Category Archives: Uncategorized

How people evaluate what is true and what is not

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Chris

A former engineer looks at how he went about changing his mind on global warming, and how people evaluate the truth. In general it is not rational at all–it has to do with evaluating how much you trust the source … Continue reading →

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How Fat May Hurt the Brain, and How Exercise May Help – NYTimes.com

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Chris

Scientist know that obesity harms cognition. But how? The blood brain barrier should keep out fat cell secretions. Many thought the brain, though, should be insulated from those harmful effects. It contains no fat cells and sits behind the protective … Continue reading →

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Drugs unlimited: Open source drug discovery

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Chris

Yet another sign that the world is changed by the internet. A journalist for the Guardian designs a legal variant of an illegal drug and contracts via the internet to have it manufactured in China. More and more, people will … Continue reading →

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The Meaning of Pupil Dilation

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Chris

From The Scientist magazine, a really interesting roundup about pupil diliation and what it can tell us about human cognition. It’s an old subject, but finding many new applications and helping create new insights (no pun intended). The Meaning of … Continue reading →

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More bad news for Ibuprofen during exercise

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Chris

I’ve written about how ibuprofen may interfere with muscle development when taken after exercise, but it is not good to take during exercise either. For a while it has been known that it can cause people to ignore damage happening … Continue reading →

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Risk Management: The underestimated cost of Lyme disease

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Chris

The New York Times Magazine has an article on Ina Drew, who was supposed to oversee trading operations at JP Morgan and was reportedly a great risk manager. But her unit lost $5 billion. To me, the underplayed role in … Continue reading →

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The link between imagination, sickle cell anemia and human success

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Chris

On a beach run this morning I was listening to the Fresh Air interview with Jonah Lehrer, author of the book Imagine, which discusses how we get creative insights. Lehrer’s ideas about the nature of the creative process made me … Continue reading →

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Secrets of building courage, from mixed martial arts

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Chris

Three ways to build courage, reduce anxiety and improve performance, from the world of mixed martial arts: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201201/building-bulletproof-courage

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Foxp2

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Chris

An interesting article published in Nature about FoxP2 (Forkhead box protein 2) gene, which has been shown to be critical for learning speech. Discovered first in a British family with inherited speech problems, foxp2 has been shown to have two … Continue reading →

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Sleep, “energy” and mood

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Chris

A new study using twitter to evaluate mood over the course of the day reveals that people’s mood rises in the morning, lowers in the afternoon, then rises again in the evening. Hmmm. Where have I seen that curve before? … Continue reading →

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