Like humans, monkeys can make irrational decisions when making choices

ScienceDaily (Oct. 3, 2012) ? When making decisions about the value of an assortment of different objects, people approximate an average overall value, which though frequently useful can lead to apparently irrational decision-making. A new study published Oct 3 in PLOS ONE by Jerald Kralik and colleagues at Dartmouth College shows for the first time that non-human primates also make similar 'irrational' choices based on approximation.

In the study, researchers found that rhesus monkeys preferred a highly-valued food item (a fruit) alone to the identical item paired with a food of positive but lower value (fruit and a vegetable).

The researchers suggest that this behavior is similar to what has been seen in previous studies with humans, where participants rated a 24-piece dinnerware set more highly than one with the same 24 pieces, plus 16 more pieces of which nine were broken.

According to the authors, decision-making processes in humans and other primates have evolved towards reducing the complexity in choices between large groups of assorted items, which may result in such irrational choices.

"People often judge a group -- of valuables, of foods, of other people -- by its average rather than by the sum of its parts. Our study shows that monkeys appear to do the same thing, which suggests that both monkeys and people inherited a particular way of simplifying the world around us, making choices easier, sometimes at the expense of 'rationality'" says Kralik.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jerald D. Kralik, Eric R. Xu, Emily J. Knight, Sara A. Khan, William J. Levine. When Less Is More: Evolutionary Origins of the Affect Heuristic. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (10): e46240 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046240

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/X59X657OrzU/121003195129.htm

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Daytrading, Stock Trading, Investing and Forex Trading ? No System ...

Thousands of traders are welcoming trading robots to do the logical work for them.

This permits you to simply invest accordingly once the programme finds a good trading opportunity in order that you can make the cash from the exchange that you would like and safely at that, but do it on your own plan and on your own time. Personally I suggest that you go with one of the low priced share targeted stock-trading Bots. There are some blinding trading Bots out there which are changing the way that pro traders perform their analysis, too, so here is the best way to find one of the greatest of the finest. Warren Buffett knows this idea well, and that made him the second-richest man in the world today. Picking the ?gainers? and avoiding the ?losers? is the name of the game. What if you might leverage a robust solid research of market factors and patterns, correctly forecasting the best stocks to buy? What if androids can do all of that for you? These are what automated stockmarket dealing robotic systems do best. What if you had a technique to tell which stocks are making a slaughtering in the market? Spot the ?gainers? earlier without counting on brokers or untrustworthy insider data. Before making any investment calls, you should dedicate time to studying about the stockmarket. There are numerous online techniques that can be employed to raise your information and experience about the market.

That will be daft. There are online coaching courses, reading material, and even programs which should let you practice your investment abilities. Trading software enables you to almost invest and practice everything you have learned. This is effective as the market moves on in patterns which repeat themselves usually each 7 years normally. It is looking at trends of the past and applies that to realtime market information to try to find overlaps between the 2 to further analyze. This is effective because penny stocks and shares are the least expensive, most unpredictable and wildly oscillating investments to be found in the market as it is far easier to steer their position and price with less trading activity. Some automated securities trading systems particularly target penny stocks and shares when searching for trading prospects.

Source: http://traders101.com/2012/10/03/no-system-is-still-a-system-stock-market-trading/

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U.S.-Taliban peace deal unlikely in Afghanistan

The U.S. is abandoning hope for a peace agreement with the Taliban, The New York Times reports, as NATO?s top leader told a British newspaper that the coalition is considering a quicker withdrawal of Western troops.

Once a key part of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, commanders on the ground and officials in Washington doubt the U.S. and the Taliban can have substantive peace talks, The Times reported.

Instead, the U.S. will work to secure a peace between the Taliban and the Afghan government, a deal that will eventually require approval from Pakistan. Substantive talks with the Taliban, officials told The Times, will most likely only happen after the withdrawal of American forces in 2014.

?It?s a very resilient enemy, and I?m not going to tell you it?s not,? a senior coalition officer told The Times. ?It will be a constant battle, and it will be for years.?

Meanwhile, as so-called "green-on-blue" attacks, in which Afghan security forces have turned their weapons on their NATO counterparts, have increased this year, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday that Western troops may withdrawal from Afghanistan sooner the 2014 deadline, the U.K.?s Guardian reports.

