Curiosity, the trait concerning an individual’s propensity to seek new information, is highly variable. How does it shape the lifelong journey of learning? Is it university students' best learning a...
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Why is it that time can slow down to a sluggish pace but also fly by, especially when we’re having fun? These questions have guided scientists in time perception studies.
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“I think, therefore I am.” Many of us are familiar with the Cartesian notion of the thinking nature of consciousness. René Descartes, it turns out, was wrong. That's according to António Damás...
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Research indicates that people with a family history of psychotic disorders should exercise caution when it comes to cannabinoid use.
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As more states legalize recreational cannabis use, the demand for cannabinoid research to better understand public health implications and inform growth and distribution policy grows.
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For UC Santa Barbara students struggling to make and maintain meaningful connections, a recent study examining the link between social networks and psychological well-being may provide some much-neede...
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Thousands of wavy turban snails lay on the sands of Coal Oil Point Reserve in the aftermath of the storms in early January. The snails — many of which remain onshore — washed up due to powerful st...
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Forgetting to take off the ratty AF1’s at the potluck (most Asian households don’t take kindly to shoes in the house!)
Wearing your only red t-shirt to every final (Red is a lucky color in many cultures, especially Chinese cultures)
Putting spiders in your friend’s wedding dress for good luck (Has its origins in old english folklore, and represents abundance for the couple)
Accidentally summoned a ghost by leaving their chopsticks straight up (A superstition that has Chinese origins because the chopsticks are reminiscent of funeral incense)
Didn’t like your friends significant other so they gifted them an umbrella (The word for umbrella ‘san’ sounds like the word for divorce in Chinese)
Believing in horoscopes (The modern western zodiac actually came from Babylonian astrology)
Walked backwards in Portugal to live out the Faust fantasy (In Portugal, walking backwards allows the devil to know exactly where you are)
Stole a raven from the tower of london as reparations (According to UK superstition, if there aren’t 6 ravens in the tower, the kingdom will fall)
Breaks a knuckle knocking on wood for good scores on finals (Knocking on wood may have originated from the Celts and their love for tree spirits)
Drunkenly rearranging their apartment for the feng shui at 3 AM (A Chinese cultural practice that harmonizes a person with the energies of the environment around them)
Left out their middle name on their taxes because the Fae run the IRS (Giving the Fae your full name gives them power over you, and the IRS has too much)
Hit by a car but the license plate had an angel number (Beyond just blowing up on TikTok, angel numbers were invented by... Pythagoras)
