A bored man was working at developing energy sources for radar systems. He failed and wanted to have a coffee break. Suddenly, he realized that the chocolate bar in his pocket had melted during his experiments: he had just discovered the microwave. Many breakthroughs happened by accident – or should I say: boredom. Research studies revealed that getting bored engages the same brain areas as creative thinking.
Social comparison, or the tendency to compare oneself with another, is an individual behavior largely embedded in cultural and political background. Research has converged on the idea that the brain’s reward-related system is involved. Why is that?
As grown-ups, we easily tend to get bored when falling into a form of routine. Children, on the contrary, are very much into repetitions. This developmental difference is at the core of the way we process and interpret the world with experience.
Is it even possible to remain non-judgmental about looks and avoid associated stereotypes? It seems that we all judge looks, even our own; and on top of being superficial, it can seriously affect our behavior.
In Canada, dancers and researchers collaborated to develop dance as the universal body language for interacting with people suffering from dementia.
Can you imagine a life without forgetting? The truth is that erasing outdated or meaningless memories is just as important as creating new ones, both facilitate the ability to learn while generalizing.
Research reveals the unique capability of dogs to understand humans. One look at our face while carefully listening to our voice and they can make sense of our emotional state.
What to do when facing a situation we’re not familiar with? Too many unknown elements to react intuitively. That’s when we need to pause and think about a new plan. And then, just try and see?
Have you noticed how, depending on the context, sometimes time flies, and other times it seems to drag? Unravelling the mystery of how the brain keeps track of time is key to understanding how our state of mind affects not only what we perceive but how we perceive it.
Imagine that every detail you see, hear or smell triggers your thoughts simultaneously. From every tiny inscription on the packaging to all the massive sales signs, from a nearby whisper to the distant traffic… It is all too much to sense at once: this is what sensory overload feels like.