August 9, 2023: The inner lives of bees, how social media breeds conspiracy theories and why Hawaii is on fire. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | A 2022 Pew Research report found that about half of Americans get news from social media at least some of the time. And that number was much higher among young adults. New studies demonstrate how social media can amplify conspiracy theories by intricately tying into people's affirmation and protection of their identity. This is partly why it's so difficult for some people to give up beliefs or change their mind, even when presented with new information–it feels like surrendering their very identity.
Why this matters: Conspiracy theories can pose serious threats to individual and collective safety, social cohesion and even democratic stability.
What the experts say: Social media helps people to reinforce their misconstrued ideas, by supplying persistent access to content that feeds their beliefs. "Such individuals can imagine themselves to be 'real life investigators,' yet scour the Internet searching only for information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs," writes Christine Abdalla Mikhaeil, an assistant professor in information systems at IÉSEG School of Management.
Dive deeper: | | | Bees and some other insects are capable of intelligent behavior that no one thought possible. Bees, for example, can count, grasp concepts of sameness and difference, learn complex tasks by observing others, and know their own individual body dimensions, a capacity associated with consciousness in humans. Experiments on bees, cockroaches and fruit flies strongly indicate that they experience pain. Young bees sometimes roll a ball around–a form of play?-- in experiments.
Why this matters: Insects are used in many laboratory experiments. Pollinators like bees are used by the millions to fertilize agricultural crops. And yet the experience of these creatures–whether they are suffering–is rarely a consideration.
What the experts say: "We have a moral obligation to minimize their suffering—whether in research labs, on feed-and-food farms, or in agricultural settings," writes Lars Chittka, who is a professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London. | | | A bee opens a puzzle box by pushing against the red tab to rotate the lid of the box clockwise. Researchers showed that these bees taught each other how to solve the buzzle--ahem, puzzle. Credit: Alice Bridges (CC-BY 4.0) | | | • Archaeologists found the ornate ruins of Roman emperor Nero's theater near the Vatican at a site earmarked for a luxury hotel. | 5 min read | | | • Dry conditions and strong winds set the stage for the disastrous wildfires that tore through the historic town of Lahaina and other areas of Hawaii. | 2 min read | | | • Heat records are still being set this summer. The latest: A 31-day streak in Phoenix, Ariz., of 110 degrees F or higher recently ended. That's just too many days. | 5 min read | | | Superheated fluid streams past tubeworms and other creatures that dwell around hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise. Credit: ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) | | | • Our financial systems need to be overhauled to avoid the kind of social-media-fueled bank run that killed Silicon Valley Bank, write Alex Lipton and Alex Pentland. Lipton is global head of research and development at one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, and Pentland is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Such an overhaul should include more oversight, separation of banking operations and limits to rapid withdrawals for large deposits, they write. | 7 min read | | | • Why are I.U.D. insertions still so painful? | Vogue | | | • The words that health care professionals use to communicate serious circumstances have long-lasting implications. Warning: this one will break your heart. | JAMA | | | • The EPA approved a boat fuel knowing it causes cancer in anyone who is continually exposed to it. | ProPublica | | | The rainbow state holds a special place in my heart, so it's hard to read about the many people in Maui who have had to evacuate or have lost their home or business to wildfires. Some parts of the island are quite dry (or go through dry periods), making them susceptible to fire spread. Check out a photo I took below of the lesser-seen southeast side of Maui, which evokes more Scottish Highlands than tropical island. | Thank you for sending me valuable feedback! Feel free to reach out anytime: newsletters@sciam.com. Aloha, my friends. | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | This dry, seemingly desolate landscape is Maui! The back side of the volcano Haleakalā features small scrub, dry land and flash floods. Taken in October, 2021. Credit: Me! Andrea Gawrylewski | | | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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