Rasmussen said the recent attacks have been successful in undermining the ?trust and confidence? between NATO and Afghan troops. With more than 50 such killings this year?far surpassing last year's count of 35?NATO might speed up its exit, Rasmussen said.

?From now until the end of 2014 you may see adaptation of our presence,? he told the Guardian. ?Our troops can redeploy, take on other tasks, or even withdraw, or we can reduce the number of foreign troops. From now until the end of 2014 we will see announcements of re-deployments, withdrawals or drawdown ? If the security situation allows, I would not exclude the possibility that in certain areas you could accelerate the process.?

Any such decision, he said, would come in the next three months, after Gen. John Allen, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, submits a progress report.

On Oct. 7, the U.S. will have fought in Afghanistan for 11 years. Over the weekend, the American death toll hit 2,000.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-taliban-peace-deal-unlikely-afghanistan-070817164--politics.html

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GuGu E. Michaels: This Multi-Award Winning Filmmaker Is An - E4 PR

GuGu E. Michaels holding his 2 awards at the recently concluded NAFCA Awards in North Carolina

Filmmakers in the Diaspora, with certitude have taken the movie industry by storm (especially back home) with their quality productions. They have continued to raise the movie bar, making the country proud. GuGu E. Michaels has incontrovertibly carved a niche for himself in the art of make believe, while his contemporaries continue to battle against the ?charlatan waves? that drags them repeatedly into the murky waters of shamy productions.

He has done well for himself. He is a respected, accomplished, ingenuity laden filmmaker whose brilliant works speak for him, ranging from his directing dexterity in the production of outstanding commercials and independent projects including feature films such as ?Thugz?, ?Dangerous County?, Urban Killaz?, ?Repentance?, ?Best Served Cold?, ?Pastor?s Wife?, Dangerous Men?, ?Unge?s War? and ?Jacob?s Eye?. He has been involved in campaigns for retailers like Cadillac, Porche and his career span, documents his serving as President of Dallas based Indie record label Redrumm Recordz and working with hip hop giants UGK, LUDACRIS, STEVE AUSTIN amongst others?Whao!

He is the founder of Gu International Pictures, a company known for delivering top notch productions without compromise. GuGu E. Michaels has been making North American movies since 1997 and in 2009 he decided to venture into African cinema where in less than five years, he?s already been referred to as ?The One unveiling the new era in African cinema?.

GuGu E. Michaels

He has various awards in his kitty which indubitably makes him stand out from his multitudinous peers. He won Best Editor and cinematography at the Black Film Festival in 2005, Best African Film for his action movie ?Dangerous Men? at World Music Indie Film Festival 2012, Best Indigenous /Native Film & Best Costume in a motion picture for the epic film ?Unge?s War? at NACFA Awards 2012.

His latest movie Jacob?s Eye (coming soon) will indeed turbo charge African cinema with its unique, supernatural action based genre, embedded in suspense, twisty scenes that stimulates your intellect, palpitating moments that will keep you on the edge of your seats with your eyes riveted on the screen big time!. It?s a fine blend of rich cinematography with a diverse cast. His epic movie ?Unge?s War? as aforementioned earned him dual awards at the 2012 NAFCA awards and will soon be released as well. He is indeed a great man.

Visit the site below to watch the wonderful works of this talented, intellectually resourceful man who imbibed the ?thinking outside of the box culture? which has earned him accolades, in an environment where only those who know their onions can soar higher?

I just stumbled across this latest video, also directed by GuGu. Gosh, for the ace called GuGu E. Michaels...his talents are unending! Check this out!!!?

WORLD PREMIER VIDEO OF LATIN SENSATION
GROUP: JARVICKO Y FITO?
SONG: PARICIANDO CON EL VAMPIRO
DIRECTOR: GUGU E. MICHAELS

Source: http://e4pr.blogspot.com/2012/10/gugu-e-michaels-this-multi-award.html

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Assange compares Ecuador Embassy hideout in London to space station

Britain News.Net Sunday 30th September, 2012

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is living in the Ecuador Embassy in London, has compared his one-room to a space station, which has a mattress on the floor and a blue lamp to mimic daylight.

"It's a little bit like being in a space station," he said.

"I have been in solitary confinement [following his arrest in 2010 on the sexual allegations] and this isn't comparable to the difficulties in prison. I have complete control within a small environment and it enables me to do what is most important, which is to protect my work from the attacks it is under," he added.

