Whether in situations relating to scientific consensus, economic history or current political events, denialism has its roots in what psychologists call ‘motivated reasoning.’
A brisk 20-minute walk can increase energy level, alertness and mood, and improve working memory — with no caffeine side-effects.
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Involving family and friends in decisions or rethinking the meaning of “getting back to normal” helps protect against cognitive bias and its harmful consequences.
The bone arrowhead (insert) found at Klasies River main site has much to teach us.
Justin Bradfield and Sarah Wurz
The artefact comes from deposits dated to more than 60,000 years ago. It closely resembles thousands of bone arrowheads used by the indigenous San hunter-gatherers from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Is it safe to nip out for milk? Should I download the COVIDSafe app? Is it OK to wear my pyjamas in a Zoom meeting? All these extra decisions are taking their toll.
Imitation is the sincerest form of being human?
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A quirk of psychology that affects the way people learn from others may have helped unlock the complicated technologies and rituals that human culture hinges on.
Historically, the body and movement have been widely disregarded within psychotherapy. But times are changing, as a growing movement of somatic and dance therapies are gaining scientific credibility.
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Dance therapy is effective in treating depression, improving memory and neuroplasticity in older adults and improving executive function in those with Parkinson’s disease.
When you’re looking for a destination, you might need to cut down the volume.
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Do you ever find you suddenly need to turn off the radio so you can concentrate on what you’re doing? It’s because you only have a finite amount of attention, for particular types of tasks at least.
A lifetime of memories… but not always readily accessible.
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The ‘contexual-binding theory’ suggests memories are easier to retrieve when your brain is in a similar context to when the memory was first formed. Food for thought if you’re cramming for an exam.
It gets easier with practice.
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Despite its huge complexity, your brain directs its neural traffic in relatively straightforward ways when approaching cognitively demanding tasks such as puzzles.
We know that pigs or dogs will never understand prime numbers. Some philosophers think that concepts like consciousness are similarly inaccessible to humans.
Honeybees are good at maths, but it was thought they could only count to four. That is, unless you present them with a task in which they are punished with a bitter-tasting drink for getting it wrong.
Do you often forget where you put the keys or what you were looking for in the fridge? It’s not necessarily a sign of cognitive decline – it might just come down to being tired, stressed or worried.
To perform a sequence of actions, our brains need to prepare and queue them in the correct order.
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There are reasons to be skeptical, of both the quality of the evidence presented so far and the questionable assumptions that underlie claims of improved cognitive function after brain training.
Maybe the differences between human and non-human animals are not as great as we might previously have thought.
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