The NY Times reports on a 20-year study done by research professor, Jerome Kagan, on the development of temperament from childbirth to adulthood.
Temperament is a complex, multilayered thing, and for the sake of clarity, Kagan was tracking it along a single dimension: whether babies were easily upset when exposed to new things. He chose this characteristic both because it could be measured and because it seemed to explain much of normal human variation. He suspected, extrapolating from a study he had just completed on toddlers, that the most edgy infants were more likely to grow up to be inhibited, shy and anxious. Eager to take a peek at the early results, he grabbed the videotapes of the first babies in the study, looking for the irritable behavior he would later call high-reactive.
As a logical and seemingly simple conclusion, it becomes more interesting as Kagan interviewed children at different stages of adolescence and adulthood to see how nuances of their anxiety manifested itself and in what manner it affected them. One baby, Baby 19, in particular, had shown signs of anxiety at birth and continued to question her every decision.
Her voice trails off. She wants to make a difference, she says, and worries about whether she will. “I can’t stop thinking about that.”
I can definitely relate to this near-debilitating anxiety when I try to complete important tasks.
Why does this pair of pants cost $550?
NY Times details Band of Outsiders‘ pricing on a pair of chinos:
An obvious “no shit” revelation here. When you’re looking for something that has solid construction and a great fit, you might have to buckle down and drop a bit more coin than you normally would. I know that’s how I feel about some of the jeans and button-up shirts I wear, but this is a very subjective issue that varies due to personal style, taste, and body type.
Then again, retail was up 1.2% in March and steadily on the rise — designers who charge a ton of money for their clothes might not as crazy as they’re made out to be.