If Social Media Algorithms Control Our Lives Why Can’t They Eliminate Hate Speech?

Getty ImagesGetty It has become accepted fact in our modern digital world that the algorithms powering the online revolution, especially those of the major social media platforms, have so much control over us that they can actually nudge us against our conscious will towards actions we would not otherwise take. The addictive nature of social media is driven in part by an army of behavioral engineers tasked with building algorithms, interfaces and experiences that tap deeply into the flaws and nuances of human psychology, turning us into mindless remote-control zombies…

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You can teach yourself to hate pizza and chocolate

You can teach yourself to hate pizza and chocolate Imagine that as soon as a piece of chocolate melts and flows down your throat, you start feeling nauseous, lightheaded, and run to throw up inside the toilet bowl.The goal is to make you ill every time you think about or encounter the problem food. Will it work? It is the basis of the “false memory diet” pioneered by Elizabeth Loftus and her colleague Daniel Bernstein.The duo planted food aversions in peoples’ minds by playing a memory game with more steps…

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Hate Winter Running? Maybe You’re Doing it Wrong

Many detest it and simply refuse to do it, while others do it begrudgingly while longing for spring’s sunny days. A third group, though, loves it and says that “it’s not a matter of bad weather; it’s a matter of bad clothing choices.” We’re talking about winter running – which even in the mid-Atlantic can mean temperatures in the 20s, high winds and freezing rain. None of this, though, has ever stopped Kathy Pugh, a Washington resident and coach who has been leading winter runs and race prep for nearly…

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