightly less happy, less stable marriages
In a survey of 923 married US adults, about half of whom met their spouse online, online daters reported somewhat less satisfying and stable marriages. The gap was modest, and was explained by greater social marginalization and geographic distance.

Kind, helpful people send more emojis and favour the cheerful ones
In a survey of 222 adults, people who reported more prosocial behaviour used emojis more often and preferred positive ones, while poorer mental health went with a stronger liking for negative emojis (r = .42).