Hannah Aster

SEO Team Lead

Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.

Expertise

Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing

Why Having Too Many Options Is a Bad Thing

Is there such a thing as too many options? How does having too much choice hold us back? How can we learn to commit to one option? When you have too many options available to you, you become distracted and miss out on disappearing opportunities. There are three ways to stop wasting time on options and commit: narrow your options, consider your losses, and recognize your disappearing options. Continue reading for tips on how to choose when you have too many options.

We Are All Hypocrites: How We Justify Ourselves

In what ways are we all hypocrites? What methods do we use to delude ourselves of this truth? It’s easy to point out the hypocrisy of others, but it’s harder to admit that we’re all hypocrites. In The Happiness Hypothesis, it states that we all delude ourselves into thinking that we contribute more than we do and we discredit the contributions of others. Continue reading to learn more about the psychology of hypocrisy.

Why Depression Is on the Rise: Darwinian Reasoning

Why is depression on the rise? What does depression have to do with evolution and social standings? According to Darwinian Medicine, depression has functions in social standing. Low serotonin levels help mediate hierarchies in a social structure and maintain peace. However, today’s society is much different than the Stone Ages and depression is on the rise. Continue reading for more information on why depression is on the rise, according to evolutionary scientists.

What Causes Cancer Cells? Natural & Unnatural Links

What causes cancer cells? Why has the rate of cancer increased in the past century? How is mensuration linked to cancer? What causes cancer cells is that with each division of a cell, mutations in genes are introduced. Cancer can be considered a noncommunicable parasite that appropriates resources for its own gain at the expense of the host. Keep reading for more information about why people get cancer.

How to Lie With Statistics: Practice Questions

Do you want to further your understanding of How to Lie With Statistics? Are you looking for practice questions to help you evaluate statistics? In Darrell Huff’s book, he explains how people with an agenda can manipulate statistics in their favor. We’ve put together some practice exercises to help you evaluate statistics better with Huff’s methods. Keep reading for How to Lie With Statistics practice questions.

Temporary Happiness: Why We Can’t Always Be Happy

Why does reaching your goals only cause temporary happiness? Why can’t we always be happy? We often feel hollow and unfulfilled after achieving what we want. This is because happiness is temporary and if the happiness of achieving one thing lasted forever, then we’d never strive towards more goals. There are some things we can do to help us feel more fulfilled though. Keep reading to learn about the psychology of temporary happiness.

How Emotional Arousal Derails Decision-Making

How does emotional arousal effect the decision-making process? Is it possible to recognize and overcome our heightened feelings? Emotional arousal occurs when we’re hungry, afraid, angry, or sexually excited. The decisions we make while in these heightened emotional states are often irrational and not in our best interests. Unfortunately, even if we are fully aware that we’re in an aroused state, it doesn’t mean we can control it. Keep reading to learn more about emotional arousal and decision-making.

Michelle Obama: Pregnancy and Fertility Challenges

How did Michelle Obama struggle with pregnancy? How did the Obama family affect Barack’s political reputation? Michelle Obama always dreamed of being a mother but when the time came, she struggled to get pregnant. After trying many different methods, she finally became pregnant thanks to IVF. But it wasn’t smooth sailing from there. The Obama’s new family impacted both of their careers. Continue on to learn about Michelle Obama’s pregnancy and the effects it had on her life.

How Does Natural Selection Work?

What does the phrase “survival of the fittest” actually mean? How does natural selection happen? In the phrase “survival of the fittest,” the “fittest” actually refers to reproductive capabilities. Darwinian evolution says that evolution will favor the genes that allow the individual to produce the most viable offspring. Continue reading for more information about how natural selection works.

Why Do We Have Allergies? Evolution Can Explain

Why do we have allergies? Why haven’t humans evolved past them? Why are allergies becoming more common than ever before? The lack of parasites, the decrease in breastfeeding, and the increase in urban pollutants are all factors that lead to allergies. Why we have allergies is unclear but scientists have developed many theories as to why allergies exist. Keep reading to learn more about why we have allergies.