A mouse watches a video of another mouse scratching and becomes itchy. This means contagious scratching isn't based on smells or being familiar with the itchy mouse.

Humans and other social animals suffer from something called contagious itching. It's when you see somebody else scratching and suddenly need to scratch yourself, too. Now, a group of scientists led by Zhou-Feng Chen at the Center for the Study of Itch at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered that mice have the same problem. In the process, the scientists may have identified what causes some contagious behaviors.

Once Chen and his colleagues had established that mice have contagious itching just like other mammals, they wanted to know more. How did such behavior arise in the neurocircuitry of mouse brains? One possibility was that it was a kind of empathetic reaction to mice they knew well or that it was a response to smelling or touching an itchy mouse. But they found that mice could catch itches from strange miceand even from mice they saw on video (see video above). So clearly all they needed was to see another itchy mouse to get itchy themselves.

Chen and his team then dove straight into the neurobiology of the mice. Brain scans of the scratching mice revealed activity in a region called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, whose neurons emitted a chemical called gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP). By switching GRP on and off in mouse brains, the researchers discovered that it governed only contagious scratching. Mice with blocked GRP still got itchy, but they didn't start scratching when they saw other scratching mice.

The researchers used optogenetics, or light stimulation, to trigger activity in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, where social scratching is processed. At first the mouse in this video seems nonplussed, then it starts scratching frantically.

Then the researchers wondered if they could induce contagious scratching even when there were no other mice nearby to catch it from. So they injected GRP directly into their subjects' brains and also used brain implants that stimulated electrical signaling in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Both types of treatment caused the mice to engage in frantic scratching, as if they had just seen one of their fellow rodents scratching themselves. In a paper for Science, Chen and his colleagues suggest that this means contagious scratching is a kind of involuntary response, hardwired into the brain.

University of Sussex neuroscientist Anil Seth, who was not involved in the research, told The Guardian that "very deep and evolutionary ancient mechanisms might be involved."

What kind of evolutionary pressures would create such a fundamental process in the brain? "It's possible that when a lot of mice are scratching, maybe it warns other mice that this is a place that has a lot of insects, and you'd better start scratching before it is too late," Chen told Live Science.

He and his colleagues write that their work also "may have implications for our understanding of neural circuits that control socially contagious behaviors." In other words, it's possible that there are other socially contagious activities in animals that could be induced by brain implants.

It's hard to deny that this sounds like the first step toward some kind of Matrix-like dystopia, where brain implants fool us into thinking we're eating tasty steaks. But that's unlikely. Human behavior is far more complex than what we see in mice. Still, this research has revealed something fascinating about how mammal brains work. With a little neurochemical intervention, scientists can induce social reflexes in mice who are entirely alone.

Science, 2017. DOI: 10.1126/science.aak9748

Listing image by Science

Link:
Creepy mouse experiment helps scientists understand contagious behavior - Ars Technica

Opinion | Column

the picture of health

When you think about the phrase medical research the image that probably enters your mind is a white-coated scientist, carefully pipetting chemicals, culturing cells or observing something under a microscope. For centuries, research in the basic scienceschemistry, physics and biologyproduced medicines most substantive advances. However, a shifting landscape of disease suggests that medicine will have to adopt discoveries from a broader array of disciplines, such as psychology and economics, if it is to effectively address the challenges of the future.

Translational research is the process of transitioning discoveries from bench to bedsideleveraging fundamental scientific discoveries into applicable treatments for patients. Take for example the development of cancer therapies. A fundamental understanding of cell division led to the discovery of agents that halt that process. These agents were then developed into medications that target rapidly dividing cancer cells. Similarly, research about human behavior and decision-making can be leveraged to create interventions to treat diseases driven by choices.

In industrialized nations, the landscape of disease is rapidly shifting. Due to medical advances in the treatment of infectious disease and traumatic injury, American mortality is increasingly driven by chronic, and often preventable, disease. In 1900, 23.1 percent of all deaths were attributed to pneumonia, influenza and tuberculosis and just 3.7 percent of deaths were attributed to cancer. However, in 2005, influenza and pneumonia accounted for just 2.6 percent of deaths while cancer contributed 22.8 percent. The discoveries of chemists, biologists and physicists have radically improved the survival of cancer patients. However, research from the behavioral sciences can help craft interventions that lower the risk of developing the disease at all.

Inducing behavioral change could have a major effect on health outcomes. In 2010, it was estimated that 42.7 percent of the cancers in Britain could be attributed to lifestyle factors, such as obesity, smoking and exercise. Psychological studies shed light on the most effective ways to elicit a lifestyle change. For example, motivational interviewing is a technique used to prompt and support patients in making change. This technique seeks to address ambivalence to change by eliciting patients own motivation. Using this approach to prompt behavioral changerather than confronting or persuading patientsresults in statistically significant improvements in health. Studies have shown that motivational interviewing results in increased weight loss and exercise, decreased viral load among HIV positive patients, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol values.

