Why is yawning contagious? - Claudia Aguirre
AdultsHumanSciencePsychology...*Yaaawwwwwn* Did just reading the word make you feel like yawning yourself? Known as contagious yawning, the reasons behind this phenomenon have been attributed to both the physiological and psychological. It's been observed in children as young as four and even in dogs! Claudia Aguirre visits the many intriguing theories that might explain contagious yawning.
What is Deja Vu?!
AdultsMental HealthScienceNeuroscience...Most of us have felt it before, that strange sensation that you've been somewhere or seen something before, as if you already remembered what's happening. Are you psychic? Nope, that's just deja vu. Why does deja vu happen? Well, scientists aren't completely sure, but they've got a few good theories about it.
5 Weird Involuntary Behaviors Explained!
AdultsPsychologySocietyNeuroscience...Our bodies do a lot of weird things, and many of them are completely involuntary. Why do we often jerk our bodies awake right before falling asleep? Why do we yawn, or hiccup? Why do some people sneeze when they look at the sun? And why does your eye twitch? This week we'll look at the science behind these crazy involuntary behaviors!
The science of stage fright (and how to overcome it)
AdultsBiologyPsychologyNeuroscience...Heart racing, palms sweating, labored breathing? No, you're not having a heart attack -- it's stage fright! If speaking in public makes you feel like you're fighting for your life, you're not alone. But the better you understand your body's reaction, the more likely you are to overcome it. Mikael Cho advises how to trick your brain and steal the show.
This "Be My Eyes" App Lets People With Sight Guide Blind People Over Video Chat
AdultsDisabilityTechnologySociety...Be the eyes for a blind person in need of help remotely through a live video connection if you are sighted or be assisted by the network of sighted users if you are blind. Be My Eyes is all about contributing to and benefiting from small acts of kindness, so hop on board and get involved!
What's invisible? More than you think
AdultsScienceWorldPsychology...Gravity. The stars in day. Thoughts. The human genome. Time. Atoms. So much of what really matters in the world is impossible to see. A stunning animation of John Lloyd's classic TEDTalk from 2009, which will make you question what you actually know.
"Slap her": children's reactions
AdultsMasculinitySocietyWomen...What happens when you put a boy in front of a girl and ask him to slap her? Here is how children react to the subject of violence against women.
Would You Take This Bet?
AdultsLifePhilosophyPsychology...Psychological literature shows that we are more sensitive to small losses and than small gains, with most people valuing a loss around 1.5-2.5 times as much as a gain. This means that we often turn down reasonable opportunities for fear of the loss. However over the course of our lives we will be exposed to many risks and opportunities and this invariably means that taking every small reasonable bet will leave us better off than saying no to all of them.
8 traits of successful people
AdultsLeadershipSocietyPsychology...Ten years of research and 500 face-to-face-interviews led Richard St. John to a collection of eight common traits in successful leaders around the world.
How does your brain respond to pain?
AdultsHealthNeurosciencePsychologyEveryone experiences pain -- but why do some people react to the same painful stimulus in different ways? And what exactly is pain, anyway? Karen D. Davis walks you through your brain on pain, illuminating why the "pain experience" differs from person to person.
Why Does Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg Wear The Same Shirt Everyday?
AdultsLeadershipPhilosophyBusiness...Whether you're a fashionista or prefer to dress super laid-back, Mark Zuckerberg's reasoning for his one t-shirt wardrobe is pretty genius. We spend a lot of time on trivial decisions when we could use that energy on something more productive.
Why Music Moves Us
AdultsHumanMusicNeuroscience...Why does music make us feel happy or sad? Or angry or romantic? How can simple sound waves cause so much emotion? I went from my comfy chair to the streets of Austin to investigate how it might be written into our neuroscience and evolution. Modern neuroscience says our brains may be wired to pick certain emotions out of music because they remind us of how people move!
The language of lying
AdultsLanguageSocietyPsychologyWe hear anywhere from 10 to 200 lies a day. And although we've spent much of our history coming up with ways to detect these lies by tracking physiological changes in their tellers, these methods have proved unreliable. Is there a more direct approach? Noah Zandan uses some famous examples of lying to illustrate how we might use communications science to analyze the lies themselves.
Why Are Some People Left-Handed?
AdultsData ScienceScienceSociety...We've got two perfectly good hands attached to two perfectly good arms, so why do most people prefer to use one over the other for common tasks?
Comfortable: 50 People 1 Question
AdultsSelfSocietyPsychologyThese days it is so easy to feel insecure about our appearance. Whether it is because of the mean comment that comes our way or the photoshopped image we see in magazines, it can be so easy to feel self conscious about our body. When was the last time you felt comfortable in your own skin?
Can You Erase Bad Memories?
AdultsBiologyHumanNeuroscience...What if you could delete specific memories?
A brief history of melancholy
AdultsHistoryPsychologyMental Health...If you are a living, breathing human being, chances are you have felt sad at least a few times in your life. But what exactly is melancholy, and what (if anything) should we do about it? Courtney Stephens details our still-evolving understanding of sadness -- and even makes a case for its usefulness.
Dan Harris: Hack Your Brain's Default Mode with Meditation
AdultsNeuroscienceSpiritualityPsychology...Dan Harris explains the neuroscience behind meditation, but reminds us that the ancient practice isn't magic and likely won't send one floating into the cosmic ooze. He predicts that the exercise will soon become regularly scheduled maintenance, as commonplace as brushing your teeth or eating your veggies. Harris, an ABC News correspondent, was turned on to mediation after a live, on-air panic attack. His latest book is 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A
5 Crazy Ways Social Media Is Changing Your Brain Right Now
AdultsLifeSocial MediaSociety...Multi-tasking is actually bad for you when you use social media? Learn why.
Why we love repetition in music - Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis
AdultsMusicPsychologyCultureHow many times does the chorus repeat in your favorite song? How many times have you listened to that chorus? Repetition in music isn't just a feature of Western pop songs, either; it's a global phenomenon. Why? Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis walks us through the basic principles of the 'exposure effect,' detailing how repetition invites us into music as active participants, rather than passive listeners.