How To Unshackle Your Memory (Interview with 4 time US Memory Champion Nelson Dellis)
Think some people are born with good memories? Think exponential gains in memory capacity, if even possible at all, would take years to develop? Perhaps no domain better illustrates the latent potential inside each brain, or challenges conventional ideas about
Model #10: Paradoxical Gains
Key Points At first glance, the emergence of “new” cognitive abilities following an insult to the brain seems paradoxical. The explanation that resolves this apparent paradox is that the emergent capability was present all along, but being suppressed by the
Applying Systems Analysis To Human Health (conversation with Dr. Tommy Wood)
For the past several decades, our search for singular causes and singular therapeutic targets for the chronic conditions that plague our health care system has come up empty. This includes, notably, both the search for the cause of and the
From Green Beret To Bestselling Author: Exploring the limits of physical and mental performance with Tim Tigner
When seeking to understand how to make the most of the brain’s capacity for continuous growth and change, we have two primary sources of knowledge we can look to. One is to the sciences, where we attempt to create
Why You Should Embrace Your Ineptitude
We don’t like feeling terrible at something, and so most of us avoid doing things that make us feel that way. Yet, if we’re looking to optimize the health and function of the brain, that’s precisely the kinds of feeling
The Power of Mathematical Thinking: Interview with Ben Orlin
The Interview In this episode, I talk with mathematician and author Ben Orlin. Ben is the creator of the “Math With Bad Drawings” blog and similarly titled book, and the best illustration I’ve seen of the value of mathematical,
Pioneer of Plasticity Dr. Michael Merzenich
In this episode, I talk with neuroscientist Dr. Michael Merzenich, whose research was instrumental in overturning the fixed brain dogma, replacing it with our present understanding of the brain as dynamic and plastic throughout our lives. He has published
Model #9: Plasticity
Key Points For much of the 20th Century, the prevailing dogma in the neurosciences was that, after childhood cognitive development, the brain remained fixed and unchanging. This view of the adult brain as static was arguably the greatest constraint on
Protecting and Optimizing the Brain’s Hardware, an Overview
Key Points Given the mismatch between our ancestral and modern habitats in multiple domains of human life, and the evidence for the role that mismatch plays in compromising in health of the brain, minimizing mismatch through game level interventions is