Another non-traditional discipline that is particularly suited to crafting health interventions is behavioral economics, which combines the fundamentals of economic theory with insights from psychology. Behavioral economics challenges the assumption that humans behave as fully informed and rational actors and instead understands decision-making as a process with predictable biases. For example, psychological and economic studies have shown that humans overvalue immediate rewards and undervalue delayed rewards. In health terms, this means that the immediate joy of a donut is overvalued against the amorphous increased risk of cardiovascular disease in the future. Similarly, the hassle of taking a medication every day may seem more onerous than the potential progression of future disease. Since these biases are predictable, interventions can be be designed to anticipate and counteract the bias, or use bias to predispose us to healthy, rather than unhealthy behavior.

Investigators at the University of Pennsylvania used findings from behavioral economics to create an intervention to increase adherence to warfarin, an anticoagulant that must be taken consistently to be effective. In the study, a machine recorded each time a dose of the medication was taken and gave the patient with an entry in a lottery with small prizes. The incentive increased adherence to medication, better than a simple reminder message. Given the fact that discontinuation of warfarin has major health risks, and patients who discontinue warfarin typically incur an additional $5,000 in annual healthcare expenditures, this intervention could have significant clinical implications.

Information from psychology about human decision makingand human errorcan also be used to help physicians and surgeons provide better care for patients. Industries such as aviation, manufacturing, and nuclear power, have long incorporated research about human error into their systems design. Their systems anticipate and respond to human mistakes, allowing for correction before an error becomes critical. These systems leave nothing to chance or fallible human memory. While medicine has been slower to adopt this mentality, reports suggesting as many as 98,000 die annually as the result of medical errors have spurred action. Simple, evidence-based interventions that anticipate human error can have a major impactimplementing a infection prevention checklist dropped rate of infections in Michigan ICUs by 66 percent.

While translational research has traditionally focused on the hard sciences, human behavior is an increasingly important factor driving morbidity and mortality. In order to address these important challenges, we must widen the focus of translational research to include research that specifically addresses decision-making and behavior. Interventions based on this research can help elicit behavioral change in patients and help protect patients from the inevitable fallibility of medical providers. Just as fundamental discoveries in the hard sciences lead to life saving advances, so too can the discoveries of behavioral sciences.

Lauren Groskaufmanis is a graduate student in the school of medicine. Her column, the picture of health, runs on alternate Fridays.

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Januarys Womens March was one of the biggest global movements of recent years. An estimated 5 million people marched in 17 different countries to show their support for basic human rights - freedom, equality, justice and personal security - which are increasingly under threat across different areas of peoples lives.

It hasnt stopped there - the movement is maintaining its momentum: With 1.3 million hashtags posted to date and growing every day, the conversation is very much alive with its roadmap of 10 Actions in 100 Days, including the call for a day of action (A Day Without a Woman) to supportInternational Womens Day on 8th March. The effectiveness of such a mass follow-up will be revealed in the coming months as actions continue. Nevertheless, the impact of the movement to date provides many useful lessons for organizations or brands looking to engage people at scale.

It is incredible to think that this all started from just a single concerned person on Facebook (a retired grandmother in Hawaii). Some of the success of the movement clearly sprung from the way the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign galvanized the public and raised awareness of multiple threats to human rights issues threats that continue into the new administration. However, there are other fundamental factors that have driven the movements success. It understands that change is driven by action and that action (human behavior) is influenced by 2 questions:

1. How motivated am I to do this?

2. How easy is it for me to do this?

Both questions have an influence on our behavior at a personal, social and structural level. The Womens March movement has successfully influenced and encouraged its communitys behavior at all three levels. As brands increasingly become involved in or create campaigns focused on social issues, there is much that they can learn from the huge reach and depth of engagement generated by this particular movement.

1. Movements are the organizational expression of a shared personal belief

Brands need to be clear about the core human value used to inspire individuals to take action. Despite the complex mix of issues - including gender, race, economics, age, health and representation - what the leaders of the movement did well was to define the core issue that they were fighting at the most fundamental human level. This was about social (or human) rights - an issue that matters to many (hopefully all) people. At the heart of this is a fight against the exclusion and divisions which pose an ever-increasing threat to our world, and the livelihoods of minorities in particular. From the title of the initial action - a March for All - to the lengths that the leaders of the movement went to make it clear that this was a movement for all (black women, LGBT women, disabled women, girls as the next generation and men and boys), it was clear that this community was living up to its core beliefs and values. The movement grew its potential scale during this time by incorporating and welcoming many different groups. By taking care to clarify the specific goals and actions of the movement, they were able to structure their fight in a way that delivered scale (inclusion of many) but with chunk-sized deliverables. Rather than boiling an ocean, they were tackling lake-sized challenges.

