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Igor Judge, Baron Judge, a British judge

Nominative determinism is the hypothesis that people are drawn to professions that fit their name. The term was first used in the magazine New Scientist in 1994, after its humorous Feedback column mentioned a book on polar explorations by Daniel Snowman and an article on urology by researchers named Splatt and Weedon. The hypothesis had been suggested by psychologist Carl Jung, citing as an example Sigmund Freud (German for 'joy'), who studied pleasure. A few recent empirical studies have indicated that certain professions are disproportionately represented by people with appropriate surnames, though the methods of these studies have been challenged. One explanation for nominative determinism is the theory of implicit egotism, which states that humans have an unconscious preference for things they associate with themselves. An alternative explanation is genetic: an ancestor might have been named Smith or Taylor according to their occupation, and the genes they passed down might correlate to aptitudes for those professions. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Ed Stone

... that Ed Stone (pictured) was the Voyager program's project scientist for 50 years?
... that an actress who appeared in the 1915 film A Welsh Singer did not act in a film again until 1948?
... that Irve Tunick said he wrote about 700 to 800 scripts in his first 15 years of writing radio scripts?
... that Vatican Cycling is the first Vatican sports governing body to be recognized by a world governing body?
... that a newspaper columnist described an Illinois TV station as one that would "illustrate a flood by showing its audience a hand-drawn picture of a lake in the corner of the screen"?
... that Empress Kōken, having resigned the Japanese throne in favor of a relative, shaved her head, became a Buddhist nun, and forced her way back into power?
... that modernist architect Paul Rudolph was said to have run out of money three times while designing the Modulightor Building?
... that Sayuti Abubakar was nominated to become the vice governor of Aceh by an imprisoned former governor?
... that Google Street View in Antarctica started as a "challenge"?

In the news

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

On this day

June 27: Helen Keller Day in the United States

Depiction of Pope Agatho

678 – Pope Agatho (depicted), later venerated as a saint in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, began his pontificate.
1800 – War of the Second Coalition: French forces won a victory at the Battle of Neuburg, ending Austrian control over the River Danube.
1905 – First Russian Revolution: The crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin began a mutiny against their officers.
1950 – Korean War: Five North Korean aircraft attacked an American air convoy above Suwon Air Base in the first air engagement of the Korean War.
2015 – Ignition of corn starch caused a dust fire at a water park in New Taipei City, Taiwan, killing 12 people and injuring more than 400 others.

Wilhelmina FitzClarence, Countess of Munster (b. 1830)
Frank Rattray Lillie (b. 1870)
Harry Pollitt (d. 1960)
Nico Rosberg (b. 1985)

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From today's featured list

2024 variant of the Men's T20 World Cup logo

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup, formerly the ICC World Twenty20, is a biennial world cup for cricket in the Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in every odd year from 2007 to 2009, and since 2010 has been held in every even year with the exception of 2018 and 2020. In 2018, the tournament was rebranded from the World Twenty20 to the Men's T20 World Cup. As of the 2024 tournament, twenty-four nations have played in the T20 World Cup. Nine teams have competed in every tournament, six of which have won the title. The West Indies, England and India have won the title twice each, while Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia have won the title once each. Sri Lanka, England, Pakistan and India have each made three final appearances, while Pakistan have also made six semi-final appearances. The best result by a non-Test playing nation is the second round appearance by the United States in 2024, while the worst result by a Test playing nation is the second round appearance by Zimbabwe in 2022. (Full list...)

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Whitehead's trogon (Harpactes whiteheadi) is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to the island of Borneo, where it is an uncommon resident in primary mountain forest. One of Borneo's largest trogons, at 29 to 33 centimetres (11 to 13 inches) long, it is sexually dimorphic. The male is crimson on the head, nape, and underparts, with a black throat and grey chest; the rest of its upperparts are cinnamon-coloured. The female is similarly patterned, but cinnamon-brown where the male is scarlet. The species is primarily an insectivore, but also eats various plant materials, including fruits and seeds. Other than the timing of its breeding, typically between April and June, little is known about its breeding biology. It is classified as a near-threatened species, with population numbers thought to be declining and habitat loss a key threat. This male Whitehead's trogon was photographed perching on a branch near Mount Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Photograph credit: John Harrison

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