Books

• The book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is about a young man, Chris McCandless, who left his comfortable life outside of Washington D.C., gave his money away and burned the rest, and headed to the Alaskan wilderness.  Why did he do it?  To get away from the urban sprawl?  To get in tune with nature?  Chris’s younger sister, Carine McCandless, reveals why: to get away from abusive parents.

Ethics

• What makes someone a hero?  According Jason Brennan at Bleeding Heart Libertarians with a controversial post, probably not soldiers.

Health

• New university students who bought a fitness center membership in their first semester maintained higher grades and were less likely to drop out than other students.
• Routine meditation can enhance creativity, by increasing the number, diversity, and originality of ideas while brainstorming.
• Utah has a high rate of suicide.  One neuroscientist thinks he’s found out why: altitude.

Justice

• People who viewed themselves as physically attractive believed that they belonged to a higher social class and because of this, made fewer donations to a movement supporting social equality.  In other words, if you think you’re attractive, you’re less likely to fight social inequality.

Relationships

• The survival of relationships comes down to two things: kindness and generosity.

Religion

• How American religious groups view other religious groups. 

Technology

• The ride-sharing app Uber is exploiting the drivers.

Willpower

• Martial arts classes that emphasized building self-control, discipline, and character improved children’s willpower more than traditional physical education classes.  The study was done using Tae Kwon Do.