This is an approach that others have successfully adopted, most notably Ben & Jerrys, whose broad fight for social justice addresses the different pillars of the environment, people and communities, economic and peace. Furthermore, individual campaigns have tackled specific fights such as climate change, marriage equality and political lobbying. Social justice is a very clear and strong ideal and identity for people to buy into. It allows communities to get involved in supporting a wide range of causes that are relevant to their core shared belief.

Both of these examples demonstrate that if you build your movement on large-scale, fundamental human values, many people will be personally motivated to build scale for impact.

2. Make it easy for individuals to contribute in significant ways

Low cost of entry = high level of commitment. Joining a social fight in a significant way can seem a pretty daunting task to most people. To make a real commitment (beyond small tokenism) suggests real effort both literally and emotionally. So, getting the balance right is not easy. We want to encourage actions with sufficient weight to signal a strength of feeling and support that are able to have an impact on those we want to sit up and take notice, without these actions being so onerous or tough that they are never performed. It is best to make it easy for those people whose behavior we want to influence. The actions that the Womens March required came with lots of support, advice and tools to make it easier to put them into practice. These ease-of-use elements included simple templates to create content, existing posts that could simply be reposted, instructions for how to organize transport to marches, etc.

Whilst the actions were often simple to execute, they were all significant in their impact as they were clear and public expressions of peoples support for the movement and anger at the issues. Whether participants created posts on social media or joined the physical marches, they publicly committed to the cause. These tangible and visible actions were performances that, when delivered by 5 million people, were a clear sign of strength of feeling and commitment.

The movement made it easy for people to participate on a personal level, and to realize that they could do it. The low cost of entry made it easy for as many people as possible to join the fight.

3. The most solid and authentic foundations for a movement are found at a local level

Look for opportunities to build from existing community-based groups and leverage their existing social ties. The Womens March movement was not created by a big launch and top-down approach. Instead, it was built bottom-up, around real people and their existing grassroots communities. This gave the movement a huge amount of authenticity but also provided a large amount of the social motivation and influence that drove so much of the action. As people, we place significant value on our social ties. Our desire to be part of the group - and to be seen to contribute positively to that group by supporting its values and the people within it - means that peer pressure can be even more powerful than personal motivation. We do not want to let others down; if they are showing commitment, we feel that we must do so as well. In this contentious political time, many have expressed their points of view solely via social media. As members of their social group began to step forward and make commitments to a point of action by joining the march, the rest of that group felt compelled by social pressure to do so as well. There was often a very powerful social network multiplier at work.

This is a key lesson for building movements at scale. If you want to influence individuals, the most powerful way to do so may be to influence their social networks. It creates a situation where at a social level, many people feel compelled to say I want to do this.

4. We are creatures of habit, so make it fit around peoples lives and social structure

Build your brand movement and activities around existing social infrastructure and habits. Using local groups and movements as the foundation for the organization made it easy (and natural) for the Womens March to generate actions. The movement was built around existing relationships and the associated social infrastructure, which created a friendly, open and positive vibe. Members could largely continue operating within existing local groups, now simply connected to a bigger network of activists who shared common values and concerns at the broader level. Recruiting new people to the movement was conducted through known local networks and figureheads. Strong existing social bonds and relationships were maintained, creating a real sense of warmth and familiarity to this movement that made it feel easy and comfortable for people to join and participate.

Using peoples existing social ties and habits these makes it easy for people to realize they can contribute to the cause within the bounds of their existing, natural behaviours.

5. Reward people for the right behaviors

The carrot and stick approach may seem somewhat old fashioned but it still works in todays world. Rewards plus fun can be a strong combination: Applying a layer of gamification, especially linked to social networks and apps, can be a great way to drive the desired behaviors and actions. Interestingly, to date, it hasnt been a big feature of the Womens March movement but that may simply be a reflection of the strength of feelings already at work the strength of the personal and social motivations makes incentives unnecessary. But if the momentum slows, it could be a useful additional element to add to the other strategies. There may come a time when the movement needs to give its community more reasons to want to participate in the next series of actions.

6. Facebook is for more than sharing funny animal videos

At a structural level, the movement made it easy for the community to connect, organize and take action by leveraging the scale and power of digital social networks. Facebook (including Facebook Events) and Twitter were the primary tools, supported by an app that, as well as providing a portal to each network, included all of the basic information on the movement (the goals, details on the actions, a timetable of events, partners, how to donate, etc.). In the modern world of movements, digital social technology has transformed the ability of people to organize and act at scale. As this example shows, one grandmother in Hawaii supported by a Facebook-based infrastructure can create a lot of impact!

The fundamental variables to a successful movement can be summed up in a very simple equation: More people x more actions = more impact. This seems like a logical equation, but it is in fact about applying human logic to find the optimal solution. Designing your movement in such a way that you maximize the motivation to participate and minimize the barriers to entry will increase the likelihood of success. By deploying human sense, the Womens March created a movement that people wanted to be part of and could easily support through meaningful actions.

