I come from a fairly Irish family, and people always say that my dad has the “luck of the Irish”.  So naturally I wondered if luck is real, or is it more of a paranormal thing, like what we learned in class-something scientists cannot provide an explanation for.  What is “luck”?  What makes certain people seem luckier than others?  Is their a scientific explanation or theory behind luck?  

 According to an article by the Skeptical Inquirer, luck is not just a random thing that we either are or are not born with.  Both lucky and unlucky people do not know why they have good or bad luck, but scientists have come up with several reasons as to why luck exists.  

 Another article by the Scientific American references Scientist Richard Wiseman, author of the Skeptical Inquirer article.  In the Scientific American, the author references Wiseman’s “big five” personality scale, which he used to measure his subjects’ “agreeableness,” “conscientiousness,” “extroversion,” “neuroticism” and “openness.”  Wiseman found no difference in regards to unlucky and lucky people’s conscientiousness and agreeableness, but he did see a large difference in extroversion, neuroticism, and openness of unlucky and lucky people.  The lucky people proved to be much more extroverted, more relaxed (low in neuroticism), and more open.  It is for these reasons that they are “lucky”- it is a mindset.  Those that are more extroverted are more likely to approach others that have good ideas or reach out to someone that may be especially recognized in their field.  Because the lucky individual is more outgoing, they have more opportunities to connect with people that can help advance them or connect with them in their work, personal life, love life, etc.  

A lucky individual is low in neuroticism, and usually fairly relaxed.  They are more likely to slow down and pick up on a random opportunity.  They are also more open-minded and willing to take chances, travel, and are up for anything.  According to an article in The Daily Mail, the main pattern found in their research on “luck” was that lucky people realized that an opportunity was happening to them, and then decided to take advantage of it.  So be more extroverted, realize when you are given an opportunity, and then seize it!  You never know what you will find!  

Sources

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2224473/Feeling-lucky-The-scientific-proof-DO-make-luck.html

http://richardwiseman.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/the_luck_factor.pdf

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=as-luck-would-have-it

Image: http://www.sidetrackers.com/gallery_photos/070223_CampingOceanPond/08_FourLeafClover.jpg

When I was younger, I lived in Atlanta, GA for five years.  The hot and humid climate was bad enough, but the mosquitos that accompanied it were even worse.  I would pile on the bug spray when I went outside, yet still turn polka-dotted in 15 minutes.  Some of my other friends could play outside all day and not get any.  I’d ask my loving mom why I got more bug bites than the other kids and she would always say, “It’s because you’re so sweet!”  While it was nice to think that at least I had a nice personality and that was why I was being eaten alive, I decided to look to science for a more empirical answer.  

Molly is the street name for a popular drug among the concert/ rave-going young adult population.  Molly is actually not a new drug, it is what drug dealers claim to be a more pure form of MDMA, which is the common synthetic ingredient found in ecstasy.  The drug’s name sounds innocent and is often misconstrued as such from entertainment’s frequent references to it in songs and media, making it appear “cool” and “harmless”.  Young people assume Molly is safer than ecstasy and other drugs because they believe it is more “pure”, but that is actually not the case.  According to an article in WBUR, (Boston’s NPR News Station), like ecstasy, Molly is a stimulant, however it is stronger and is often cut with other things, like rat poison, cocaine, and crystal meth.  Young adults are taking these drugs thinking they are one thing, and do not know for a fact what is in them, leading to overdose and poisoning.    Here is a photo from FOX of Molly.  

According to users, Molly gives a euphoric, happy, heightened feeling that makes people feel united and comfortable with each other, which is why so many people tend to do it in the concert masses (WBUR).  The main issue with this drug is that there is no standard of what should be in the drug, and no way to know what one is getting.  Like we studied in class, science helps save lives.  The problem with Molly is that those who make it are not trustworthy or regulated scientists that can ensure that every batch has exactly what it says is supposed to be in it and will prevent others from harm.  This important detail is the primary reason for the consequences and results of users who get different batches and end up overdosing, or worse.  The past few weeks a handful of young adults on the East Coast have died from accidental overdosing on Molly, and it is important people realize the severity of the drug and the true facts.  To learn more about the common myths of Molly, read this TIME article.  This is something our demographic is faced with, and it is up to us to warn our friends of the dangers before it is too late.  

References:

http://www.wbur.org/2013/09/04/molly-prevalence

http://healthland.time.com/2013/09/03/concert-deaths-five-myths-about-the-drug-molly/

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/club-drug-molly-eyed-deaths/story?id=20180492

Image: http://tribfox40.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/molly-2.jpg

My freshman year college roommate, Sara, has chronic hiccups.  I am not exaggerating, she hiccups probably an average of once every five minutes.  She is one of my best friends, and I have grown fairly immune to her hiccups.  It is entertaining when we meet new people or are in a class together and she hiccups loudly in the middle of a lecture or during an exam.  One time she was actually asked to leave an exam because the professor thought she was distracting the other students.  So naturally I became fascinated with why this happens.  When you have experienced the hiccups, did someone tell you to jump on one foot while patting you stomach and rubbing your head to?  Or do some other ridiculous task?  This is an old wives tale.  Curious to find the truth, I did extensive research on hiccups: why they happen and where they came from.

  According to The Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, before we breathe in air normally, a series of muscles in our chest and throat, including our diaphragms, contract to bring air into our bodies.  The most common form of hiccups comes from drinking or eating too fast.  Our stomach is directly below our diaphragm, so when the stomach is affected by eating or drinking too fast, the diaphragm will contract, causing a rapid inhale, and the resulting hiccup.  There are several theories as to why our body does this.  The one I find most interesting is the Phylogenetic Hypothesis which you can read more about the basics of here.  In summary, the Phylogenetic Hypothesis proposes that hiccuping can be traced back to our evolutionary roots.  For animals that are on all fours, swallowing food is more difficult because unlike us, they do not have gravity working in their favor.  Hiccups prevented animals from choking.  Part of the theory is that hiccups were a product of past gill-breathing species in the process of developing lungs to inhale air.  The best way to rid yourself of the hiccups, I found out, is to breathe through a paper bag, forcing more air into your lungs and calming the spasm in your diaphragm.  Breathe easy!