RBRT RDFRD

THE WAY WE WERE


//////////////////nsb=How much is a Nobel worth?
Posted: 01 Jan 2009 06:41 PM CST
Nobel laureates on the board bring in the bacon when it is time to capitalize a firm:
WHAT is a Nobel prize really worth? The market values it at $34m, according to a new NBER paper


///////////////Contumely (noun)
Pronunciation: [kên-'t(y)u-mê-lee or kên-'t(y)um-lee]
Definition: Rudeness whose roots are in arrogance; an arrogant remark or action.
Usage: 2. This is a noun that ends on a syllable [lee] that coincidentally happens to be an adverbial suffix in English. It is almost physically difficult to use as a noun but that is what it is! Questions of taste in aesthetic matters (music preferences, clothing favorites, and so on) often bring out contumely in people.
Suggested Usage: This word will require some struggle to restore but it is worth the effort. "Don't react with contumely to the answer after you asked me which fast food restaurant I like!" "She responded to my suggestion with such contumely that she was mistaken for the queen."



//////////////////////ns=Happiness is near

They also discovered that the effect is not the same with everyone you know. How susceptible you are to someone else's happiness depends on the nature of your relationship with them. For example, if a good friend who lives within a couple of kilometres of you suddenly becomes happy, that increases the chances of you becoming happy by more than 60 per cent. In contrast, for a next-door neighbour the figure drops to about half that, and for a nearby sibling about half again. Surprisingly, a cohabiting partner makes a difference of less than 10 per cent, which coincides with another peculiar observation about some social epidemics: that they spread far more effectively via friends of the same gender.

All this poses a key question: how can something like happiness be contagious? Some researchers think one of the most likely mechanisms is empathetic mimicry. Psychologists have shown that people unconsciously copy the facial expressions, manner of speech, posture, body language and other behaviours of those around them, often with remarkable speed and accuracy. This then causes them, through a kind of neural feedback, to actually experience the emotions associated with the particular behaviour they are mimicking.


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