So, to maximize engagement at scale for your social purpose initiatives, consider the following checklist to give your campaign enough human relevance to motivate and inspire action from the people at the heart of your movement:

If you, too, are inspired, as we are, by the Womens March Movement, download our latest e-book, Beyond the Powergirl. Our contribution to the cause of gender equality, it helps brands and organizations to imagine the many positive female identities, qualities and values that can be unlocked in a future where women feel free to express and share their full capacities in society. Play our Tribal Game to discover your own future female identity.

Read more from the original source:
A New Era for Movement Brands: 6 Lessons from the Women's March - Sustainable Brands

Makers of autonomous vehicles are running into a major roadblock in their efforts to bring self-driving cars to market humans.

Sure, humans arent really supposed to be involved much in the process if the car drives itself. But there are different levels of autonomous vehicles. Some weve already seen, like cars with cruise control and those that can stay in one lane on their own.

And the next level of autonomous vehicle is one that can do just about everything, but would still need a human driver to take control in the case of an emergency. And thats where the problem comes in. If the car drives itself the whole rest of the time, then a human driver isnt likely to pay a whole lot of attention. So in an emergency situation, theyre unlikely to react quickly and effectively enough. In fact, drivers in tests continuously fell asleep while riding in these autonomous vehicles.

So some companies are instead looking to skip this step altogether. They want to only bring autonomous cars to market when they can do absolutely everything. So humans can simply sit back and relax the whole ride without having to even make an emergency stop.

Its probably going to be awhile before we actually see any of these vehicles on the road. And even then, its going to require consumers to make a pretty big leap of faith since they wont have had similar vehicles to warm up to the idea.

But companies are putting safety first. And since they cant really control natural human behavior, it probably makes sense for them to avoid putting people in those difficult situations.

Self-driving Car Photo via Shutterstock

See more here:
Human Behavior Represents a Roadblock for Autonomous Vehicles (Watch) - Small Business Trends

SINCE it is so easy to find a car or bike available for sharing on Shanghais streets, I often wonder about doing some soul-searching about this new trend.

The emerging sharing economy over the past one or two years has managed to survive sabotage, hoarding, losses and all kinds of accidental damage. It has also stirred debate about human nature and not all of it is optimistic.

I dont think we have quite arrived at the level of civility that enables sharing, said my friend Vincent, who takes a hardened, hopeless stance against my optimism.

He comes from Chongqing, a pilot city for car sharing in southwestern China, and said it feels all too familiar seeing the colorful two-seater cars that zoom around his hometown suddenly appearing in Shanghai for hourly rental. To him, it feels like the calm before the storm.

I remember the headlines about how some hot-tempered Chongqing local just abandoned a car-for-share at a parking lots exit to protest a dispute over parking fees. Vincent has his own more personal anecdotes about the perils of car-sharing. He said he once rented a car with a takeaway Chongqing hotpot spilled all over the seat by the previous driver. The smell and the stains were hard to wash away.

I have definitely seen worse, I said, trying to hold back a laugh.

In a photo widely circulated online, a thin needle is shown sticking up from the seat of a bike-for-share. The thought of what could possibly motivate someone to do that made me cringe. There have also been photos online about the scan codes to unlock shared vehicles being smeared beyond recognition, bikes-for-share piled up like garbage or even dismembered for resale with just a stump left.

Its not hard to guess who might be behind all this vandalism. Careless users, childish pranksters, street thugs, calculating thieves. The list of possible culprits sows deep seeds of disappointment in the selfishness of humans, and it certainly doesnt help the image of a sharing economy.

Last week, a local bike-for-share company in Fujian Province went broke after nearly 80 percent of its bikes went missing 19 days after its service was launched.

The drawbacks arent crushing the high hopes of companies that view the sharing economy as a beneficial investment. Across the country, many companies in the business are expanding their footprints.

In Shanghai alone, there are two major operators offering car-share and about 10 bike-for-share services. All use vehicles with distinctive styling or paint to lift their profiles. Whenever I see these colorful wheels roll by, I start to worry that industry latecomers may be at loss to come up with even more innovative ideas to stamp their signatures on the streets.

How many of those companies do you think will still be operating next year? I once asked my friend Andrew, who works in the venture capital industry a prime investor in the sharing business.

I find it ironic that an industry that prides itself on making money by exploiting human greed can invest in a business model that relies on human honesty and trust.

I dont think its about overcoming our selfishness, Andrew told me. When most people come to find themselves beneficiaries of the sharing economy by saving money and enjoying convenience, they play by the rules and even take exception toward those who violate them. It has nothing to do with altruism. It just becomes a new life order you dont want to be disrupted.

His words evoked memories of Scandinavia, where I was once an exchange student. Its a peaceful part of the world where bike-sharing was warmly embraced by the public early on. Upon arrival, I was surprised to find that locals would leave their private bikes unlocked by the roadside. Several other Chinese exchange students and I hatched a plan to pinch one of the bikes and then return it a few days later, just to show the owner the risk of unguarded trust. But later on, the mere mention of this idea embarrassed us because it would ruin something beautiful and precious that we found no longer distant, and grew attached to.

