Humans hard-wired to be generous

This is genuinely good news! According to a new study we want to help others!

The two say altruism is something that makes people feel good, lighting up a primitive part of the human brain that usually responds to food or sex.

Grafman and Moll have been scanning the brains of volunteers who were asked to think about a scenario involving either donating a sum of money to charity or keeping it for themselves.

Why You Are Wrong

Without consciously thinking we, as humans, will find ourselves engaged in a way of thinking that has inadvertently been altered by our surroundings. This could be good, or it may not be, I have no idea. Either way, what is good is that we can become aware of the ways that our thinking may be affected – there are at least 26 reasons what you think is right is wrong.

11. Hyperbolic discounting – the tendency for people to have a stronger preference for more immediate payoffs relative to later payoffs, the closer to the present both payoffs are.
12. Illusion of control – the tendency for human beings to believe they can control or at least influence outcomes which they clearly cannot.
13. Impact bias – the tendency for people to overestimate the length or the intensity of the impact of future feeling states.

The Cute Project

CUTE!!!!

Whenever you find yourself needing to see something cute just head over to The Cute Project to get your cuteness fill.

The Cute Project is dedicated to collecting and featuring the world’s cutest photos, art, games and videos. Updated daily, the goal is not only to develop an ever growing collection of overwhelmingly cute art, but to build a community of people (Cutizens!) who appreciate and love to share their captured cuteness.

Air Car Rolling Along

The Air Car is hitting the production line! Last time we mentioned it on ThingsAreGood, we were aware that Indian car maker Tata had signed on to make the vehicle.

EcoGeek is reporting that the Air Car is about to roll out in India. The company behind the car have also signed a deal to bring the car to 12 more countries including Germany and South Africa. Something I missed (or forgot about) this car is that it was developed by an ex-Formula One engineer named Guy Nègre.

Refueling is simple and will only take a few minutes. That is, if you live nearby a gas station with custom air compressor units. The cost of a fill up is approximately $2.00. If a driver doesn’t have access to a compressor station, they will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car’s built-in compressor to refill the tank in about 4 hours

A Wonderful Life in 5 Ways

Life is complicated, confusing, and often fun. Now you can ensure taht you have a wonderful life by following these 5 steps. (There are actually 6 reasons but the headline says 5.)

A sample:

3. Educate Yourself
Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.