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Editor's note
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We’ve all heard stories of career conmen and women, tricking their way to undeserved fortune. People like Pan Am pilot pretender Frank Abagnale, Soho grifter Anna Delvey and fake forensic scientist Gene Morrison have become notorious for their mass manipulation. But while we can usually map out how these fraudsters get away with their schemes, why is it that we believe them? Crimes by deception expert Tim Holmes thinks he’s found the answer
by analysing the 23 year career of a very unlikely con artist: Fernando Waldo Demara.
Unlike his swindling peers, Demara did not wish for riches or fame. In fact, when asked about why he committed his crimes, he said it was down to “pure rascality”. In our latest long read, Holmes explains just how Demara used societal norms and humanity’s innate trustworthiness not to harm others but instead to establish himself as an authoritative academic, the respected warden of a maximum security prison, and a life-saving naval doctor.
Elsewhere we’ve been looking at whether there is a link between fitness trackers and eating disorders, and the best way to teach children a second language.
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Top stories
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Ferdinand Waldo Demara.
Tim Holmes, Bangor University
How does a man with no education convince everyone he is a priest, professor and doctor?
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nelen/Shutterstock
Carolyn Plateau, Loughborough University
A small body of research has started to explore how fitness trackers and calorie counting apps might be linked to disordered eating and exercise.
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It doesn’t have to be all fun and games.
Shutterstock
Karen Roehr-Brackin, University of Essex; Angela Tellier, University of Essex
Children as young as eight or nine could be taught in a more adult, analytical way.
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Science + Technology
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Max Saunders, King's College London
From mobile phones to artificial wombs: what a breathtakingly visionary set of predictions from a century ago can teach us about our attempts to forecast the future today.
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Alexander Piel, Liverpool John Moores University; Fiona Stewart, Liverpool John Moores University
The way of life primates have evolved to live cannot be replicated in a human home.
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Wim Naudé, United Nations University
We're facing an arms race to build an artificial super-intelligence – this could be a disaster without government action.
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Environment + Energy
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Jack Marley, The Conversation
Your next flight could be the single biggest contribution to global warming you make all year. Experts imagine how we might travel in future, without the 'flygskam'.
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Volker Roeben, University of Dundee
The use of fossil fuels has to end and be replaced by sustainable energy as quickly as possible. The Paris Agreement was a good start but states continuing to work together is key.
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Craig Storey, University of Portsmouth; James Darling, University of Portsmouth; Nick Koor, University of Portsmouth
Geology will be key to any green transition, but its academic reputation needs an urgent makeover.
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Business + Economy
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Imelda Maher, University College Dublin; Dermot Hodson, Birkbeck, University of London
The EU is loathe to let treaties fail, given the sunk costs of negotiating them, but it may walk away if Johnson doesn't change his tune.
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Daniel Fisher, City, University of London
Late trains, anxiety, stressful commutes, disruption to family life – just some of the woes of train customers.
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Politics + Society
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Adrienne Yong, City, University of London
Priti Patel has announced that the border will close on October 31 without a transition period.
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Guy Aitchison, Loughborough University
Hungry for dignity, migrants are resisting their cruel detention using the only tool left available to them.
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Cities
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Xiang Ren, University of Sheffield
Two thirds of China's 900m rural residents are moving to cities. Now, architects are finding ways to preserve their built heritage, before it disappears.
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Featured events
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Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham Innovation Park, , Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2TU, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Nottingham
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34 Broad Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3BD, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
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Berrill Lecture Theatre The Open University Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 6AA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — The Open University
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Here East, Queen Elizabeth Park, London, London, City of, E15 2GW, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — UCL
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