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“We don’t call it ‘snapping’ when the outcome is good — then we call it ‘heroism’ or ‘quick thinking.’” -neuroscientist Douglas Fields
BRAIN WAVES
Le sigh. You might not be surprised to know that reading stuff on a smartphone reduces comprehension. But the reason why this is true is surprising – it has to do with how often you sigh. “A woman working next to me was a constant loud sigher, and I began my research by wondering why she sighed so much,” explained researcher Motoyasu Honma, who recently co-authored a study on this very topic. “I became interested in the fact that sighing has a negative impression on social communication, while it has a positive effect on cognitive function.” In the study, when people read a novel on a smartphone versus paper, they sighed less often and performed worse on a reading test. Why would sighing matter so much to our brain’s performance? Some researchers think the change in respiratory activity when we sigh may help us to stay calm and perhaps more focused. We do less of it —and have more cognitive activity going on in the brain — when we read on smartphones rather than paper. That may be because there are so many distractions on our phones, and we’re less focused on the text. . So if you’re reading this on your smartphone, don’t forget to sigh.
Hot hot hands. In basketball, a player with “hot hands” has a streak of making many consecutive shots. But is the “hot hand effect” real, or is it just an illusion that fits within statistical norms? Researchers Konstantinos Pelechrinis and Wayne Winston analyzed the activity of 153 NBA players and found that “hot hands do exist, but they are rare.” They think that hot hands might be the result of something called the “explore and exploit approach” – a short period of experimenting with different approaches to solving a problem, then exploiting the best one. “For basketball, this would look like a player finding a mismatch during a game – perhaps a shorter player defending them than normal – and exploiting it by taking more of a certain type of shot,” they write. This approach might come in handy for the rest of us, too. Other research has found a link between the explore and exploit approach and streaks of success in other careers.
Love and marriage. When did marriage become so hard? Long-term relationships have changed over time. Maybe we can improve marriage by asking less of it. Listen to learn more.
ON THE HIDDEN BRAIN PODCAST
April 25: Neuroscientist Doug Fields was on a trip to Europe when a pickpocket stole his wallet. Doug, normally mild-mannered, became enraged — and his fury turned him into a stranger to himself. This week, we explore the secret logic of irrational anger.
ON THE MY UNSUNG HERO PODCAST
April 26: "I've never had the sense that somebody was right there with me, helping this story make its way out of me into the world." An audio producer goes above and beyond to help Joy Ladin record her book of poetry.
April 28: Mary Louise Kelly was walking home from the bookstore when she lost her wallet. An email from a stranger changed her day.
Don’t forget to send us the story of your unsung hero! Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.
MIND GAMES
During which month do people sleep the least?
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
The answer: 2. The number in a cell refers to how many cells with digits are touching it.
Courtesy of Grabarchuk puzzles. Read more about them here.
FROM THE TWITTERATI…
A MOMENT OF JOY
Sardoodledom…
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