In China, it is not easy to bring every person who violates sharing rules to heel and make them pay for their actions.

Some sharing company encourages users to be knights on wheels by reporting the misbehavior of others in exchange for credit points that can lead to discounts. Law enforcement and the judicial system are also taking action by identifying rule breakers and fining them or taking them into custody.

But there are times we involuntarily betray the trust that we can be responsible members of the society because we are so lack of certain practice that the ultimate boundaries have yet to be firmly established.

Because of the explosive growth of bikes-for-share businesses, some downtown areas of Shanghai have reached their capacity for parking cycles. A district recently seized 4,000 bikes-for-share, stirring a controversy over how much the sharing economy should be allowed to eat up public resources.

The spirit of sharing can even take on a life of its own. A code manual has been compiled and circulated on WeChat, showing how people can get free rides at a bike-for-share service that uses combination locks. For every half an hour, one can save 1 yuan at most.

Is that really worth all the trouble? I sneaked into one of those WeChat groups, out of curiosity. I wondered whether these people are really so poor that they are willing to cede their sense of common decency.

My question was answered by another question. Do you really think those sharing companies care about making money from our payments? The cynics seemed to think that the safety deposits charged in advance of hiring a shared bike are being used clandestinely to invest in other businesses rather than being held in deposit for refund.

I hate to tell them this, but the grey zone of safety deposits that inspires their conspiracy theory is now coming under supervision by banks.

Sharing companies dont stand to make a lot of money for the time being, given their low-pricing strategy, low-quality maintenance and aggressive deployment. Their profit prospects will no doubt clarify doubts about the sharing business being just another example of market-invented hype.

No company wants to run a business like a charity, even if its credentials are eco-friendly. It is against their self-interested nature.

If only a hidden agenda can satisfy some peoples imaginations about businessmen being shrewd and dishonest, I do have some theories. Think about the maps that can be completed with GPS-equipped bikes for narrow back lanes and think of the expandable scope for desirable new home locations as more shared bikes and cars are available from Metro stations. Surely these offshoots will generate more business opportunities. Just as priceless are the lessons they teach us about what kind of people we can choose to be.

Mia is an independent market observer.

Originally posted here:
Human behavior drives trend of shared transport | Shanghai Daily - Shanghai Daily (subscription)

Leah Reich was one of the first internet advice columnists. Her column "Ask Leah" ran on IGN, where she gave advice to gamers for two and a half years. During the day, Leah is Slacks user researcher, but her views here do not represent her employer. How to be Human runs every other Sunday. You can write to her at askleah@theverge.com and read more How to be Human here.

Dear Leah,

I was never the best at writing a good beginning for an email, and this sentence only serves to demonstrate the need for asking this particular first question: What's the line between self-confidence and having pride in one's self and achievements, and hubris and arrogance? How can I talk grandly of myself (which seems to be the de facto way of demonstrating self-confidence) without feeling guilty? I especially feel guilty about betraying my own belief that my life and achievements are things I primarily do for me, not to brag about or share constantly with others.

My second question is: How do I get romantically invested or interested in others? I'm around that age where almost everybody is a self-proclaimed expert in relationships, and I fail to be interested in having a relationship (with either gender, and being in a county where queer relationships are legally punishable doesn't help with the whole experimentation part). I mean my crushes were far and between, but it's been so long that I've been romantically interested in someone that I'm starting to wonder if relationships for men (especially those who are seemingly aromantic as myself) are simply about exploiting the other party for leisure, company and "fun" (which sounds rather disappointing considering how grandly everyone seems to think of "love," not to mention quite demeaning and dehumanizing of women)?

Last but not least: How to build empathy? Whether it's in oneself or others, what makes people make the effort to care about others and strive to understand them?

PS: As you might have realized not all these questions have that "one" answer, and to be honest I'm not looking for a perfect answer, just a nudge in the right direction would help, and I really can't think of anyone better on the internet to do so than you.

Sagittaire.

Hey Sagittaire,

What a great letter! I love these questions, and as you probably know, I think about each one of them rather a lot on my own. But three questions are a lot for one column, especially three different questions like this. Heres what Im going to do.

First, Ill start with some news: My column is ending this month. The Verge has decided to bring it to a close, so the next column will be my last one. Ive been thinking about how Id like to end it, and I cant think of a better way than with your last question. Ill answer your first question then, too. This means you get two columns, Sag!

Lets talk about your second question. I dont know how old you are because honestly that age where almost everybody is a self proclaimed expert in relationships could be anywhere from 15 to 105 but Im going to assume youre in your very early 20s. Maybe in your late teens? Its hard to tell, but regardless of how old you are, and despite what you may think about your own knowledge level on the subject, you already have some good insights into human behavior around relationships. Its just a matter of interpreting those insights.

