Is it better to do all your reading for the year in two weeks?
y compressing their intake into a matter of days, they give new ideas additional opportunities to network among themselves, for the simple reason that it’s easier to remember something that you read yesterday than it is to remember something you read six months ago." Via Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation: The problem with assimilating new ideas at the fringes of your daily routine is that the potential combinations are limited by the reach of your…
2 minutes
How are teenager’s brains similar to those of drug addicts?
alvan noted that the response pattern of teen brains is essentially the same response curve of a seasoned drug addict. Their reward center cannot be stimulated by low doses—they need the big jolt to get pleasure." Via NurtureShock: Is it possible that teens are just neurologically prone to boredom? According to the work of neuroscientist Dr. Adriana Galvan at UCLA, there’s good reason to think so. Inside our brains is a reward center, involving the nucleus accumbens, which lights up…
2 minutes
What’s the most important part of an athlete’s body?
t's all about the ass." Via ESPN (hat tip: Chris Yeh) The bulk of any athlete's power sits squarely in the gluteus maximus. Roughly three times the size of the biceps, it is the largest of the three gluteal muscles. It begins at the top of the pelvis (right near your rear pants pockets). Then it wraps around the bottom of the hip, where it connects to the front side of the femur. Besides giving the butt its girth, the…
2 minutes
Here’s the most powerful technique for following through on your dreams
"If-then" planning. Via Nine Things Successful People Do Differently: It’s called if-then planning, and it is a really powerful way to help you achieve any goal. Well over a hundred studies, on everything from diet and exercise to negotiation and time management, have shown that deciding in advance when and where you will take specific actions to reach your goal (e.g., “If it is 4 p.m., then I will return any phone calls I should return today”) can double or…
2 minutes
4 Scientific Steps To Facing Your Fears
his book The Courage Quotient: How Science Can Make You Braver, Robert Biswas-Diener shows how we can use science and research to be more brave. He explains that there are two factors to courage: Fear Willingness to act They can both go up or down. Courage = "Willingness to act" divided by "Fear." To increase bravery you must either: Reduce fear. Boost willingness to act. Do both of the above. What steps can we take in the moment to…
3 minutes
Is our fear of terrorism rational?
uce Schneier, author of the excellent book Beyond Fear, points to two articles that sum it up: "Bee stings killed as many in UK as terrorists" During the 21st century, terrorism has been an insignificant cause of mortality in the United Kingdom. The annualised average of five deaths caused by terrorism in England and Wales over this period compares with total accidental deaths in 2010 of 17,201, including 123 cyclists killed in traffic accidents, 102 personnel killed in Afghanistan, 29…
1 min read
Here’s Why Stupid People Don’t Realize They’re Stupid
know how skilled you are at something, you need to watch yourself, watch others and compare. If you don't have the experience (or the mental firepower) to do this effectively, your judgements won't be accurate. To oversimplify it a tad -- stupid people may be too stupid to realize they're stupid: Successful negotiation of everyday life would seem to require people to possess insight about deficiencies in their intellectual and social skills. However, people tend to be blissfully unaware of their…
3 minutes
What is the most harmful drug?
new system that ranks drugs on the basis of harm caused to both the user and others places alcohol as the most harmful drug, above heroin and crack. The scale, developed by drug experts led by Professor David Nutt of Imperial College London, is published online in The Lancet. And: The nine categories in harm to self are drug-specific mortality, drug-related mortality, drug-specific damage, drug-related damage, dependence, drug-specific impairment of mental function, drug-related impairment of mental functioning, loss of…
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