Study in Silence to Improve Context-Sensitive Memory Reca...

Context-dependency eects on memory for lists of unrelated words have been shown more often with recall than with recognition. Context dependency for meaningful text material was examined using two standard academic testing techniques: short answer (recall) and multiple choice (recognition). Forty participants read an article in either silent or noisy conditions; their reading comprehension was assessed with both types of test under silent or noisy conditions. Both tests showed context-depende...

 Speculation Informed by Science is Not the Same as Fantasy

Our search for life elsewhere is not haphazard or random: our knowledge of physics and chemistry and biology equips us to seek out meaningful information about stars and planets vast distances away and to identify planets that are at least possible candidates as hosts for life. There is much that remains deeply mysterious, and it is not likely that we will ever uncover all the secrets of a universe as vast as ours: but, armed with science, we can at least ask sensible, meaningful questions ab...