This is kind of cute: a demonstration of how we always think the other fellow is slacking off. In a recent study, people were asked to judge the weight of a box lifted by someone else while the subject lifted a light (150g) or heavy (750g) box. It was found that when the subjects were themselves lifting a light box, they judged the other person's box to be heavier than it really was. But when the subjects were lifting a heavy box, they thought the other box was lighter than it really was. "Our brains are wired to see other people's actions in relation to our own. Mixing up our actions with other people's actions is part of what makes us very good in social situations, but this new research has shown that this ability also biases our judgments, making it seem that someone else always has the easier job!"

And NASA has apparently developed a 'mind-reading' system! Specifically, a computer program which can read words before they are spoken by analysing nerve signals in our mouths and throats. The sensors may one day help space-walking astronauts and people who cannot talk communicate.