Small World

Reaching a finish line is an obstacle that does not begin or end with procrastination. A college dissertation, however, can be built on the foundations of such a behavior. Studies have proven that a small amount of pressure can actually stimulate comprehension and motivation, something that can be achieved through procrastination.
In a 2002 study by Jeffrey J. Walczyk, Kathryn E. Kelly, Scott D. Meche and Hillary Braud at Louisiana Tech University College called “Time Limitations Enhance Reading Comprehension,” students read passages under no time constraints, mild pressure, or under high-demand time limits. Results showed that the best reading comprehension was observed under mild time pressure. The idea can be further addressed by taking a closer look at procrastination.
With the idea encapsulated in the Parkinson’s Law stating that “Work Expands so as to fill the time available for its completion,” procrastination may be a realistic endeavor. Robert A. Harris, author of "Writing with Clarity and Style: A Guide to Rhetorical Devices for Contemporary Writers," associates the law with two factors. He addresses both in an article called “Human Factor Phenomena in Problem Solving.”

“If you want to be happy for the rest of your life you need to make an ugly woman your wife,” or “if your rent is late and you might have to litigate, don’t worry, be happy,” are a few of the ways some popular singers verbalize ways to stay happy. The role that genes and environment play on happiness and the choices a person makes in life have been regularly investigated in studies involving criminals and twins.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanosconiosis is a type of lung disease. Pneumoconiosis, also called black lung or coal-miners disease, is different, but is estimated to be the cause of death for 1,500 U.S. coal miners. Besides being bizarre, words like these can be largely informative. The top scientific and mathematical words and laws judging off of complexity can transpire into a largely personal-opinion-oriented endeavor. Astute denizens of cyberspace expounded on a list of some semi-rare and contentious terms and classified them into an “organized mess.”

Of course the flip side, meaning the benefits of the sunk-cost fallacy, need to be addressed. One example can be found in a January 12, 2007 article in the “Freakonomics” section of the New York Times titled “What does Barack Obama Know about Behavioral Economics?”
In the article, Obama is quoted as having said about sending more troops to Iraq as having used the notion of the fallacy. “And essentially the administration repeatedly has said: ‘We’re doubling down; we’re going to keep on going … because now we’ve got a lot in the pot and we can’t afford to lose what we put in the pot.”

Dr. Hal Arkes in the department of psychology at Ohio State University has done extensive studies on the sunk-cost fallacy after he became interested for his personal involvement in politics twenty years ago. His most recent studies look at finding new ways to minimize the fallacy through interventions.
With the help of undergrads and some others at OSU Arkes gives volunteers a scenario having to do with an airplane company and the construction of a $10 million Radar Blank Plane. If the plane has been 90 percent completed, meaning millions of dollars already having been spent, but another company came up with a better version making the almost finished product “grossly inferior,” should the last 10 percent of the budget be spent anyways? Most of the testers said “yes.”

President Bush is quoted in 2005 as saying “we owe them something…We will finish the task that they gave their lives for,” about the soldiers who have died since the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, exemplifying a mode of thinking that appeals to everyone in some way. Most people know this notion as an expenditure made in the past that cannot be modified, or the sunk-cost fallacy.
A recent study in the July issue of Psychological Science tested the relationship between older and younger adults through an individuals’ commitment relating to the “sunk-cost fallacy,” in matters of money.

Like birds of a feather bikers in a peloton stick together. The formation used by competitive bikers, especially in the Tour De France, has to do with energy conservation and courtesy.
Peloton is a French word meaning “rolled up ball.” In English it is referred to as a “platoon.” It is crucial for cyclists who are expending a lot of energy for a significant amount of time to take advantage of this pack.
In the 2003 book “High-Tech Cycling” by Edmund R. Burke, he talks about the peloton as a huge source of energy in some cases reducing drag against wind up to 40 percent.
Like birds of a feather bikers in a peloton stick together. The formation used by competitive bikers, especially in the Tour De France, has to do with energy conservation and courtesy.
Peloton is a French word meaning “rolled up ball.” In English it is referred to as a “platoon.” It is crucial for cyclists who are expending a lot of energy for a significant amount of time to take advantage of this pack.
In the 2003 book “High-Tech Cycling” by Edmund R. Burke, he talks about the peloton as a huge source of energy in some cases reducing drag against wind up to 40 percent.

It looks almost scary with its one armed, three fingered, 1.45-meter-high, flexible physique. However the extent that it will rid its master’s house of any mess is anything but daunting.
Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart, Germany have developed a new top-of-the-line robot they call “Care-O-bot® 3,” which is predicted to revolutionize modern housekeeping styles.

Similar to the unique make-up of a human fingerprint, each artist has a technique inimitable to only them. Scientists have recently applied this idea to finding a new way of determining the authenticity of an art piece.
Using Van Gogh’s paintings and a digital analysis system, Penn State researchers James Z. Wang and Jia Li, are doing their part to help solve counterfeit painting schemes using computer science and engineering.

Kombucha starts with a mushroom, but this is not a real mushroom it’s actually the skin that forms over the top of fermenting tea after it’s combined with yeast and the bacteria Acetobacter. Once the tea ferments in about one week, it has successfully become the much loved kombucha tea. In order for the tea to ferment sugar needs to be added and the bacteria can be used to ferment other liquids as well.

At Wally’s Bicycle Works in San Luis Obispo there is more than what meets the eye. At his shop Wally Ajanel keeps a stash of something other than bicycle paraphernalia—something that he claims is 100 percent pure which is very rare for constituents of this kind. Ajanel claims that the Mayan Chocolate that he keeps in his office is probably the only fully pure chocolate source in the U.S.

In Greek “Onycho” means fingernail or toenail and “phagia” is to eat or consume. Hence, “Onychphagia,” the clinical name for nail biting as a habit, which affects nearly 45 percent of adolescents. It may seem minor in comparison to addictions such as the excessive consumption of drugs or alcohol, but the biting of the nails can trigger oral herpes, dental problems like gingivitis, viral infections and studies have even shown loss of IQ due to the consumption of lead.

A scene in the 1998 movie “Great Expectations” shows an interaction between a convict played by Robert De Niro and a young boy who gets temporarily captured into aiding the escaped man. As the pressures of the moment set in for the boy, he nervously begins biting his nails.

When the criminal notices what his acquaintance is doing he takes it upon himself to teach the kid a lesson. “You bite your nails? It’s a bad habit. People always tell you that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Bullshit it’s your hands, that’s the sign of a gentleman.”