Mind Hacks brings us two citations of Harry Potter in field of headache research. The journal Headache, published an article Harry Potter and the Curse of the Headache, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology published "I know you are but what am I?!" [PDF].
I always assumed Harry's headaches were simply manifestations of teenage angst, but the authors of the Curse of the Headache track every mention of headaches in the first six volumes and offers a medical context. I wonder how much research (if any) Rowling did on headaches before she decided on that particular affliction to symbolize the proximity of Voldemort, or if she herself suffers from migraines or other serious headaches. I also didn't realize that headaches were passed on biologically.
The second article demonstrates it's there's less brain activity required for younger people to consider people familiar to them than people who are not familar. Other studies show that the ideas of familiarity and belonging are in fact very malleable. I think there's more than headaches going on here, if it's easier for us to consider those closer to us than those foreign to us, that may explain how both communities and bias form in young minds.
I had to use Google Scholar to find the full text each of these articles. \I was a little disappointed the Headaches article only covers the progression through the first six books.
Also, Tricia links to HipHop.CN's Rap Challenge, "in search of China’s next big rap talent." I think Alaina's cousin run's this site? I also can't help but notice how similar The Rap Challenge logo is to Otorevo's logo.
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