According to the Daily Mail, the studio room has space for little more than a mattress on the floor, a rickety shelving unit and a small round table with leatherette chairs.

"The first two months in the embassy were quite positive. We had a big political battle, we had momentum, there was the physicality of the training to use emergency equipment and the day-to-day task of building a life in here," Assange said.

"That has stabilised now and the stability is becoming annoying. There is a longer-term danger with all injustices that in continuing they become normalized," he added.

Yet, there is nothing normal about the unique predicament in which he finds himself.

According to the report, the reporter who interviewed him said that he was not permitted to tell the precise nature of the safety equipment Assange keeps close to his bed, nor of the contents of the documents and diagrams pinned to his wall.

Assange has relocated his cyber empire, running it with multiple mobile telephones and laptop computers. He meticulously shreds anything that might leave a paper trail.

"I work a 17-hour day, seven days a week. Sleep is difficult because of the police movements," he added.

"There is an absurdly oppressive police presence, which is not a productive way to deal with the situation. I have a blue sky-light frequency lamp which mimics blue sky shining up to the ceiling. I have to have it on a timer or I am like a battery hen, I stay up all night working,' Assange said and smiled. (ANI)

Source: http://www.britainnews.net/index.php/sid/209632556/scat/fad6c6ce3bc72160

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javascript reuters: hali sonofabitch: Because I am a teacher | Cruel ...

When I was in college, I had a professor tell me that I was made to be a science teacher. At the time, I was an English major and science was the furthest thing from my mind. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that she was right. It was my Biology class that I was excited to go to each week and my English classes I dreaded.

Still, she had said ?teacher?, and I wasn?t so sure about that. I had teachers through my K-12 education who had made me want to be a teacher and I had teachers during that same time that made me want to have nothing to do with education. I was skeptical.

During my sophomore year, I got a paid gig doing supplemental instruction for Biology students. This wasn?t tutoring, per se, it involved planning on my part. I had to attend various Bio lectures, then create a supplemental lesson plan designed to revisit the content from lecture in more visual or hands-on ways. My students were usually either athletes who were being forced to attend by their coaches or non-traditional students who really didn?t want to have to pay for the class more than once.

I found that I loved those classes. I loved sitting in the lectures, I loved planning, I loved getting to know my students, and I loved differentiating for them (before I had ever heard that word in reference to education).

I changed my major to Science Education, then Biology itself, and happily continued pursuit of a degree. During my senior year, I found myself restless and anxious to finish, anxious to have my own students. At the time, Yahoo had a feature that allowed users to create chat rooms and I began to create one called ?Biology tutoring?. I would get students from all over the word and of all ages. A few continued to chat with me throughout their Biology experience (and two of them still contact me from time to time, all grown up). I found these little snippets of ?teaching? to be something like sustenance.

Fast forward through my high school science teacher career to where I am today, an instructional technology specialist. This means I don?t have a classroom ? or students. I take on teaching gigs for online classes, which helps to sate my appetite for teaching young people. However, I have discovered one way that also satisfies that need without any effort on my part ? a YouTube video.

Yes, a YouTube video. Not just any video, but one that I uploaded three years ago. This thing is embarrassingly simple and goofy-looking. I created it quickly to help some of my online Chemistry students learn an alternative to dimensional analysis. I posted it to YouTube for them. I never thought that three years later, I would be approaching 20,000 views.

The part about the video that satisfies me are the comments. They ebb and flow. Sometimes I will get a new comment each week. Other times, I might have to wait a month, but those comments always give me that warm fuzzy feeling all over again. Sometimes they just tell me thanks, sometimes they ask me questions (which I try to always respond to), and sometimes they share the video with their friends or teachers.

I have the heart of a teacher. I might not be in a classroom. There might not be any students who even know my name, but I have made a difference to, surprisingly, mostly college students who are struggling through Chemistry and find my video.

When we are struggling with whatever stresses are coming our way ? and as educators, this is an ongoing flow ? we must always remember that we are making a difference ? because we are teachers.

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Source: http://teachingtruths.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/because-i-am-a-teacher/

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Source: http://hali-sonofabitch.blogspot.com/2012/09/because-i-am-teacher-cruel-shoes.html

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Source: http://javascript-reuters.blogspot.com/2012/09/hali-sonofabitch-because-i-am-teacher.html

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