The World's Best Book Summaries
What helps pine tree growth? Why can’t pines survive alone? While researching tree cooperation, Suzanne Simard found that alder trees significantly help pine tree growth. In her book Finding the Mother Tree, Simard gives three reasons for this. Read more to learn how pine tree growth relies on alder trees.
What is the wood-wide web? How does it help trees communicate with each other? In Finding the Mother Tree, Suzanne Simard discovered that trees are intertwined via fungus in a complex resource-sharing network. She compares this to an internet satellite system, which she refers to as the “wood-wide web.” Learn more about the wood-wide web below.
What is a forest ecosystem? Are forests technically societies? Suzanne Simard’s research suggests that cooperation is the defining nature of the relationship between trees and other plant life. Her book Finding the Mother Tree suggests that a forest ecosystem is very similar to human societies. Read more to learn what a forest ecosystem is and how it’s similar to human societies.
What are the different types of bias in statistics? What are some ways bias can creep into a research project? As individuals and as a society, we rely on scientific research to make informed decisions and to understand the world around us. Therefore, researchers have an ethical obligation to identify and address sources of bias in their research. Statistical bias can make its way into a research project anywhere along the way, from the study’s conception to the research question, the data collection, the statistical analysis, the reporting of findings, and the study’s publication. Keep reading to learn about the
What is Sanjay Gupta’s Keep Sharp about? What is the key to keeping your brain sharp as you age? In Keep Sharp, Sanjay Gupta provides advice for improving your brain health. It’s not just about improving intelligence or memory: It’s about developing a brain that is resilient and creating a brain that can build new cells and use the cells you have more efficiently. If you have a healthy, resilient brain, you’ll be happier, more productive, and better equipped to fight off cognitive decline as you age. Below is a brief overview of Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta.
How does the human brain work? What are the most noteworthy features of the human brain? The brain is a complicated organ. In spite of all the progress we’ve made toward understanding the brain, we still know very little about its inner workings. At the most basic level, there are two key attributes of the human brain you should understand: interconnectedness and neuroplasticity. With this in mind, here’s a look at how the human brain works.
How can we overcome obesity? What are some simple changes you can make to prevent packing on excess weight? According to Canadian nephrologist Jason Fung, beating obesity means changing what you eat as well as when you eat. In practice, this means eating a diet composed of whole foods and practicing fasting. Whole foods help you feel full and don’t spike your insulin, while regular fasting lowers your insulin long enough to reverse insulin resistance. Here’s how to overcome obesity, according to Jason Fung.
What is the correlation coefficient in statistics? What can the correlation coefficient tell us about the relationship between two variables? What is the danger in mistaking correlation for causation? A figure called the correlation coefficient quantifies the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. A common mistake in statistics is equating correlation with causation. It can be tempting to extrapolate beyond a correlation coefficient, but that will lead to causal conclusions that correlation can’t support. In this article, we’ll break down the concept of statistical correlation and explain why correlation does not equal causation.
What is healthy-user bias? How can we isolate whether an intervention actually accounts for differences between individuals? Healthy-user bias occurs in studies that aim to assess the effect of a certain treatment or intervention. Because the people who choose to partake in such studies tend to be significantly different from their peers, it’s difficult to assess the degree to which the intervention (and not the participants’ characteristics) accounts for the findings. Keep reading to learn about healthy-user bias and how it affects research findings.
What is selection bias in research methodology? How does selection bias affect research findings? Selection bias occurs when individuals chosen to partake in a study are not representative of the population of interest. Selection bias can be subtle—if researchers aren’t cognizant of selection bias when developing data collection methods, the fact that a sample is not truly random might go unnoticed. Here’s why it’s important to watch out for selection bias when collecting data for the purposes of research.