Steve Most

How can the science of memory help students study more effectively? A quick primer for students (and teachers) on how to make the most of how memory works.

How can the science of memory help students study more effectively? A quick TikTok primer for students (and teachers) on how to make the most of how memory works.

TikTok · Steve Most 48 likes, 2 comments. “Learn how to hack your memory and study better using secrets from cognitive science. Images from Pexels.com and Licensed from Adobe Stock. Spider-Man 2 poster art copyrig...

Blissed out tree
(𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑍𝑜𝑜, 𝑆𝑦𝑑𝑛𝑒𝑦, 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎)

𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙖: the phenomenon of seeing meaningful images (often faces) in everyday objects.

What a fantastic web resource by Dr. Ben Balas, a vision researcher and psychology professor at North Dakota State University.

As he describes: "Since 2018, I've been developing exercises that use real materials like lenses, lasers, mirrors, and paper models to give undergraduate students in my Sensation & Perception class ... a chance to carefully examine their own visual experience and start thinking about why things look the way that they do. Hands-on Vision Science is an approach to teaching visual perception that makes careful observation of natural visual phenomena central to the introduction of core concepts."

Hands-on Vision Science About the site

𝗘𝗻𝘃𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗼 ‘𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱

Charlie Munger (vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway) argues that it is envy, not greed, that drives the world.

This is consistent with 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺, proposed by Leon Festinger in 1954, which suggests that people judge themselves and their lot in life not solely on their own merits, but in comparison to others. This impulse may have deep evolutionary roots: you can see hints of it among non-human animals, as in this compelling study by Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal: https://youtu.be/meiU6TxysCg

As for Munger’s claim that he has conquered envy in his life, there may be various ways to do this. Of course, as a billionaire investor in his case, one might imagine this could reflect 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 (comparing yourself to those who have less than you), which impacts one’s psyche differently than 𝘶𝘱𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 (comparing yourself to those who have more talent, riches, esteem, etc).

The World is not Driven by Greed. It is Driven by Envy

How complex must an organism be to exhibit experience-based learning? I had assumed such learning at least involved changes in synaptic transmission, but it seems that 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 can be observed even in *single-cell* organisms!

Single-cell analysis of habituation in Stentor coeruleus Although learning is often viewed as a unique feature of organisms with complex nervous systems, single-celled organisms also demonstrate basic forms …

“Nice Illustration that our visual system expects certain stereotypical poses and the incoming data is fit to that internal model.”

Tim Kietzmann on Twitter “Nice Illustration that our visual system expects certain stereotypical poses and the incoming data is fit to that internal model.”

Another great reason (as if you needed one) to thank your team when giving a stressful presentation at work or at school.

"teammates who thanked each other before performing a high-stress task had a better cardiovascular response compared to teams who did not express gratitude. The enhanced cardiovascular response leads to increased concentration, more confidence, allowing individuals to give their peak performance."

Interestingly, these effects appeared to be similar for both those who received the gratitude and those who expressed it.

Published in the 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺: 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 by Yumeng Gu, Joseph Ocampo, Sara Algoe, and Christopher Oveis - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35708951/

Open-access pre-print here: https://psyarxiv.com/ur5pg

Gratitude expressions between co-workers improve cardiovascular responses to stress A study finds teammates who thanked each other before performing a high-stress task had a better cardiovascular response compared to teams who did not express gratitude. The enhanced cardiovascular response leads to increased concentration, more confidence, allowing individuals to give their peak pe...