background preloader

Brain Hacks

Brain Hacks
...For answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. "It is a question of cubic capacity, " said he; "a man with so large a brain must have something in it Not everyone is born with a big brain. If you’re looking to improve mental cognition, increase your memory, and enhance your alertness, here are 15 easy ways to give your brain a six-pack. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. First, know how you learn. Second, the most effective way to remember facts is by forming multiple associations. Third, rinse and repeat. 14. 15.

77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better If someone granted you one wish, what do you imagine you would want out of life that you haven’t gotten yet? For many people, it would be self-improvement and knowledge. Newcounter knowledge is the backbone of society’s progress. Great thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and others’ quests for knowledge have led society to many of the marvels we enjoy today. Your quest for knowledge doesn’t have to be as Earth-changing as Einstein’s, but it can be an important part of your life, leading to a new job, better pay, a new hobby, or simply knowledge for knowledge’s sake — whatever is important to you as an end goal. Life-changing knowledge does typically require advanced learning techniques. Health Shake a leg. Balance Sleep on it. Perspective and Focus Change your focus, part 2. Recall Techniques Listen to music. Visual Aids Every picture tells a story. Verbal and Auditory Techniques Stimulate ideas. Kinesthetic Techniques Write, don’t type.

The Five Words That Changed My Life “Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things.” – Vernor Vinge I thought that it was never going to end. Wake up. Brush my teeth. Drive to work. Sit at my desk for eight hours. The truth is, at that point in my life, nothing brought me joy any more. Having a small child left me with virtually no time for myself, and so no hope for recovery from the torture of my mind-numbing job. As days turned to months, and months into years, I was starting to give up hope. There was only one little problem—my miserable state affected those around me. She tried to help me as best she could, encouraging me to switch jobs and return to school, neither of which had a lasting effect. The Wake Up Call Then, one night, in a final, desperate attempt to help me, my wife looked me in the eyes with an intensity that I’ve never seen before, and said five simple words: “You have to fix this.” When I did not respond, she quietly walked away, leaving me to my thoughts. “I’ve got to do something?” 1. 2. 3.

30 Books I’m Glad I Read Before 30 - StumbleUpon In various ways, these 30 books convey some of the philosophy of how Angel and I live our lives. I honestly credit a fraction of who I am today to each title. Thus, they have indirectly influenced much of what I write about on this site. If you haven’t read these books yet, I highly recommend doing so. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert – Gilbert, a Harvard professor of psychology has studied happiness for decades, and he shares scientific findings that just might change the way you look at the world. What are your favorite books? Photo by: Katie Harris

Japanese language Japanese (日本語, Nihongo?, [nihõŋɡo], [nihõŋŋo] ( )) is an East Asian language spoken by about 125 million speakers, primarily in Japan, where it is the national language. It is a member of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) language family, whose relation to other language groups, particularly to Korean and the suggested Altaic language family, is debated. Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. History[edit] Prehistory[edit] A common ancestor of Japanese and Ryukyuan languages or dialects is thought[by whom?] Old Japanese[edit] Old Japanese is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language. Due to these extra syllables, it has been hypothesized that Old Japanese's vowel system was larger than that of Modern Japanese – it perhaps contained up to eight vowels. Old Japanese does not have /h/, but rather /ɸ/ (preserved in modern fu, /ɸɯ/), which has been reconstructed to an earlier */p/. Early Middle Japanese[edit] Late Middle Japanese[edit]

Mind Modifications What is a Ganzfeld effect? The Ganzfeld (German for “complete/full field”) effect happens when the sensory system is steadily overloaded with a uniform signal. For example, a uniform, steady and all-encompassing soft light to the eyes will cause a “loss of vision”. This happens because, essentially, there is no change in the signal going to the brain, so the brain stops processing the signal. The Ganzfeld is interesting because it is a simple, yet effective tool which provides a mild form of sensory deprivation. Mild sensory deprivation through the Ganzfeld effect gives mild effects. Anyway, to enhance the effect, the basic idea is to extend the Ganzfeld idea to other senses than vision. While trying out the Ganzfeld with a big blank wall in a darkened room, for a short period of time I saw myself in a snowy parking lot. Experimenting with the Ganzfeld Effect A simple “Ganzfeld device” is easy to build; first, cut a uniform colour ping-pong ball in two. Uses of Ganzfeld

7 Lessons From 7 Great Minds Have you ever wished you could go back in time and have a conversation with one of the greatest minds in history? Well, you can’t sorry, they’re dead. Unless of course you’re clairaudient, be my guest. But for the rest of us, we can still refer to the words they left behind. Even though these great teachers have passed on, their words still live, and in them their wisdom. 1. “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” - Lawrence J. In order for us to achieve our dreams, we must have a vision of our goals. Action: Visualize a life of your wildest dreams. 2. “It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson The best way to learn something is to dive right in to it. Action: You must define your fears in order to conquer them. 3. “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. Our thoughts determine our reality. Action: Create a list of your intentions and desires. 4. 5. 6. 7.

