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People

People on Europa Now: profiles of the founders and makers giving the European tech scene its accent.

In a trial with 226 people, researchers kept tempting audiobooks on iPods that one group could access only at the gym — that group initially visited 51% more often than the controls, though the advantage faded as the study crossed the Thanksgiving br

People

Why Gym Audiobooks Fade: What Behaviour Science Reveals About Starting, Sustaining and Restarting

A landmark study pairing audiobooks with gym access boosted initial visits by 51%, but the effect weakened after a holiday break. Subsequent research shows that starting, maintaining and recovering from lapses in exercise routines require fundamentally different interventions.
The Reflexes Machine turns a reaction game into an interactive experience

Makers

How a Maker Built an AI-Powered Arcade Game with Arduino's Dual-Brain Board

An Arduino community member combined computer vision, modular sensors, and the UNO Q board to create an interactive reaction game that detects players and invites them to compete.
Psychology says adults who apologise constantly — for opinions, for taking up space, for existing in a room — weren't taught humility, they were taught that their presence was an inconvenience that required ongoing justification

People

The Apology Trap: Why Constant Sorry Signals Deeper Wounds, Not Politeness

Psychologists argue that chronic apologising reveals internalized shame rather than genuine humility—a pattern often rooted in childhood experiences of conditional love and social anxiety.
At a New York university copier, adding “because I have to make copies” raised agreement to a small favour from 60% to 93% — for a bigger favour, agreement was 24% with or without the explanation, leaving the redundant explanation no better than aski

People

Why the Famous Copier Study's Lesson Doesn't Always Hold Up

A classic psychology experiment showed that adding a reason—even a redundant one—boosted compliance with small requests. But the finding's real insight lies in what it didn't test: the effect vanishes when asking for something substantial.
Why Simplicity Can Feel More Persuasive, Even When It Is Not More True

People

The Illusion of Simplicity: Why Easy-to-Process Information Feels True (But Isn't)

Research on how people perceive information shows that ease of processing can shape judgements about truth and authenticity—but it cannot verify either. A closer look at the science reveals why simplicity alone is no guarantee of honesty.
What ‘Weaponised Incompetence’ Names, and What It Cannot Prove

People

Beyond the Label: What 'Weaponised Incompetence' Actually Reveals—and What It Cannot

Academic research on household cognitive labour documents real imbalances, but the popular term conflates observable patterns with proof of deliberate manipulation. Intent remains far harder to establish than the catchy phrase suggests.
Why High-Cost Consumer Debt Is Easy to Underestimate

People

The Hidden Complexity of Consumer Debt: Why Comparing Loans Requires More Than Moral Judgement

Credit cards, payday loans, and buy-now-pay-later products operate under fundamentally different mechanisms, each with distinct costs and risks. Understanding why high-cost consumer debt proves difficult to evaluate requires examining contract terms rather than dismissing borrowers as irrational.
At Harvard, men paid to assemble Lego Bionicle models built an average of 10.6 when their finished work stayed on the desk — but only 7.2 when the experimenter dismantled it as they worked, handing back the same plastic pieces to be built again.

People

When Work Disappears: Harvard Study Shows Visible Progress Shapes Effort

A Harvard experiment on Lego assembly reveals how the fate of completed work influences whether people continue—a finding with implications for understanding motivation beyond the laboratory.