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To Stay Sharp as You Age, Learn New Skills
In most adults, learning and thinking plateau and then begin to decline after age 30 or 40. People start to perform worse in tests of cognitive abilities such as processing speed, the rate at which someone
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Want to Be More Successful? Neuroscience Shows Embracing a Growth Mindset Actually Changes How Your Brain Functions
First, some background. If you aren’t familiar, research on achievement and success by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck shows that most people embrace — whether consciously or not — one of two mental perspectives where talent is concerned: The outcomes of embracing a fixed
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Images in the Mind’s Eye Are Quick Sketches That Lack Simple, Real-World Details
Here were the simple instructions given by a Harvard University assistant professor to people participating in a recent cognitive science study: “Imagine the following scene. Visualize it in your mind’s eye, as vividly as you
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The Difference Between Speaking and Thinking
Language is commonly understood as the instrument of thought. People “talk it out” and “speak their mind,” follow “trains of thought” or “streams of consciousness.” Some of the pinnacles of human creation—music, geometry, computer programming—are
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The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are
This past thanksgiving, I asked my mother how old she was in her head. She didn’t pause, didn’t look up, didn’t even ask me to repeat the question, which would have been natural, given that
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I Didn’t Think Birding Was for Me. Now It’s My Favorite Self-Care Hobby.
… That’s a big part of what I like so much about birding: It’s a way to pay attention. Practicing mindfulness and being present in the moment can be rather difficult, and doing it when you’re out