50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life. To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades. Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one. While not totally comprehensive , here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. Check out these books for more ideas on pertinent life skills:

Linguistics In the early 20th century Ferdinand de Saussure distinguished between the notions of langue and parole in his formulation of structural linguistics. According to him, parole is the specific utterance of speech, whereas langue refers to an abstract phenomenon that theoretically defines the principles and system of rules that govern a language.[9] This distinction resembles the one made by Noam Chomsky between competence and performance, where competence is individual's ideal knowledge of a language, while performance is the specific way in which it is used.[10] In classical Indian philosophy of language, the Sanskrit philosophers like Patanjali and Katyayana had distinguished between sphota (light) and dhvani (sound). In the late 20th century, French philosopher Jacques Derrida distinguished between the notions of speech and writing.[11] Nomenclature[edit] Variation and Universality[edit] Lexicon[edit] The lexicon is a catalogue of words and terms that are stored in a speaker's mind.

10 More Common Faults in Human Thought Humans This list is a follow up to Top 10 Common Faults in Human Thought. Thanks for everyone’s comments and feedback; you have inspired this second list! The confirmation bias is the tendency to look for or interpret information in a way that confirms beliefs. The Availability heuristic is gauging what is more likely based on vivid memories. Illusion of Control is the tendency for individuals to believe they can control or at least influence outcomes that they clearly have no influence on. Interesting Fact: when playing craps in a casino, people will throw the dice hard when they need a high number and soft when they need a low number. The Planning fallacy is the tendency to underestimate the time needed to complete tasks. Interesting Fact: “Realistic pessimism” is a phenomenon where depressed or overly pessimistic people more accurately predict task completion estimations. Interesting Fact: unfortunately, this bias has serious consequences. Bonus Attribute Substitution

50 Lessons I wish I had learned earlier | Family on Bikes Welcome to our blog! Here you'll find bits and pieces of wisdom learned from cycling 17,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina together as a family. Hope it inspires you to live your dream! My book about our journey, Changing Gears, is now released! Read a preview here Now that I’m old and gray (but not quite in my rocker yet!) You’re stronger than you think you are.Mistakes teach you important lessons. What lies before us and behind us are tiny matters when compared to what lies within us.Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.It’s not about getting a chance, it’s about taking a chance.If it were easy everyone would do it.Be vulnerable.A problem is a chance for you to learn.Regardless of the situation, life goes on. If you enjoyed these inspirational quotes and feel they would be beneficial for others, we would appreciate it if you would take a moment to share it with your friends via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or email. Interested in our journey?

Life's Instructions » Concepts, Ideas, Thoughts & Bullsh!t Thom Byxbe is Publisher and Editor of Concepts, Ideas, Thoughts & Bullsh!t He is based in Southwest Detroit, MI, and is a Knowledge Evangelist, Futurist, National Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur, Coach and Expert Blogger. Thom has been a respected author for over 15 years. He has written extensively on the Internet, Technology and Lifestyle topics. Concepts, Ideas, Thoughts & Bullsh!t is one of 4 current Blog projects he writes and manages. If you have suggestions, comments or would like to submit recommendations for articles to appear in Concepts, Ideas, Thoughts & Bullsh!

Watch TV. Watch Movies. | Online | Free | Hulu 5 Ways To Hack Your Brain Into Awesomeness Much of the brain is still mysterious to modern science, possibly because modern science itself is using brains to analyze it. There are probably secrets the brain simply doesn't want us to know. But by no means should that stop us from tinkering around in there, using somewhat questionable and possibly dangerous techniques to make our brains do what we want. We can't vouch for any of these, either their effectiveness or safety. #5. So you just picked up the night shift at your local McDonald's, you have class every morning at 8am and you have no idea how you're going to make it through the day without looking like a guy straight out of Dawn of the Dead, minus the blood... hopefully. "SLEEEEEEEEEP... uh... What if we told you there was a way to sleep for little more than two hours a day, and still feel more refreshed than taking a 12-hour siesta on a bed made entirely out of baby kitten fur? Holy Shit! We're pretty sure Kramer did this once on Seinfeld. How Does It Work? #4. #3. 1. 2. 3.

6 Ways Successful People Stand Out Bosses spend the vast majority of their time helping other people succeed: employees, customers, vendors and suppliers... the list goes on and on. Helping other people succeed is your job, but it's also your job to focus on yourself, at least part of the time. Why? Your success creates success for others--and success requires, at least in part, standing out from the crowd and being known for something. Of course there are different ways you can stand out. Okay, maybe not. There are better ways: Be first, with a purpose. Lots of business owners are the first to arrive each day. Instead of taking care of your stuff, do something visibly worthwhile for the company. Don't just be the one who turns on the lights--be the one who gets in early and gets things done. Be known for something specific. Meeting standards, however lofty those standards may be, won't help you stand out. Go above the norm. Pick a worthwhile mission and excel at that mission. Create your own side project. Not many.

Related: