Tag Archives: science

Focus on Effort, Not on Smarts

Posted on by
Reply

In a detailed article Jonah Lehrer discusses scientific studies that focus on how and why people learn the way they do.

In an experiment conducted with fifth graders:

Half of the kids were praised for their intelligence. “You must be smart at this,” the researcher said. The other students were praised for their effort: “You must have worked really hard.”

What do you think happened?

But it soon became clear that the type of compliment given to the fifth graders dramatically affected their choice of tests. When kids were praised for their effort, nearly 90 percent chose the harder set of puzzles. However, when kids were praised for their intelligence, most of them went for the easier test.

Why is that?

According to Dweck, praising kids for intelligence encourages them to “look” smart, which means that they shouldn’t risk making a mistake.

This verifies everything I’ve previously read and experienced.  Smarts help but it’s the driving effort that truly matters.  You can be the smartest person alive, however if you don’t take risks and stretch yourself you won’t accomplish nearly as much.

23andMe DNA Day Sale

Posted on by
Reply

You’re only as healthy as you are knowledgeable. That’s an old saying that I just made up making it quite new and fresh.

Doctors know a fair amount about your health because it’s their job to understand the human body and treat it for any ills or problems. They also get the luxury of examining their patients, giving them hands-on access to each person’s specific ailments and conditions. This helps them diagnose and treat each of us when we get sick.

There’s one thing that our everyday doctors don’t have the luxury of having: access to our DNA. I can only imagine the possibilities of how effective a doctor could be if they knew what was stored in each of our DNA sequences. They’d be able to predict illness far ahead a time and treat them accordingly, and also offer other lifestyle suggestions that would just make everyday life that much more enjoyable.

Thanks to a relatively new company called 23andMe this is now possible for everyone! I’ve been excited about using 23andMe’s services for over a year now but their price point always drove me away: $500 for a full DNA analysis and results.

But! Like any other savvy business 23andMe is currently holding their annual DNA Day Sale where the cost to purchase their services has tumbled to a much kinder cost of $109.

So if you’re interested in knowing what’s in your DNA then head on over to 23andMe right now and sign up to take advantage of this one day sale! I’ve ordered mine – can’t wait to hear the results. :D

Week of Links 004

Posted on by
1

Sorry about the delay for getting this post online. It’s been a wickedly busy week and I figured it be better to take my time with this post rather than rush it. Lots of great goodies for you here. Read on, and enjoy!


Continue reading →

23andMe Genetic Testing

Posted on by
Reply

I love new and cool technologies.  This ranges from the supreme laziness afforded by an iRobot Dirt Dog to the awesome laziness afforded by a Segway.  Yet these two gadgets pall in comparison to my somewhat fanatical interest in a (relatively) new company called 23andMe:

23andMe’s mission is to be the world’s trusted source of personal genetic information.

So exactly what does 23andMe offer?  Personal genetic testing for health, disease, and ancestry.  In brief they are a DNA testing laboratory that will give you a very thorough and complete breakdown of your own DNA.  Sounds awesome to me.

I’ve been interested in trying out their services for a while however I cannot honestly rationalize their $500 price for something that I perceive as an awesome (and somewhat practical) luxury.  Maybe I’ll give it to myself as a birthday present, or perhaps someone else will.

I recently found a very thorough breakdown and review of a blogger who bought and used 23andMe’s services.  Go take a look at Paul’s write-up of his experience using 23andMe.  Looks really cool to me, however it still looks to be a luxury purchase.

The future is coming sooner than I can imagine.  I hope the next scientific development is personal body modifications.  I would love to have claws like Wolverine.  I would save so much on shaving costs.