March 22, 2012

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Editor's Selections: Eggs, Flimsy houses, Summer spending, and Fingerprints

By Krystal D'Costa

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Featured this week in my ResearchBlogging.org column:

  • At Powered by Osteons, Kristina Killgrove has a fantastic seasonal post up on the symbolism of eggs and their role in burials.

  • At Gambler's House, teofilo clears up usage of the word "flimsy" in the context of Mississippian houses by highlighting an interesting bias that the word contributes.

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  • According to Dr. Stu, the onset of warmer weather might loosen your purse strings. Research that explores the intersection of sunshine, mood and our wallets suggest that people will spend more on warmer days.

  • At Neurodojo, Zen Faulkes reports that fingerprints confound even the experts. He discusses the incidence of errors among experts—who were not permitted to report anything but certainty on their identifications.

Tune in next Thursday for more picks in anthropology, philosophy, research, and the social sciences.

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