Why We Can't Resist Big Action Movies

I wrote this for AOL News. Really wild research. No mention of Matthew McConaughey, though, which is disappointing. Anyway:

Any moviegoer could attest to the fact that today's big hits, such as "Avatar" or "Sherlock Holmes," are faster-paced than the films of 50 years ago. But Cornell University psychologist James Cutting and his group have quantified just how much faster and found something even more revealing. It's not just that individual camera shots are shorter. In a new paper in Psychological Science, Cutting and his team uncover an underlying pattern -- a sort of secret sauce -- to modern blockbusters.

What it shows is that even the snobbiest cineast shouldn't feel bad for getting wrapped up in a schlocky popcorn flick. The way those films are made practically guarantees we can't turn away.

And the rest of the article....

The Physics of Shaun White

After taking his second consecutive gold in the men's halfpipe event at the Winter Olympics, U.S. snowboarder Shaun White is clearly the dominant athlete in his sport, and arguably in all of the Winter Games. So what makes him so great? What underlying abilities allow him to pull off those Double McTwist 1260s?

According to University of Virginia physicist Louis Bloomfield, author of the book "How Everything Works," it's a mix of factors. Ultimately, though, White's soaring performances all come down to raw energy.

Check it out here.

We Are All Predictable

Physicist Albert-László Barabási can guess where you will be tomorrow at 3 p.m. And where you'll be Saturday night at 8. In fact, given enough data, he can predict your location at any time, with an average 93 percent accuracy. But don't worry. He's not watching you. In fact, his work shouldn't be cause for alarm so much as existential distress.

In a new paper published in the Feb. 19 issue of Science, the Northeastern University physicist and his colleagues describe how they used data from 50,000 anonymous cell phone users to study human mobility, or where we are and when. Their work reveals that our movements follow a pattern, whether we are homebodies or frequent fliers.

"The surprise was that we couldn't find unpredictable people," Barabási says. "We are all boring."

Read more here.