Category Archives: Brain Hacking

Three Strategies to Get and Stay Inspired

This is a good set of rules for performing any activity: act, start small, work with others. These are three very important principles because, as the author says, inspiration doesn’t strike very often and not very reliably. The first is … Continue reading

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Improving performance: Know why

There is a story about the actor Sir Laurence Olivier that speaks to improving performance. Olivier, one of the greatest stage performers of all time, had invited a friend to watch him on an evening that turned out to be … Continue reading

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Performance tips from Sesame Street: you have to put down the ducky

Sesame Street: Ernie Puts Down The Duckie – YouTube. Often when we have a goal we hold ourselves back from achieving it because pushing for change is scary. We may strive for a goal half-heartedly because we don’t want to … Continue reading

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A scientific strategy for learning

This is a nice comprehensive blog entry about memorizing things through Spaced repetition. There is a lot of neuroscience that shows that neural circuits “learn” (attain permanent state changes) based on repeated firing of the right circuits. And they learn optimally … Continue reading

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Inflammation and brain cells

A link between suicide and inflammation. There is more and more evidence that inflammation reduces neural reproduction and connection in clinically significant ways. Which is why I am taking a daily bit of NSAIDs like ibuprofen.   Clues in the … Continue reading

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How the Hum of a Coffee Shop Can Boost Creativity – NYTimes.com

This is something I’ve always found true–the hubbub of a coffee shop gives just the right level of background noise–like white noise–so that you can tune it all out and concentrate. If things are too quiet, any little sound grabs … Continue reading

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Watching Your Brain Freak Out on a Scanner Calms You Down

In a quirky new experiment, researchers at Yale University found that simply showing people what their anxious brains look like was enough to help those subjects lessen their anxiety. The participants in the study even learned how to control activity … Continue reading

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Photos that mimic human attention

This guy has an interesting photo technique: creating photos that are generally still photos, but have one person who is in motion. The funny thing is that it doesn’t seem that odd to look at. And the reason is that … Continue reading

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How Exercise May Help Memory

The take home message is that both aerobic and resistance training are good for the brain in different ways. How Exercise May Help Memory – NYTimes.com.

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How to Prevent Stress from Shrinking Your Brain | Psychology Today

Good light roundup of reasons why stress shrinks the brain and how to fight against that. I would add anti-inflamatories to the mix. How to Prevent Stress from Shrinking Your Brain | Psychology Today.

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