Source: Virgin

Andrea Hernandez

Have you ever listened to a song that shifted your mood? Music creates emotions. We can feel happy or sad just by listening to the beat and tempo. This interpretive process is similar to how we can recognize other people’s feelings by their facial expressions, body language, and tone.

There are two types of emotions we can experience when we listen to music: perceived and felt. Perceived is the emotion we recognize from our surroundings. Felt is the emotion an individual experiences. A psychology study found that listening to sad music can be a pleasant experience. The researchers believe music is a safe stimulant that has no direct relationship to an actual threat regardless of the sadness intensity. This study also found that sad music is multi-faceted when it was previously believed to contain only unpleasant emotions.

Current studies are looking into music therapy to alleviate symptoms of depression and for people who live with dementia. To date, studies suggest music may alleviate symptoms of depression in the short-term.  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4038858/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201807/why-are-we-moved-music

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003477.pub2/abstract

https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/therese-borchard-sanity-break/music-therapy-to-relieve-depression/

Source: LiveScience

Victor Liaw

On March 14th, mathematicians and nerds around the world will celebrate “Pi (3.14) Day”. It is a celebration of the math symbol, π, a ubiquitous constant that is found in many essential equations in both math and science, especially with circles. Perhaps the modern fascination for the number comes from its irrational nature; though computers have calculated trillions of digits for pi, its exact value will never be known. The practice of piphology, defined as the memorization of pi’s digits, is evidence of the dedication to the number by some mathematical zealots. To others, Pi Day may just be an excuse to indulge in some nice pie. Ultimately, Pi Day serves to commemorate the existence of a simplistic yet essential number that forms the basis of our understanding of math.

Recently, some mathematicians have protested against the Pi Day festivities. Rather, these individuals insist that the math symbol ‘tau’ should be celebrated instead. For background, the derivation of pi comes from dividing a circle’s circumference by its diameter, a value which remains constant regardless of the size of the circle. The proponents of ‘Tau Day’, however, believe that a circle’s diameter does not really encapsulate the significance of the circle. Instead, it is the circle’s radius that should be celebrated. Since the circle is the only shape whose radius is constant throughout, these individuals believe tau to be the appropriate and correct value to commemorate the shape . By substituting the value for diameter with radius, the value of this constant, called ‘tau’, comes out to be exactly twice the value of pi (around 6.28). Thus, June 28th is the holiday celebrated by the ‘true’ lovers of circles and math. But despite their efforts to bring about change, ‘Tau Day’ continues to be overshadowed by the much more popular ‘Pi Day’, most likely because people have never heard of tau.

Which math symbol do you think should be celebrated? The classic and popular pi, or the less-known but ‘more appropriate’ tau? I may be biased, but I heard they serve twice as much pie on Tau Day 🙂   

https://www.piday.org/

https://tauday.com/tau-manifesto

https://nationaltoday.com/national-pi-day/

Source: CNN

Shreya Thiagarajan

What do most people reach for the morning after happy hour? Chances are, it’s coffee. The caffeinated beverage is widely believed to lessen the symptoms of or even cure a hangover. It’s possible that these theories are based on the fact that caffeine is a stimulant, and therefore can counteract the effects of alcohol, a depressant.

However, there is little evidence to support this. Many symptoms of hangovers such as headaches are caused by the liver breaking down alcohol to produce a toxic substance known as acetaldehyde. One study conducted at Thomas Jefferson University found that caffeine may block the effects of acetaldehyde and therefore mask headaches caused by excessive alcohol consumption. However the CDC has stated that caffeinated drinks don’t influence how fast alcohol is processed by the liver, and therefore only hides the effects of alcohol rather than eliminating them.

Alcohol is a diuretic that causes people to urinate more. Frequent urination can lead to dehydration, which is responsible for many hangover symptoms. Though drinking coffee may seem like a good way to restore energy in the morning, coffee is also a diuretic and therefore can make dehydration worse.

Instead of reaching for that coffee, try exercising and drinking water to burn off any remaining alcohol and get hydrated. Additionally, drinking fluids like Gatorade that rich in minerals like sodium and potassium can help restore your electrolyte balance!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621334/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19942-is-coffee-the-real-cure-for-a-hangover/

https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/caffeine-and-alcohol.htm

https://bowlinggreenmedicalclinic.com/hl/?/157014/True-or-False–You-Can-Cure-a-Hangover

https://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/12/31/how-to-cure-a-hangover