Monthly Archives: March 2009
Can We Really Multitask?
The latest post at PsyBlog discusses a classic study on multitasking, in which two participants were reportedly taught to read and write at the same time. From the post: Professor Elizabeth Spelke and colleagues at Cornell University wanted to know … Continue reading
Filed under About Neuroscience
Noggin Raisers Vol.11
Excellent article by David Dobbs on the overdiagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at Scientific American, and the author provides links to sources and supplemental materials here at his blog, Neuron Culture There’s “psych” in semen, oh yes there is, and Jena Pincott … Continue reading
Filed under Noggin Raisers
What Does Expert Advice Really Do to Our Brains?
A new study in PLoS suggests that expert advice causes the brain to “offload” calculations of expected utility (loss or gain) when making a financial decision under risk. This is an intriguing result, but we should take a closer look to … Continue reading
Filed under About Neuroscience, About Research
Finding the Money Illusion in the Brain
One of the daggers that have pierced the heart of the long-held economic rationality assumption (that we are all rational actors on the economic stage) is the “money illusion” proposition. Rather than only rationally considering the real value of money … Continue reading
Filed under About Neuroscience, About Perception, About Research
This is Your Brain on the Edge of Chaos
What do our brains have in common with piles of sand, earthquakes, forest fires and avalanches? Each of those is a dynamic system in a self-organized critical state, and according to a new study in PloS Computational Biology, so is the brain. … Continue reading
Filed under About Neuroscience, About Research
An Appeal for Practical Wisdom
Aristotle said that practical wisdom is the combination of “moral will and moral skill.” In this TED lecture, psychologist Barry Schwartz makes an engaging appeal for practical wisdom as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy (“a society … Continue reading
Filed under Videos
You Can Be Afraid To Lose, But Don’t Lose Perspective
Anyone who has ever stood to lose anything (all of us) knows that emotions play a big part in how we react to potential loss. Sweaty palms and upper lips, fidgety fingers and bouncing knees, frantic, racing thoughts – all are signs of … Continue reading
Filed under About Neuroscience, About Research
David DiSalvo is a science, technology and culture writer whose work appears in Scientific American Mind, Psychology Today and a variety of other places.
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