Life鈥檚 a game
Here is good news for gamers, from Catarina Matias at Lus脫fona University in Portugal and her colleagues.
The team studied 235 Portuguese gamers, explaining (in the journal Computers in Human Behavior) that the bulk of them don鈥檛 conform to the unhappy stereotype of gamers having 鈥溾��.
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Detractors say gamers are oddballs. But the study says that half of the gamers report having 鈥済ood psychological well-being鈥�, and that only three were diagnosed as having internet gaming disorder. And, snorts the study, the official definition of the condition is itself 鈥渉ighly controversial鈥�.
Detractors say gamers mainline junk food. But most of the participants 鈥渞eported not consuming snacks while gaming鈥�. (The researchers do point out that 鈥渟ome of the information could have been not correctly collected, such as nutritional information during the day or snacking habits for gamers鈥�.)
Detractors say gamers eschew sleep. In this, the study agrees, saying: 鈥淧oor sleep quality was observed in this population.鈥� In a press release, the researchers go further, making a technically correct blanket statement: 鈥渆ven playing video games for a short duration may negatively impact their sleep and mental health鈥�.
Feedback is inspired to respond. Citizens, awake! Gaming doesn鈥檛 stand alone. The public has seen Mayday!-ish warnings about many other, unrelated activities that 鈥渕ay negatively impact sleep and mental health鈥�. One might conclude that every kind of activity may do so.
Is life entirely a game of hazards? Does every activity bring danger? Let鈥檚 find out.
If you know of an activity that has been reliably proven to NOT negatively impact sleep and mental health, please send documentation to 鈥淣o Negative Impact鈥�, c/o Feedback.
Glaring proof
Research done at Texas Tech University prods a person to reflect on a fact: the software in our everyday life grows ever more complex by creating and tackling ever more complex problems, the solutions to which create still more complex problems.
Hassan Wasswa and Abdul Serwadda conducted a study called 鈥溾��. They show (they say) that 鈥渆ven when equipped with anti-glare functionality, eyeglasses worn during a video call could leak information that the user privately views in their computer window鈥�.
To solve this problem, they call for 鈥渢he incorporation of filters designed to specifically obfuscate content in eyeglass reflections鈥�.
They warn that people should be 鈥渃autious about the information they display on their computer screens while wearing eyeglasses during video calls鈥�. Feedback adds a bonus warning: Look ahead and watch out for intriguing problems that might arise from the installation of those eyeglass-reflection-content obfuscation filters.
And the problems that might arise from attempts to overcome those new problems.
O! E! What?
Non-scientists aren鈥檛 alone in their confusion at reading scientific papers. 快猫短视频s who glance at papers about specialities other than their own stumble on phrases that baffle them too.
Anyone can feel ignorant and embarrassed. Do you know what 鈥淥 horizon鈥� means? Do you? If a stranger, in conversation, were to say 鈥淓 horizon鈥�, would you internally cower in confusion and shame? Would you?
If you are a scientist who studies tundras, invasive earthworms or soil structure, perhaps you pepper and salt your everyday conversation with those two phrases. Otherwise, Feedback leaves you to your own devices (an internet search, a paper dictionary or a clever 10-year old) to discover what the phrases mean.
If you aren鈥檛 a scientist who studies tundras, invasive earthworms or soil structure, perhaps you crave the unsettling thrill of wondering at the meaning of 鈥淥 horizon and 鈥淓 horizon鈥�. If so, get yourself a copy of the study 鈥溾��, in the journal Science of the Total Environment. It includes many mentions of the former phrase, two mentions of the latter and no definition of either.
Many researchers write studies with tightly focused wording. Some take pride in doing so. Others do it under duress 鈥� heeding the desires or warnings of their supervisors, peers or publishers. To potential readers outside the focused field, those papers offer new horizons.
Under footage
The green-and-white sign you see here is plastered on the floor of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. It says: 鈥淢AINTAIN 6 FEET THANK YOU鈥�.
Upon inquiry, Feedback was told that no, the sign is not a plea to protect and defend our planet鈥檚 insects.
Marc Abrahams created the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and听co-founded听the magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Earlier, he worked on unusual ways to use computers. His website is听.
Got a story for Feedback?
You can send stories to Feedback by email at feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This week鈥檚 and past Feedbacks can be seen on our website.
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