We Learn Faster When We Aren't Told What Choices to Make

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October 01, 2020

Dear Reader, The vast Greenland ice sheet is melting at some of its fastest rates in the past 12,000 years. And it could quadruple over the next 80 years if greenhouse gas emissions don't decline dramatically in the coming decades. Up next, archived data from a decades-old NASA mission to Venus may have overlooked evidence for the gas phosphine, which scientists announced they discovered on the hellish planet earlier this month. And lastly, a new study on the role of choice suggests that our sense of control in a situation influences how we learn—or do not learn—from our experiences.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Behavior & Society We Learn Faster When We Aren't Told What Choices to Make The way we decide may even give insight into delusional thinking By Michele Solis

Space A NASA Probe May Have Found Signs of Life on Venus 40 Years Ago Data from an old NASA mission to our sister planet may contain overlooked evidence for the gas phosphine, a potential biosignature By Jonathan O'Callaghan

EARTH Greenland Is Melting at Some of the Fastest Rates in 12,000 Years If greenhouse gas emissions do not decline, melt rates could quadruple and further add to sea level rise By Chelsea Harvey,E&E News

Public Health Protecting against COVID's Aerosol Threat How can we make our schools, office buildings and homes safer? By Carolyn Barber

Climate Young Republican Climate Activists Split over How to Get Their Voices Heard in November's Election If enough climate-concerned GOP youths do not vote for Trump, they could shift the party's environmental positions By Ilana Cohen

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QUOTE OF THE DAY "Feeling as though you are the architect of the outcomes you experience is powerful and certainly would lead you to strengthen beliefs about those contingencies much more strongly." Philip Corlett, Yale University

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