This is less discussion-worthy subjects, just stuff I found kind of cool.
Research by Goldstein et. al focused on teaching video games to elderly people, aged 70 and up. They found interesting beneficial effects on cognitive abilities that have yet to be studied - while uncertain, it seems video games can actually be especially healthy for the elderly. Sadly, the study doesn't specify what video games they were, but it warms my heart to imagine 80+ Americans playing WWII-games and reliving old memories.
Furthermore, I found a scientific definition of "identity" - pretty fun to read about. It's defined, at least in the book I'm reading, as: 1) Social groups that we identify ourselves as members of. These include gender and ethnicity. 2) Personal characteristics in the form of adjectives, such as "smart" or "friendly" and 3) Goals and values.
They are, apparently, ranked in order of importance - and bear in mind that relationships count as "groups", so that "girlfriend" can be a very central part of your identity. If we're to define identity by this fashion, discrete categories seem to be a lot more important than what feels instinctively right - but there is an alluring simplicity in this way of treating identity. I can see how it works scientifically.
Finally, related to the daycare issue, in part 1 - some states of the US require parents who divorce to go to family therapy - not necessarily to mend their marriage, but to help the children get through this traumatic event. I think this is a law that should be applauded - why don't we have something like this? A law that requires parents to make sure the kid is more or less okay in a divorce situation? Or do we?
My source for all these snippets of trivia is called "Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior" by Michael Passer and Ronald Smith, International Edition.
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