Each time we recall a memory, we change it subtly, altering the small details, and doing so unknowingly. Over time, these small details can end up changing a great deal of the original memory. They…
Sam Brinson Posts
We see distinct colors in the spectrum, but their boundaries are impossible to measure precisely. — Adam Alter In Drunk Tank Pink, Adam Alter points out that the labels we use in our respective languages influence the…
There are many decisions we make in split seconds. Decisions that require no cognitive effort, no thought, no awareness. Where does the observation that you like this piece of music come from? How long did…
“The ant in Aesop’s fable instinctively knows what it has to do to prepare for the future, and when summer comes it drags off the food it will need for the winter. But we don’t…
What makes someone confident? Belief. The belief that they can do what it is they’re being asked to, belief that the answer they’ve calculated is correct, or, belief that the answer that just popped into…
“Repetition is not an arbitrary characteristic that has arisen in a particular style of music; rather, it is a fundamental characteristic of what we experience as music.” —On Repeat A recent study published in Plos One has…
Natalie Portman recently gave a commencement speech at Harvard. She made an interesting point about inexperience and originality: “Fear protects us in many ways, but what has served me is diving into my own obliviousness.…
“… we are constantly predicting the future and hypothesizing what we will experience. This expectation influences what we actually perceive. Predicting the future is actually the primary reason that we have a brain.” Ray Kurzweil is…
“Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives,…
True understanding comes not from being able to recite large passages of text or memorize large collections of equations, but from the deeper understanding that allows you to adapt to novel situations and create new…