Hidden Brain

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Read it and sigh

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Read it and sigh

Plus, the science behind “hot hands”

Apr 27, 2022
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Read it and sigh

news.hiddenbrain.org

“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.

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

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.

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

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

puzzlium
A post shared by Puzzlium (@puzzlium)

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…

Twitter avatar for @LoriGottlieb1
Lori Gottlieb @LoriGottlieb1
I told a story on @HiddenBrain about Julie that I didn't have room for in #MaybeYouShouldTalkToSomeone. It’s about what happened when another therapist’s patient found me crying in the bathroom the day I got the email. Listen here 🔗 apple.co/38bYvve
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1:28 PM ∙ Apr 21, 2022
16Likes1Retweet
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Susan Byrnes @susanbyrnes
What an absolute treat to see @ShankarVedantam at #TED2022! Shankar hosts one of my fave podcasts, @HiddenBrain. (I even got a chance to stop him afterwards to tell him what a super fan I am 😊)
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10:07 PM ∙ Apr 15, 2022
3Likes1Retweet
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Arturo Aguilar Figueroa @aguilararturo
A conspiracy of silence. Los problemas de falsificar o mentir sobre nuestras preferencias (de todo tipo, en todo terreno). Mucho que ver con nuestra actualidad. Mucho a reflexionar. Escuchen ⁦@HiddenBrain⁩. 🎧👇🏽 podcasts.apple.com/mx/podcast/hid…
podcasts.apple.com‎Hidden Brain: A Conspiracy of Silence en Apple Podcasts‎Programa Hidden Brain, ep. A Conspiracy of Silence - 14 abr 2022
4:57 PM ∙ Apr 15, 2022

A MOMENT OF JOY

Sardoodledom… 

Have an idea for Hidden Brain? A story you want to share with us? Send an email to ideas@hiddenbrain.org. And if you’d like to support our work, you can do so here. Listen to us on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast platform.

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