Here it is: the second instalment of studies insult common sense. It seems that researchers can get the money for anything they want and sometimes the results are unbelievable.
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We all know that good sleep is very important for health, but wait, there's more: Did you know that stable marriage is linked with better sleep in women? Indeed, "Being stably married or gaining a partner is associated with better sleep in women than being unmarried or losing a partner", say scientists.
That conclusion is so important that it found its place at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Those scientist were sleeping at the Psychology 101.
Since scientist use computers very often, it reminds me of another study linked to PCs: "Computers do not spell the demise of literacy - in fact, they may help to create one of the most literate and engaged generations the world has seen." Well, it's so unexpected. I mean, how can you use a computer if you don't know how to read? With so many good (and bad, for that matter) websites linked around, to be literate is not a hard task.
Another quotes from that particular study deserves to be written in stone: "Traditional print-based reading and writing is only part of a much larger set of skills that students need in the 21st century." What does that mean "Traditional print-based reading"? Are letters in print different from those on the screen?
If you have children you will agree that "All Work And No Play Makes For Troubling Trend In Early Education". True, when young children are overwhelmed with learning they can't develop other skills which are developed playing games. All parents in the world know that kids needs games but not the scientist that conducted this study. They spend some money, you know, to get this result. They should return the money.
Scientist "found that mothers of newborns who have other children awoke earlier than their preferred time. We expect this is because they are awakened by the older child." Profound conclusion. And what should we do with it? Lock the older kid in the closet? Or the scientist in the jail?
Talking about kids and school, "The results of numeracy and literacy tests for seven-year-old children can be predicted by measuring the length of their fingers". Nice study, but useless. If your kid has short fingers what would you do? Take him to plastic surgery?
And for the end, did you know that after the brain stroke the chances are you'll have bad sexual life? What did they think, that people in intensive care have fantastic sexual experiences?
"C'mon baby, pull out all those wires and tubes and you'll have the best sex in your life!" Some scientist really should return their money. Their brains are already returned to the state of Cro-Magnon. ■