Psychopath traits make good presidents

With its long days and endless pressures to restore everything from economic crises to world peace, the job of president of the United States is stressful and usually thankless. And yet, every four years, plenty of candidates are crazy enough to devote their lives to getting votes.

Craziness might not be the most scientific word for it. But a new study found that those who do well as presidents tend to score high on measures of a personality trait that they share in common with psychopaths.

The trait, known as fearless dominance, describes people who are socially and physically bold, as well as emotionally resilient ? an outlook on life well summarized by Teddy Roosevelt?s motto: ?Speak softly and carry a big stick.? Throughout our nation?s history, the study found, bold presidents seem to have been particularly persuasive, driven by vision, and good at managing crises.

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Presidents aren?t psychopaths, nor should they be, emphasized lead author Scott Lilienfeld, a psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta. Instead, his research suggests that certain traits associated with psychopathy may give people a leg up in some situations.

?Most psychopaths end up being pretty unsuccessful and maladaptive, and they end up in prison, which is usually where psychologists study them,? Lilienfeld said. ?Even though the psychopathic personality as a whole shebang is not a good thing to have, this study raises the interesting possibility that at least some traits of this condition ? especially those linked to lack of social and physical apprehensiveness, immunity to stress, and resilience ? might be adaptive in real-world settings.?

?Is it good to have a psychopathic president?? he added. ?The answer to that is easy: It?s no. But maybe having a certain dash of those traits might give presidents a certain edge.?

Psychopathic personality, in psychological terms, refers to a collection of traits that include superficial charm, a self-centered attitude, a tendency to take risks, dishonesty, lack of guilt and empathy, poor impulse control, immunity to anxiety and fearlessness. All together, this is generally not a good combination of characteristics to have.

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But previous research has raised the possibility that at least some of the traits associated with psychopathy might also help people succeed in some situations, including in business, politics and high-risk sports. Fearlessness and boldness, in particular, seem like they should be useful in many of these settings.

To test that possibility, Lilienfeld and colleagues tapped into a database of personality traits assessed by living experts on the 42 U.S. presidents leading up to and including George W. Bush.

Presidents that scored high on measures of fearless dominance, the researchers reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, were also considered to be among the most high-performing leaders our country has had.

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Although the data didn?t allow for precise comparisons, Theodore Roosevelt received the highest boldness scores. Nicknamed the ?Cyclone Assemblyman,? Roosevelt was a war hero and powerful leader, willing to take on big companies and other issues that his predecessors were too timid to touch.

On the flip side, the least bold and fearless presidents included William Taft and Millard Fillmore.

?Presidents you might regard as forgettable were among the lowest,? Lilienfeld said. ?These are the ones people say, ?Oh, was he president? Oh yeah.?

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The study didn?t analyze the personalities of President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, though Lilienfeld guessed that neither one would score particularly high or low on measures of fearlessness. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, on the other hand, would likely rank on the high end.

The new findings parallel the idea of ?creative genius,? in which madness and brilliance find common ground, said Dean Keith Simonton, a psychologist at the University of California, San Diego. In both cases, a trait that can be ?bad? in one setting ends up being ?good? in another.

Unfortunately for those who are looking to predict results of the upcoming election, dissecting the personalities of successful presidents of the past doesn?t help predict who will win in the future, Simonton said. Highly intelligent presidents do best once they?re in office, for example, but they find it harder to get elected.

More than personality, luck often determines whether a presidential candidate is in the right place at the right time, given the state of the economy and other hot-button factors.

?Personality counts, but it's not the most attractive traits that count the most,? Simonton said. ?Sometimes vices can be virtues when a person occupies a unique niche.?

? 2012 Discovery Channel

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49036389/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Apple?s New Nano-SIM: Freeing Up Valuable Space Inside The Case

Apple managed to get a new standard for SIM cards approved by the European Telecommunications Institute (ETSI) back in June, and today we see the result of that effort. The new nano-SIM is 44 percent smaller than existing micro-SIM designs, which may not seem significant in something already so small, but which could ultimately give Apple a lot more to work with. When it comes to adding more battery or new radios to the iPhone, the key to getting it done is freeing up space taken up by other elements. The nano-SIM does just that.

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Yemeni protesters storm U.S. embassy in Sanaa: witnesses

SANAA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Yemeni demonstrators stormed the U.S. embassy in Sanaa on Thursday in protest at a film they consider blasphemous to Islam, and security guards tried to hold them off by firing into the air, witnesses said.

Young protesters, shouting "we sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God", smashed windows of the security offices outside the embassy with stones and burned at least five cars as they broke through the main gate of the heavily fortified compound in eastern Sanaa, the witnesses said.

