This summer, many Rice students will travel to Central and South America for medical brigades, civil service trips, or personal reasons. People who were lucky enough to have these experiences describe developing strong friendships, exploring new cultures, and experiencing moments of self-discovery. But this summer there is an added complication to potential travel plans: the Zika virus. What is it? How does it affect us? And, perhaps most importantly, can it be avoided?
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, etc. is the Fibonacci sequence. Interestingly enough, ratios between consecutive terms of this sequence seem to be approaching the same number: 34/21 is ~1.619, 55/34 is ~1.618, 89/55 is ~1.618. Mathematicians have discovered the equation describing this relationship: a/b = (a + b)/a = 1.618…
Here’s an interesting way to advise a freshman on a major – a personality test. A published review1 of 12 psychological studies on college students stipulates that there are significant differences among students in different academic majors in terms of the “Big Five” personality traits – extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness. Anna Vedel, the psychologist who published the review, gathered all the results from these twelve studies and upon analyzing them together, observed patterns among the “Big Five” personality traits. Let’s take a look at some of her conclusions.
Houston, Texas, is perhaps better known as Moody Weather, Texas. As the dreary weather pours down on this wet weekend, I feel lethargic, bored, and quite frankly, leaving my bed is the last thing I’d prefer to do. It is a common thought that laziness and downy moods are tied to the weather. However, it is a big misconception. It’s not the daily weather that affect moods, but the seasons (like this winter!) and the overall climates of geographic areas that can.
Humans like art. We like seeing art, we like hearing art, and we like making art. But why? As it turns out, humans may be biologically predisposed to appreciate art, which may explain why we are so in love with it.
