•  NEWEST SCAM: “IRS is warning the public about a phone scam that targets people across the nation. Callers claiming to be from the IRS tell intended victims they owe taxes and must pay using a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer – threatening those who refuse to pay with arrest, deportation or loss of a business or driver’s license. The callers who commit this fraud often: Use common names and fake IRS badge numbers; Know the last four digits of the victim’s Social Security number; Send bogus IRS emails to support their scam; Call a second time claiming to be the police or DMV, with caller ID again supporting their claim. // The truth is that IRS usually first contacts people by mail – not by phone – about unpaid taxes, and will never ask for payment by phone using a credit card, debit card or wire transfer.” [RBZ TAX NEWS – Nov 11, 13]
  •  “MANAGERS FROM HELL ARE CREATING ACTIVE DISENGAGEMENT” OF WORKERS across America. According to a dozen years of Gallup research, it’s reached a point where over 30% “aren’t just unhappy at work, they are busy acting out their unhappiness – everyday undermining what their ‘engaged’ coworkers accomplish.” Moreover, another 50+% are simply “not engaged: essentially checked out and sleepwalking through their workday, putting time – but not energy or passion – into their work.” Beyond the emotional impact on employees (“more time experiencing worry, stress, pain”), businesses experience lower productivity, more absenteeism and turnovers; active disengagement is projected to cost the U.S. up to $550 billion annually. One positive strategy: the most actively engaged workers are those who (1) work remotely, even part-time; and/or (2) have supervisors who focus on their strengths versus their weaknesses. [HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW BLOG – Jun 14, 13]
  • THE HALLOWED PROCESS OF ‘PEER REVIEW’ IN SCIENCE FALLS FAR SHORT, and “too many findings that fill the academic ether are the result of shoddy experiments or poor analysis… Last year, researchers at Amgen found they could reproduce just six of 53 ‘landmark’ studies in cancer research; Scientists at Bayer managed to repeat just a quarter of 67 similarly important papers; An official at Nat’l Institutes of Health frets that 75% of papers are bunk… During the last decade roughly 80,000 patients took part in clinical trials based on research that was later retracted because of mistakes or improprieties… Contributing factors include professional pressure, competition & ambition which push scientists to publish too quickly, and peer reviewers worse at spotting mistakes… Even when flawed research does not put people’s lives at risk, it squanders money and the efforts of some of the world’s best minds… an unforgivable barrier to understanding.” [THE ECONOMIST – Oct 19, 13] BUT SOME ‘SCIENTIFIC’ DISCOVERIES, IF/WHEN TRUE, ARE AMAZING, like:
  • EATING OR CHEWING GUM CAN EVIDENTLY “INNOCULATE PEOPLE AGAINST UNCONSCIOUS PERSUASION” – including advertising or sales pitches. Five decades of experiments suggest that “when people read or hear something, they tend to mime the act of speaking (called ‘covert pronunciation simulation’)… Chewing, however, disrupts the process by monopolizing speech muscles, effectively drowning out any sub-vocalization and, with it, the process of familiarization through repetition.” Latest research published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology tested moviegoers who either chewed popcorn or sucked on a sugar cube; a week later, the sugar-eaters “had a clear preference for products they’d seen advertised at beginning of the movie, versus popcorn-eaters.” Beyond ramifications for advertisers, blocking receptivity by simply crunching has a huge impact since “there are plenty of settings in which people are trying to absorb new info while eating – like a working breakfast, client dinner, or lunching at desk doing e-mails.” [BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK – Oct 28, 13]
  • AND, A CURE FOR BACKACHE – which, according to American Ass’n for Neurological Surgeons, is experienced by 75% to 85% of us in some form during our lifetimes, “rarely for physical cause… The problem is simply bad posture… Since the 1920s, when erect sitting, standing & walking were seen as ‘too stiff,’ letting shoulders hang slightly and scrooching the pelvis forward became the correct easy, relaxed posture. Furniture designers went along with this trend, making chairs that force people to slump, and the result is an S-shaped spine… causing all our problems today.” Corrective actions are predominantly: (1) Sit down, push butt firmly backward, stretch out and sort of attach your back to the chair back while slightly lengthening the spine; or (2) Lie down, prop on elbows and let the back sink into mattress, one vertebra at a time, stretching out as much as possible. An added benefit: eventually “gaining about a half inch in height.” [INTELLIGENT OPTIMIST – Sep/Oct 13]
  • THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: “Almost 40% of American babies under age 2 are given a Smart phone or tablet before they can speak full sentences.”