Web Searches Reveal (in Aggregate) What We’re Really Thinking What are the weirdest questions you’ve ever Googled? Mine might be (for my latest book): “How many people have ever lived?” “What do people think about just before death?” and “How … Continue reading Inside your private thoughts
Separating Trash From Treasure: How the Brain Assigns Value to Objects Johns Hopkins neuroscientists have discovered how the brain can determine an object’s value almost as soon as we see it. The team found the brain can begin processing value … Continue reading Values in your brain
Brag Wisely In early 2016, Princeton University professor Johannes Haushofer posted a “CV of failures” on his professional website. In the document, he posted a long list of positions, grants, and awards that he had applied for and been rejected … Continue reading Do you hide your failures?
Here’s How to Get to Conscious Machines, Neuroscientists Say Unlike the director leads you to believe, the protagonist of Ex Machina, Andrew Garland’s 2015 masterpiece, isn’t Caleb, a young programmer tasked with evaluating machine consciousness. Rather, it’s his target Ava, … Continue reading The verge of consciousness
10 Ways That Running Changes Your Mind and Brain “One 60-minute run can add 7 hours to your life” claimed The Times last week. The story was based on a new review in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases that concluded that … Continue reading Running in the brain
How Brain Scientists Forgot That Brains Have Owners It’s a good time to be interested in the brain. Neuroscientists can now turn neurons on or off with just a flash of light, allowing them to manipulate the behavior of animals … Continue reading Behavior first
Are Some Scientists Serious About Denying Free Will? Free will is our apparent ability to choose between different courses of action; it is closely linked to responsibility, guilt, and other feelings. Only actions for which we are free to either … Continue reading Taking free will seriously