Ive written before about being single and the pressures to find a relationship, and Ive also written about the ways social norms have such an impact on how we feel and behave and on how we think we should feel and behave. A lot of the bluster you hear about relationships from those self-proclaimed experts is probably as much about that pressure and those norms as it is about any actual expertise. Just as youre trying to sort out how you feel, and whether you want a relationship at all with anyone, so too are some of those people trying to do the same thing.

Its uncomfortable to feel like the only one whos inexperienced. Its easier to act like you know everything

For some people, their posturing around relationships is a way to pretend like they want what everyone else does or a way to act like they have the same set of experiences. Its very rare for someone to sit down and be honest and vulnerable like youre doing here, especially with peers and especially when those peers are other young men. So anyone with limited experience which is most of the people you know when youre younger ends up assuming that everyone else knows more, has done more, understands more. And because its uncomfortable to feel like the only one whos inexperienced or nave, its easier to act like you know everything. Its also easier to act like you want same things as everyone else, like a big intense huge love affair or a lot of no-strings-attached flings.

But you know what, Sag? Not everyone wants the same stuff. Not all women want a massive fairytale wedding, and not all men want to punch each other in the locker room as they joke about how many chicks theyre banging. Human experience and desire is so much more varied than that. Social norms and the way we talk about who we are and what we want have all changed a lot in recent years, but we are still a long way from really undoing many of the expectations and rules that have guided our behaviors for a long time. You know this better than many you live in a place where you cant even experiment and better understand your own sexuality because you fear legal repercussions.

Desires and experiences ebb and flow over the course of our lives

This is my way of saying that you cant use everyone else as a way to measure what you should want or how you should feel. I know thats much easier said than done. I myself struggle every single day with this I use my perceptions of what other people are doing, their successes, and where they are in their lives as a way to judge myself and highlight my own failures and shortcomings. But thats a terrible way to live, partly because I have no idea if my interpretation of who or what they are is real. After all, maybe theyre putting on a brave front just like I am. More importantly, though, what they do and how they do it has absolutely nothing to do with how I live my own life and what I want or accomplish. Should I want children just because other people do? Should I feel bad that other people are married but Im not? Should I feel like a failure for not having achieved particular markers of success? Nope!

Just because other people want to be in relationships or at least act like they do doesnt mean you have to. Maybe youre not someone whos really geared toward romantic relationships. Maybe you dont have the same kinds of sexual desires, or maybe you dont have much (or any) sexual desire at all. Maybe you only very, very occasionally find yourself drawn to someone in a romantic or sexual way. Maybe youre not ready. Maybe you havent met anyone who excites you. Maybe casual flings dont appeal to you. Maybe youre gay. Maybe casual flings would appeal to you if they were with men, and not women.

Desires and experiences ebb and flow over the course of our lives. This is another thing we dont talk a lot about. Lots of people go through periods during which they dont have any interest in sex or romance (or both). Sometimes they want to focus on work or on friendships or on themselves, or sometimes they just dont... feel anything? Bodies and brains shift and change, and we all find ourselves faced with new experiences and possibilities from time to time that make us question whatever it was we thought we wanted or desired.

Its absolutely possible to have fun (not just fun) and enjoy someones company (or have sex with them, or both) without having a serious relationship. Its not for everyone, though. Plenty of people of all genders and sexual orientations dont enjoy casual sex, or sex with someone theyre not emotionally invested in.

Just because other people want to be in relationships or at least act like they do doesnt mean you have to

You are right that a lot of what you hear about this topic is dehumanizing and demeaning toward women. (This is a longer, separate conversation, but its one I hope you do make space for and a topic you learn about.) But I dont think that all men only want relationships that demean women. The many social, cultural, and religious expectations and pressures around masculinity, femininity, marriage, and more make it very hard for people to talk about how they really feel and to pursue what they want. Its very difficult for women. But its also difficult for men! Men are told things like its not manly to talk about your feelings or to say you dont like casual hookups and instead long for an epic romance. Or things like good women dont love sex, so you can treat the ones who do badly. We all hear things like this. Theres a lot we need to rewire in ourselves and in our cultural norms. So I commend you for writing this letter, because I think if more people not just guys but all of us! could be more open like you are here, wed be a lot better off.

My advice to you is this: Dont force yourself to get interested or invested in romantic relationships. Try very hard to not compare yourself to everyone else or to measure yourself by what theyre doing. They might not even be doing what they say they are, or they might not want to be doing it. Instead, keep doing things that interest you and pursuing the types of relationships that fulfill you friends, community, volunteer work, spiritual practice, and so on. Thats going to make you feel much happier and more confident in who you are, and I think that will better allow you to understand yourself and what it is you want. Who knows, maybe along the way youll meet someone and find yourself with a new crush, one you want to pursue. Or maybe youll find that you simply are in fact aromantic or asexual. Any of this is okay. Its more than okay! Its who you are.

Ill see you back here next week for one last column.

