Ground-nesting birds have a hard time raising their young, with many eggs and chicks falling prey to predators like chipmunks. One way they overcome these problems is by eavesdropping on the chips, chucks and trills that their enemies the chipmunks use to communicate with each other, and then using this information to find safer spots to build their nests.
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Can it hurt you in the workplace? – We love to chat, but we abhor nasty gossip. Gossip in the workplace can be a weapon or a gift, affecting both power and influence in the office. New research shows that depending on how this weapon is used, its influence can be either strong or weak, so we can use it to our advantage in the future.
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There is actually a science about how gossip spreads. During the 2004 presidential election there were identical rumors about BOTH candidates Bush and Kerry, saying that each of them had misquoted the Bible. But if you’re a Democrat, you probably didn’t hear the Kerry rumor?and vice-versa. Is there any way to tell if the gossip we hear is true information?
In LiveScience.com, Corey Binns quotes psychologist Nicholas DiFonzo as saying, “The kind of network configuration we’re embedded in can either help or hinder us ferret out the facts?[for instance], the anti-Bush rumor would congregate with clusters of Democrats.”
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