Distinguishing Polemic From Commentary in Science: Some Guidelines Illustrated With the Case of Sage and Burgio (2017)

Grimes, D. R. and Bishop, D. V. M. (2017), Distinguishing Polemic From Commentary in Science: Some Guidelines Illustrated With the Case of Sage and Burgio (2017). Child Dev. doi:10.1111/cdev.13013

Abstract: Exposure to nonionizing radiation used in wireless communication remains a contentious topic in the public mind—while the overwhelming scientific evidence to date suggests that microwave and radio frequencies used in modern communications are safe, public apprehension remains considerable. A recent article in Child Development has caused concern by alleging a causative connection between nonionizing radiation and a host of conditions, including autism and cancer. This commentary outlines why these claims are devoid of merit, and why they should not have been given a scientific veneer of legitimacy. The commentary also outlines some hallmarks of potentially dubious science, with the hope that authors, reviewers, and editors might be better able to avoid suspect scientific claims.

Watching Without Seeing: Determinants and Mechanisms of Inattentional Blindnes

Watching Without Seeing: Determinants and Mechanisms of Inattentional Blindness / Ich sehe was, was du nicht siehst: Determinanten und Mechanismen von Inattentional Blindness. Carina Kreitz. Zeitschrift für Sportpsychologie (2017), 24, pp. 120-127. https://doi.org/10.1026/1612-5010/a000203

Abstract: We sometimes fail to consciously notice stimuli right in front of our eyes if those stimuli occur unexpectedly and our attention is diverted by another task. This phenomenon has been termed inattentional blindness and can have fatal consequences in daily-life situations as well as a severe impact on sports performance. In accordance with previous research, my findings indicate that a multitude of situational factors, including features of the unexpected object and characteristics of the context, influence the probability of inattentional blindness. By contrast, individual differences in personality and cognition do not seem to further differentiate the probability of inattentional blindness beyond situational aspects (or at least not reliably or substantially). That is, while there is a fixed probability for all observers to notice an unexpected object in a specific situation (deterministic aspect of inattentional blindness), we cannot predict who exactly will belong to the group of noticers (stochastic aspect).

Keywords: attention, inattentional blindness, failures of awareness

The Economist On Sexual Harassment, Nov 2017

In The Economist, Friday November 17th 2017:

Sexual harassment: Changing patterns

A plethora of recent examples, from Hollywood and elsewhere, have demonstrated the pervasive nature of sexual harassment towards women. A new survey shows that the range of views on what constitutes harassment is vast, diverging by age, sex and nationality. But in general, younger respondents are more likely than their older peers to think that certain types of behaviour crossed the line, writes our data team