Lx

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How to be human: how to be comfortably aromantic - The Verge

You did it. You were given that coveted seat in the C suite. There is no doubt that the impressive title and hefty six figure salary along with the big bonus and variable compensation package is great. However, the innate power that comes with an executive position has begun to intoxicate you, and the inflated perception of your own importance is your drug.

Although youve been around the block many times in your career journey leading up to this moment, its important to take heed before you write your own one way ticket to self-destruction. If you think it cant happen to you, think again. Not convinced? Let me share some insights for you to consider.

There are two types of leaders those who maintain their effectiveness over time and those who dont. In fact, those who dont can find themselves falling from grace as their egocentric behavior transforms them from a glory child into a destructive force. Great leaders who have true staying power understand the importance of checking their ego at the door. Other leaders are so caught up in their love affair (with themselves), they dont seem to notice that people feel uncomfortable with their stories of lavish vacations that cost more than their employees homes, or constant name dropping to showcase they hob knob with exclusive company.

Weve all seen multiple examples throughout history of people who lose their sense of reality when they are in a position of authority. Unfortunately, this is the dark side of human behavior and its been studied and written about by industrial psychologists such as in the famed Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971. This happens when people lose perspective and begin to believe they are far more important than others.

In the work world, individuals with runaway egos may have trouble admitting mistakes, or asking for help. The relationships they have with others is one-way, and they dominate most conversations talking about themselves. Their emotional intelligence is low; with little self-awareness or emotional capacity to genuinely think of others or exhibit empathy. While they may be able to go through the motions of demonstrating care for others, it is only done when it serves them well for self-promotion or advancement. When they get what they want out of the contrived interaction, they sharply change their tone in all subsequent communication leaving the person feeling used and confused.

If you think any of this might describe you, chances are you wont admit it to others. Thats ok. However, I invite you to use this article as an opportunity to reflect privately upon your intentions and the ultimate impact of your behavior on what drives you; to remain in a position of high authority.

There is little doubt that your self-serving behavior will garner quick wins early on in your new position, as youre able to push ahead aggressively with tangible results such as cost cutting measures or drastic process improvements. However, as you wrack up more interactions over time, your alpha demeanor will begin to leave others feeling annoyed, discouraged and untrusting of your true intentions. Eventually, this will turn into members of your team feeling like they have to watch their own backs because of the many times theyve heard you spew sharp tongued attacks about others, only to see you turn on the charm as you continued to use them until they were no longer needed. Individual agendas will begin to become the norm as this untrusting tone spreads. Your employees will begin to slack on completing their best work as their mistrust of you grows.

The most dangerous outcome of an out of control ego, is the path of self-destruction down which it can lead you and your organization. Chances are, in the beginning of your career, you became successful because of the relationships you built with others. However, youve allowed your success to change your perception of reality by inflating your own importance and believing in your own perfection. When this happens, you stop listening to others, asking for input and appropriately considering the human impact of your decisions. History has shown us how dangerous this can be.

Challenge yourself to rise above your ego and instead of constantly trying to dazzle others with your infinite wisdom, be a leader who will stand the test of time by bringing out the best in others. People will remember how you make them feel. Thats what sticks.

Elizabeth P. Cipolla SPHR, SHRM-SCP is a leadership communications professional specializing in the areas of leadership training, creative recruitment strategies, employment branding, professional development and executive coaching for more than 15 years. Her leadership experience comes from various industries including marketing, mass media, apparel, education, manufacturing, aerospace, nonprofit agencies and insurance. To contact Elizabeth, email her at elizabeth@catapultsuccess.com.

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Don't Let Your Ego Take You On A One Way Trip - Jamestown Post Journal

By suggesting low-cost adjustments to existing programs, the new team is showing how a better understanding of human behavior can improve performance across government.

People do strange things.

To help explain why, in February, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney's Policy Office launched GovLabPHL, a multi-agency team for developing "innovative and evidence-based practice" in city government.

The team aims to increase participation in government services and remove barriers to access by studying the minds and actions of its citizens. Born initially out of a Living Cities grant awarded to the city in September 2014, GovLabPHL codifies and expands the creation of a team that puts human behavior first. Now with workshops, a 10-month speaker seriesand six projects underway covering topicsfrom bike share to littering the team is gaining interest from agencies across the city thatwant the low-cost human-centric treatment.

Prior to the formal launch of the team, GovLabPHL proved its efficacy by targeting the Department of Revenue's senior citizen water bill discount program. There were some who were eligible but no matter what the city did, it couldn't get those residentsto apply. The team did research and put out surveys to discover that people thought the paperwork was too confusing. So the city began sending out paperwork with pre-populated fields. It tried different sized envelopes to see which people responded to most. Ittried hand-writing addresses on the envelopes instead of printing them. The team found what worked and that became the new way of doing things.

Agencies are interested because the team is finding low-cost tweaks to improve theirmissions without turning anyone's office upside down, explained Anjali Chainani, director of policy at the mayor's office.

