For immune health, some influencers seem to think the Goldilocks philosophy of “just right” is overrated. Why settle for less immunity when you can have more? Many social media posts push supplements and other life hacks that “boost your immune system” to keep you healthy and fend off illness.However, these claims are not based on science and what is known about immune function. Healthy immune systems don’t need to be “boosted.” Instead, the immune system works best when it is per ...read more
It’s a tired trope in movies and cartoons: The characters are wandering in the desert, desperate for water, when up ahead, they see an oasis. Water at last! (In cartoons, the water is often surrounded by swaying palm trees and deck chairs.) But alas, there is no oasis — no water at all, not even a small pool. It was just a mirage. We even use ‘mirage’ as a metaphor: I imagined us together for the rest of our lives, but that future was just a mirage. But what are mirages when you get th ...read more
During the pandemic, millions of people turned to the internet to order groceries, household supplies and other goods they’d typically purchase in person. Our phones and laptops became sanitary havens of commerce. But for some people, online shopping easily transforms from a convenient consumer strategy into an excessive, harmful behavior.Is Compulsive Buying Disorder Real?The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders doesn’t officially classify shopping addiction (or, more techn ...read more
‘Tis the season … for being stressed, that is. The holidays, joyful as they can be, can also be emotional powder kegs simmering with worry and feelings of constraint. A 2021 report by the American Psychiatric Association surveyed 2,000 adults and found that 41 percent reported an increase in stress this time of year. The reasons for the uptick in anxiety are plentiful: financial pressures, gift-giving worries, and family tensions, to name a few. Whether it’s from demands at work, home, or ...read more
Quantum advantage is the milestone the field of quantum computing is fervently working toward, where a quantum computer can solve problems that are beyond the reach of the most powerful non-quantum, or classical, computers.Quantum refers to the scale of atoms and molecules where the laws of physics as we experience them break down and a different, counterintuitive set of laws apply. Quantum computers take advantage of these strange behaviors to solve problems.There are some types of problems tha ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine