Why do words sound weird sometimes?
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“People are capable of so much more than they realize. We don't really see the fullness of a human being.” – Scott Barry Kaufman
BRAIN WAVES
Fakin’ it. We like it when people are genuine, but according to a study (PDF), we’re not great at judging authenticity. Researchers from Columbia Business School asked volunteers how confident they were about gauging authenticity in others. Then they put those volunteers in groups and asked them to rate the authenticity of their teammates while also sharing how authentic they were being themselves. The results? Despite their confidence, people were pretty bad at knowing when others were being genuine. “Our radar for deception detection is pretty weak,” study co-author Erica Bailey told Salon. Bailey added that this might have something to do with group identity: “We're biased to see each other as truthful largely because it benefits trust and cohesion as social groups."
When words sound weird. You know that thing that happens when you repeat or look at a word so much that it loses its meaning? Turns out, there’s a name for it: semantic satiation (PDF). “Normally, when engaging with words, neurons in your brain will fire,” writes Siena Cohen-Parikh at Berkeley’s The Daily Californian. “As the word is used repeatedly, the neural pattern continues to fire.” In other words, the brain repeats the same task over and over, and after a while, this reaction becomes less intense. As a result, the parts of your brain that search for the word’s meaning become inhibited. That’s when a word can start to sound like random noises. “This process is just based on conserving energy,” Cohen-Parikh explains. “Neural activity is what drives our existence, so this is a way to stop processing at a high level of neural fatigue.” Put simply, semantic satiation is your brain’s way of saying: gimme a break!
Rude awakening. Witnessing rude behavior can have long-lasting effects on our minds. But there are ways to shield ourselves from the toxic effects of incivility. Listen to learn more.
ON THE HIDDEN BRAIN PODCAST
June 13: From the time we are schoolchildren, we are ranked and sorted based on how smart we are. But what if our assumptions about intelligence limit our potential? This week, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman proposes a more expansive notion of what it means to be "smart."
ON THE MY UNSUNG HERO PODCAST
June 14: "I remembered it forever." Some 50 years ago, when menacing strangers surrounded Cynthia Page in a phone booth, a savior appeared out of nowhere.
June 16: Joe Arrigoni recalls the employee in a shoe store who gently helped his wife, who was struggling with Alzheimer's.
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.
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
Susan and Lisa were playing tennis against each other. They bet $1 on each game they played. Susan won three bets; Lisa won $5. How many total games did they play?
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
Five people were eating apples. A finished before B, but behind C. D finished before E, but behind B. What is the finishing order?
The answer: CABDE
FROM THE TWITTERATI…
A MOMENT OF JOY
We love a comeback…
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