"We want to ensure we're getting our best return on investment, and what that means is that we have people on the ground from the front lines all the way through to the service delivery folks that are engaged in the process of how that program or how that service is actually being designed," Chainani said.

Six projects underway now include:

Chainani reported that about 20 other agencies have expressed interest in partnering with the team and its allies. GovLabPHL pairs behaviorists from five universities who are donating their time to help agencies achieve their program goals. The five partner universities are University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Drexel University, Princeton University, and Swarthmore College.Dan Hopkins from University of Pennsylvania and Syon Bhanot from Swarthmore College are the program's lead academic partners.

The program can be broken into three components helping citizens and city employees to learn, piloting new programs and increasing engagement.

"We want to work with behavioral scientists and design experts in looking at the barriers we may unknowingly put up that may prevent residents from connecting with the city or engaging with a particular program," she said. "If there's a messaging campaign already invested in and going out, we layer that with design methods and we layer it with behavioral science to really look at what evidence has already told us about what motivates people's actions and how to keep people engaged."

Philadelphia follows similar programs launched in cities and federal agencies under the Obama administration. The Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST), a subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council, includes more than a dozen federal departments and agencies who completed more than 30 pilots. The United Kingdom runs a similar office called The Behavioral Insights Team. The Office of the City Administrator's Lab @ DC has embedded more than 30 researchers inside Washington, D.C., government.

"There are so many triggers in our environment that lead us to take a specific action that we don't really pay attention to and then there are equally enough things that we just ignore because there's mass information that comes to us," Chainani said. "We're looking to really be innovative in a government that's investing all this money in these programs, and is really able to reach a level that is comfortable for the citizens and where they feel comfortable approaching the city and applying for these programs."

Editor's Note: Minor edits were made to quotes for readability.

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Philadelphia launches GovLabPHL to improve agency performance with behavioral science - StateScoop (registration)

Aside from the obvious ways the weather influences our daily activities, such as the choice of clothing we wear, there are numerous less obvious and unexpected effects that it can have on us, and our list of the 7 ways weather affects human behavior and emotionscan help you become vigilant of them. While becoming aware of all the intricate effects that weather can affect you with, you can also plan ahead and ensure yourself an enjoyable retirement, with our list of the11 US Cities with the Most Pleasant Weather for Retirees.

We cannot talk about the weather and its effects on humans without discussing the climate change. Nowadays, the climate change deniers probably feel that they can finally rejoice knowing that the current US president Donald Trump is one of them. The problem with deniers is that they dont care about the scientific consensus or the evidence, even when its presented in a layman-friendly way on how we are breaking global temperature records on about once in a three year spanor in a comic. They just continue propagating myths that have been debunked. Even though this video is not considered to be a scientific evidence of the global warming, it paints a pretty bleak picture of the future we are headed for. Whenever its time for periodically held hearings on issues related to climate change in the US Congress, Republicans naturally bring in John Christy to testify, as he is the only expert willing to sing the song that they want to hear, and by doing that disregard basically the whole scientific community which is opposed to his opinion on the subject, and considershis methodology to be flawed;in the meantime oceans are acidifying due to absorption of carbon pollution, but who cares?

Projections of increased poverty, social tensions, and environmental degradation as a result of climate change made the US Department of Defense begin to consider it a serious security risk. After reading our list of the 7 ways weather affects human behavior and emotions and learning ill effects that weather can have on the human psyche, you should be in agreement with the Pentagons assessment. Unfortunately, Republicans do not like this stance, and are doing everything they can to bar the Pentagon from spending money on adapting to the climate change.

As a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers, comedian John Oliver joked about how The Secret worked only for Donald Trump, and thus it was Oprahs fault that the Trump won elections. We feel that if that joke was hypothetically true and President Trump was wielding that sort of magical power for real, even his almighty denial still wouldnt be able to stop the climate changeand that the deniers really need to get in touch with the reality.

In preparation of this article weve tried to find as many effects that weather can have on humans, that are corroborated with science, so we used various sources that we link to in the descriptions, and so we finally begin with our list.

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7 Ways Weather Affects Human Behavior and Emotions - Insider Monkey (blog)

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A new study of wildfire data shows that humans are responsible for 84 percent of all wildfires started in the United States, but those fires burn only 44 percent of the acreage consumed by wildfires.

The study by the University of Colorado-Bolder also says that humans tripled the length of the wildfire season, noting that lightning-caused fires occur primarily in the Summer.

The researchers used the U.S. Forest Service Fire Program Analysis-Fire Occurrence Database to study records of all wildfires that required a response from a state or federal agency between 1992 and 2012, omitting intentionally set prescribed burns and managed agricultural fires.

The most common day for human-started fire by far, however, was July 4, with 7,762 total wildfires started on that day over the course of the 21-year period.

The new findings have wide-ranging implications for fire management policy and suggest that human behavior can have dramatic impact on wildfire totals, for good or for ill.

The findings were published yesterday (Mon) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Recent Wildfire Study: 84% Are Caused By Humans - Kozi Radio