August 7, 2012

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ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections: Olympics, Animal Empathy, SLI, Dyscalculia

By Jason G. Goldman

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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

Here are my Science Seeker Editor's Selections for the past week:

"If you tried hard enough, could you have won Olympic gold in the 100 meter dash?" This is the question posed by Melanie Tannenbaum at PsySociety. Is Olympic greatness the product of biology or of motivation?

Whether animals display empathy is a complicated question, and it's one that Gunnar De Winter ponders this week at The Beast, The Bard, and the Bot.

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"When a child has a specific language impairment (SLI), parents worry about what may have caused it – did they do something wrong?" Research indicates, however, that SLI is caused by genetics rather than by environmental variables. At Channel N, Sandra Kiume explains.

Dyscalculia is often described as "dyslexia for numbers," but what really happens in the minds of those with this learning disorder? In a video at SkepTV, researcher Brian Butterworth explains.

Jason G. Goldman is a science journalist based in Los Angeles. He has written about animal behavior, wildlife biology, conservation, and ecology for Scientific American, Los Angeles magazine, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the BBC, Conservation magazine, and elsewhere. He contributes to Scientific American's "60-Second Science" podcast, and is co-editor of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide (Yale University Press). He enjoys sharing his wildlife knowledge on television and on the radio, and often speaks to the public about wildlife and science communication.

More by Jason G. Goldman

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