"We can see a fire inside the compound and security forces are firing in the air. The demonstrators are fleeing and then charging back," one witness told Reuters.

A security source said at least 15 people were wounded, some from bullets and 12 people were arrested.

"Initial reports are that all embassy personnel are safe and accounted for," an embassy spokesman told Reuters by telephone as the clashes continued.

The attack followed Tuesday night's storming of the United States Consulate and a safe house in Benghazi, where the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other staff were killed. President Barack Obama said the perpetrators would be tracked down and ordered two destroyers to the Libyan coast.

Protesters also attacked the U.S. embassy in Egypt and there were fears demonstrations would spread to other countries in the Muslim world.

Demonstrators blamed the United States for the film depicting the Prophet Mohammad in terms seen as blasphemous by Muslims and which was condemned by Washington.

[Related: Egypt's Mursi condemns embassy attack, protesters clash]

Witnesses said security forces in Yemen made no effort to stop the demonstrators as they marched towards the embassy compound. Some held banners declaring 'God is Greatest', while others scaled the embassy gate as tires blazed outside.

The protesters threw stones and some smashed light bulbs and signs before attacking the security offices and the compound.

REPEATED ATTACKS

Security guards fired in the air to hold back the demonstrators before Yemeni police reinforcements arrived at the scene and used tear gas. Witnesses said dozens of youths later regrouped and tried to break into the compound from the back.

State news agency Saba said President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi condemned the attack and set up a committee to investigate, following reports security forces had failed to stop the demonstrators from reaching the compound.

[Related: Iraqi militia threatens U.S. interests over film]

Yemen, a key U.S. ally, is struggling against multiple challenges since mass protests forced long-serving President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down last year.

The United States, eager to help Yemen recover from the upheaval that put the state on the verge of collapse, has said it would provide $345 million in security, humanitarian and development assistance this year, over double last year's aid.

Yemen is home of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is viewed by Washington as the most dangerous branch of the militant network established by Osama bin Laden.

(Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi, editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yemeni-protesters-storm-u-embassy-sanaa-witnesses-085414831.html

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Magma Pooling Beneath Infamous Greek Volcano

Molten rock is pooling beneath Greece's Santorini volcano, the site of one of the largest eruptions in the past 10,000 years. That eruption, which took place about 3,600 years ago, wiped out the Minoan civilization of the Greek islands and may have spawned the legend of the lost city of Atlantis.

In the past 1.5 years, the magma chamber beneath the volcanic island has ballooned by as much as 350 million cubic feet (20 million cubic meters), or up to 15 times the size of London's Olympic Stadium. This giant mass of magma has caused the island to rise by as much as 5.5 inches (14 centimeters), according to a new study published yesterday (Sept. 9) in the journal Nature Geoscience.

This research follows reports earlier in the year of renewed earthquake activity beneath the volcano after it had been silent for the past 25 years. The reports have spurred concerns the volcano could erupt in the near future, but when that might happen is still unclear, researchers said in a statement.

"Before this work, we didn't really know how the volcano behaved during the periods of time between eruptions," David Pyle, an Oxford University researcher and study co-author, told OurAmazingPlanet. "Now, it looks as though the magma chambers beneath volcanoes like Santorini grow in spurts."

When the volcano erupted in approximately 1620 B.C., it created tsunamis 40 feet (12 meters) tall that destroyed much of the civilization flourishing in and around the Aegean Sea. Much of the previous island of Santorini was destroyed or submerged.From the air, the resulting?caldera, or volcanic crater, appears as a small cluster within the bigger collection of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

Earlier this year, global positioning system (GPS) sensors placed on the caldera detected renewed movement, measuring a series of small earthquakes. Seismic activity can trigger eruptions and are often a clue that a volcano may be preparing an outburst in the near future. But the connection is far from well-understood; and in the past few months, seismic activity has dropped off once again, according to the statement.

If the volcano did erupt, it wouldn't be likely to create nearly as much havoc is it did in the time of the Minoans, since it is much smaller today than it was in the past. But it's still important to keep an eye on the volcano, the researchers warn. ?[History's 10 Biggest Eruptions]

"Although Santorini is well known for its large explosive eruptions, these probably only happen every 20,000 years or so," Pyle said.

There has been much speculation as to whether the Santorini eruption inspired the legend of Atlantis, which Plato said drowned in the ocean. Although someexperts think the legend of Atlantis was just invented, others say the explosion might have given rise to the tale of a lost empire by helping to wipe out the real-life Minoan civilization that once thrived in the Mediterranean.

Reach Douglas Main at dmain@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @Douglas_Main. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.

Copyright 2012 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/magma-pooling-beneath-infamous-greek-volcano-163445953.html

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Video 029:- What Business Networking Is Really All About marifunc ...

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 at 11:09 am and is filed under Business Networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.marifunc.org/business-networking/video-029-what-business-networking-is-really-all-about

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How the video games industry is faring

Companies in the video games business have been reporting earnings for the most recent quarter. Here's a look at reports and results for selected companies that make or sell video games.

? July 12: NPD Group reports that U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories fell 29 percent in June to $700 million. It's the seventh consecutive month of decline. Sales of console and portable software ? the video games themselves ? fell 29 percent from a year earlier, while sales of hardware fell 45 percent. Sales of accessories grew 4 percent. Excluded are sales of used games and rentals as well as digital and social-network spending. The top-selling game was "Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes," from Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Interactive.

? July 19: Microsoft Corp. says it sold 1.1 million Xbox 360 consoles, down from 1.7 million a year earlier, in what it calls a soft console market. Membership in its Xbox Live service increased more than 15 percent.

? July 25: Nintendo Co. says it sold 710,000 Wii units in the April-June quarter, down from 1.56 million a year ago. Nintendo is coming out with a successor, the Wii U, this year. It is forecasting 10.5 million units for the full fiscal year, which ends in March 2013.

? July 31: Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. reports a wider net loss and lower revenue in its latest quarter, but results are largely in line with expectations. It also announces a stock buyback of up to $500 million.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., another game publisher, says its loss in the latest quarter was much bigger than expected, because sales of "Spec Ops: The Line" and "Max Payne 3" were not as high as the company hoped.

? Aug. 2: Sony Corp. says sales fell about 15 percent, largely because of lower sales of the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable devices and the games that go with them. The decline was partly offset by the new PlayStation Vita, which went on sale in December in Japan and in the U.S. and Europe in February.

Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. says net income dropped because of lower revenue from games. But adjusted results ? the more closely watched figure ? easily surpassed Wall Street's expectations and were much higher than a year ago.

? Aug. 6: Video game publisher THQ Inc. says revenue fell in the latest quarter, but adjusted results beat Wall Street's expectations as the company plan to reshape its business advanced. THQ is changing its focus to its core gaming business that includes popular wrestling and action-adventure video games such as "WWE" and "Darksiders." As part of that, it exited its traditional kids' licensed game business, trimmed its product line and streamlined operations. The process, however, is still ongoing.

? Aug. 7: The Walt Disney Co.'s interactive games division saw revenue fall 22 percent to $196 million as there were fewer significant titles compared with a year ago.

? Aug. 9: NPD says retail sales of new video game hardware, software and accessories fell for the eighth straight month in July. Overall sales fell 20 percent to $548.4 million. Sales of consoles and portable software ? the video games themselves ? fell 23 percent, while sales of hardware fell 32 percent. Accessories sales rose 8 percent. "NCAA Football 13" from Electronic Arts Inc. was the month's top seller.

? Aug. 16: GameStop Corp., the world's biggest video game retailer, reports a 32 percent decline in its quarterly income as sales slowed because not enough new games came out to draw in customers. Revenue fell 11 percent to $1.55 billion, short of Wall Street's $1.61 billion estimate.

? Sept. 5: Zynga Inc. releases a sequel to "FarmVille," hoping people will still play games on Facebook and computers as attention turns to mobile devices.

? Sept. 6: NPD says U.S. retail sales of new video game hardware, software and accessories fell for the ninth straight month in August. Overall sales fell 20 percent to $515.6 million. But one analyst notes that it was hardware that dragged on the month, while software sales dipped just 9 percent. "Darksiders II" was the month's top-selling game.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/video-games-industry-faring-225521741.html

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Lit Motors Will Shake Up The Electric Vehicle Market With Its Two-Wheeled, Untippable C-1

The recent influx of both high- and low-end EVs and electric motorcycles have shown promise, but current battery technology is still limiting, and the cost of entry is far too high with the benefits of switching from petrol-powered vehicles not being quite as obvious or apparent in the near term. Now imagine a vehicle that's smaller than a Smart Car, nearly a third of the price of a Nissan Leaf ($32,500), safer than a motorcycle with a range capacity that just lets you drive and won't ever tip over? What you get is Lit Motors' C-1, the world's first gyroscopically stabilized, two-wheeled all-electric vehicle, which launched?at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco today. Oh, and it will talk to your smartphone and the cloud. Did I mention that you can't tip this thing over? (I've tried.)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/GFhQRBfJWhM/

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