The U.S. leads the world in the amount of people regularly using the internet — yet, with all the information it brings into our lives, our media diet is typically pretty myopic. So says internet activist Ethan Zuckerman in his book, “Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection.” [ … ]
In “Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict,” psychology professor Ara Norenzayan explores how the great monotheistic and polytheistic faiths established themselves, and consequently how they’ve affected human behavior in societies throughout the world [ … ]
Cognitive psychologist and Penn State professor David A. Rosenbaum says we’ve got an “inner battlefield” happening in our minds — meaning loads of thoughts and ideas are constantly duking it out for survival, and these battles do as much to shape our personalities as external forces. [ … ]
Neuroscientist Tali Sharot has found through her research that when it comes to optimism, the way our mind approaches — and even tricks — us is a function of survival. In her book, “The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain” she outlines how people tend to overestimate the likelihood of positive [ … ]
There’s sharp, and then there’s Sherlock Holmes sharp — deliberative, insightful, observant, astute. It was those qualities that made psychologist and journalist Maria Konnikova think we could learn a thing or two from the 19th-century detective made famous in Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels. In her book [ … ]
Virtual reality is no longer just the hypothetical domain of sci-fi movies. It promises great freedom — consider an avatar that increases your self-efficacy, or surgical training applications for physicians. Experts in the field Jim Blascovich and Jeremy Bailenson examine how virtual worlds will transform us. [ … ]
Cordelia Fine’s book, “Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference,” just may upend everything you’ve come to believe about males, females, and hardwiring. What if men aren’t naturally good at math and fixing things, and women aren’t [ … ]
It’s a debate as old as time. Are people instinctively good or bad by nature? Author Donald W. Pfaff, Ph.D., uses brain science to examine this age-old question. In “The Altruistic Brain: How We Get to Be Naturally Good,” Pfaff, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Rockefeller University, theorizes that [ … ]
Just as peer pressure can influence negative behavior, it can be a catalyst for good, leading to improved grades, reduced HIV infection rates, and even the ousting of a dictator, Tina Rosenberg argues in her book, “Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Change the World.” She terms it [ … ]
Sebastian Seung, neuroscientist and MIT professor, thinks everything can be traced back to the connectome — the complex neural network that makes up each of our brains. One of the leaders in the emerging science of connectomics, Seung believes that mapping the connectome [ … ]
Even when they are crystal clear, our memories are not as straightforward as we might think. In “Pieces of Light: How the New Science of Memory Illuminates the Stories We Tell About Our Pasts,” psychologist Charles Fernyhough goes on a personal journey to explore the science of [ … ]
We humans appear to be the only species with the capacity to think the way we do. But why is still the question — one that Mark Turner explores in “The Origin of Ideas: Blending, Creativity and the Human Spark.” Turner, professor of cognitive science at Case Western Reserve University [ … ]
“Nightline” and weekend “Good Morning America” anchor Dan Harris realizes that meditation might not seem compatible with a career in hard-charging network news, but it’s been an invaluable tool for him to achieve both serenity and success. In his book, “10% Happier” [ … ]
Time dictates our lives — we don’t have enough of it, we lose track of it, we need to manage it—yet most of us seldom consider how our brains process it. In “Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception,” author and psychology lecturer Claudia Hammond delves into how our perception of time can influence [ … ]
“Just try to pay attention to 10 breaths in a row, and that’s it. You’ve succeeded right there. Or just walk slowly back and forth across your room and make each step coincide with one breath. That’s a powerful practice, with enough stimulation in it to keep your head in the game if you’re distractible,” says Rick Hanson. [ … ]
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