Wake Forest News

The Athletic

What Ryan Fox’s victory at the Open Championship can teach us about the science of belief

Kenneth Kishida, a neuroscience professor at Wake Forest, has spent the last two decades studying how the human mind processes narrative and how expectations can alter our subjective reality. In recent years, his focus has shifted to studying dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is largely known as the pleasure chemical. “Teaching the brain what leads to the ultimate goal or the ultimate outcome is key to what dopamine seems to be doing,” Kishida said.

July 23, 2026

The New York Times

Shooting ranges go quiet luxury

There is some precedent for the upscale gun club, said sociologist David Yamane, drawing a comparison to exclusive 19th-century establishments often centered around hunting, “it wasn’t just a matter of could you afford to join, but were you the right kind of person,” he said. “A $6,000 pistol is not necessarily 10 times better than a $600 pistol,” he added, “so you’re buying it for something other than just functionality.”

July 22, 2026