The other day, I spent my morning volunteering an the San Quentin prison with a program called The Last Mile. As Wired recently reported, this nonprofit seeks to help inmates prepare to get a job on the outside. I was as shocked as anybody when a friend of mine called up asking me to teach advanced […]
Read more »This weekend, a friend of mine brought a “Go” board to a party. I’d heard a lot about this notoriously complex and ancient game. Most recently, it was in the news because a computer finally beat a master Go player. This triumph of computer programming illustrates just how hard Go is. Computers were regularly beating […]
Read more »There is an essential skill which many of us have lost. This loss is a symptom of how easy it is to publish. Or tweet. Blog. Snap. Broadcast. Record. Our filters have dropped. We say what is on our minds and hope for a “like.” Really, our ancestors were no different. They wanted the same social approval. […]
Read more »Games are an untapped source for social good. There are some examples of “good games.” Duolingo teaches foreign languages. Neuroracer helps prevent cognitive decline. I’ve written about many other such examples around this blog. But I’m also a game designer by training, so it was inevitable that I’d try to create a socially-inspired game eventually. Inspiration […]
Read more »Ugh. We all know those “healthy desserts.” They look so tasteless. Lite foods tend to have a reputation as either less flavorful, or a scam. There are few desserts in the “truly healthy” category. Yet if you were to offer most people even the most decadent “healthy ice cream sundae”, they would probably find it “less satisfying.” At the […]
Read more »Looking for a cheat-sheet with good study productivity tips? The following infographic was submitted to this site by StudyMedicineEurope and has some great advice for students.
Read more »As I write this, my brain is being electrocuted. Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe. I think. I’m testing out the Thync device, a little gadget that adheres to my forehead and sends electric current through the brain. It’s a process called Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS). Ostensibly, it’s based upon science. And it’s supposed to help […]
Read more »Many people feel like they have a unique way they learn best. It seems to make sense. You may have heard of auditory, kinesthetic and visual learners. This was one of the earliest ideas I ran into when I first started studying learning theories. There are even online tests to help you discover what kind […]
Read more »The FTC ruled against Lumosity today. The so-called “brain training” company is being forced to pay out $2 million dollars for deceiving customers. It’s a major blow to the industry, but what does the “Lumosity scam” really mean? This hurts me to see. I studied video game design and neuroscience. My dream was to use software to improve the mind. […]
Read more »For many people, the thought of going without a morning cup of coffee is tantamount to torture. Part ritual and part miracle drug, caffeine plays a vital role in waking us up in the morning, and many of us have a true caffeine addiction. Despite all its benefits, make no mistake: caffeine is a drug. It might not […]
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