Nerds like me have an itch to learn new things, but can scratching it be harmful? When is it better to not know?
An interesting Psychology Today editorial on the truth of the phrase “ignorance is bliss” - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/headshrinkers-guide-the-galaxy/201108/is-ignorance-bliss
A paper documenting deteriorating mental health for patients diagnosed with terminal illness - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1291326/
A summary of the discoveries of super-virulent H5N1 strains - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/health/wisconsin-scientist-says-h5n1-flu-strain-he-created-is-less-dangerous.html?_r=0
A great philosophical inspection of truth & how we can know it - http://mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles/content/9780262622011_sch_0001.pdf
From Reddit user denijeur, a summary of a published paper in Science about how less information can sometimes result in better decision-making - http://www.eurekalert.org/features/kids/2011-11/aaft-fdl111111.php
And finally, from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an entry on the Total Perspective Vortex - http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Total_Perspective_Vortex