Erica Joy Decker

Lemurs value stinkiness

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:49:38 +0000

During mating season, male lemurs battle for dominance by trying to outstink each other. They cover their long tails with smelly secretions and wave them in the air to determine which animal is more powerful. Source: National Geographic

Lemurs value stinkiness

Clownfish have the ability to switch their sex

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:34:29 +0000

All clownfish are born male, and the most dominant male in a community changes its sex to female and mates with the next-most-dominant male. Source: National Geographic

Clownfish have the ability to switch their sex

3-4 is the new magic number

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:55:55 +0000

According to more recent research, people can remember about 3-4 things (for about 20 seconds) and then they disappear from memory unless repeated over and over. In addition, people tend to chunk information into groups that have 3-4 items in them. On top of that, researchers tell us that people can’t effectively choose between more than 3 to 4 items at a time. Source: What Makes Them Click

3-4 is the new magic number

A quick definition of the Serial Position Effect

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:54:15 +0000

I’ve been studying up on the Serial Position Effect, which includes the Primacy Effect, and the Recency Effect. Basically stated, items first in a list are put into long-term memory, and so therefore have a competitive edge when it comes to remembrance, and items last in a list are stored in the working memory, which also allows people to remember them more quickly. The list items in the middle are more easily forgotten.

A quick definition of the Serial Position Effect

Hansel & Gretyl are ‘useless’ on the web

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:56:52 +0000

I’m currently delving into the world of breadcrumb design and purpose, which led me to this gem of an insight by Jakob Nielsen:

In user interface design, it’s often dangerous to take metaphors too far, and breadcrumbs are again the perfect example. Offering users a Hansel-and-Gretel-style history trail is basically useless, because it simply duplicates functionality offered by the Back button, which is the Web’s second-most-used feature.

Hansel & Gretyl are ‘useless’ on the web

My website is now responsive

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:01:33 +0000

Check it out! I learned a bit about responsive design. Re-size your browser, or try it on a mobile phone. IT’S SO RESPONSIVE! :) Check out mediaqueri.es for more responsive sites.

My website is now responsive

Lemurs are still the most endangered primates

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:56:48 +0000

In 2010, the IUCN Species Survival Commission created a report on the Top 25 Primates in Peril. Five out of the 25 are species of lemur.

Lemurs are still the most endangered primates

You’re only using 1.7% of the English language

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:23:57 +0000

An average person’s active vocabulary consists of 10,000 words, whereas the English language contains around 600,000 words. This means that the average English speaker only uses about 1.7% of the language. Source: Wikipedia

You’re only using 1.7% of the English language

Americans watch way too much TV

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:27:21 +0000

According to the A.C. Nielsen Company, the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.

Source: California State University at Northridge

Americans watch way too much TV

The Amazon provides >20% of our oxygen

admin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:35:34 +0000

The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.

Source: http://www.deforestationintheamazon.wordpress.com

The Amazon provides >20% of our oxygen