I was never in a fistfight as a kid, but I was in a lot of finger fights. Or should I call them by their official name: tickle fights. I more or less broke even in these bouts of hysteria, but win or lose, I had the same experience after each one: utter relaxation. It was as if every iota…
Growing pains. No pain, no gain. A pain in the neck. No matter how you say it, pain hurts. But being able to feel pain is vital to our survival; that’s why we have millions of pain receptors all over our bodies. Pain helps us learn to avoid what can hurt us. It also alerts us to conditions that may…
Intelligence used to provide a vital survival advantage, making smart genes more likely to be passed on to the next generation. But that era is long gone, thanks to today’s computers and other devices that override various human weaknesses. Today, evolution in general would seem to be, well…out of date. But it turns out that cultural changes may be able…
When I was a long jumper on my college track team, I always counted to five before starting my run to the takeoff board. Counting helped me block out distractions around the track and get focused on the jump. But it had to be five. Why? Because I started counting to five at the beginning of the season and had…
Michelle Jenneke, hurdler, performs an exuberant dance routine right before starting a race. Jason Terry, NBA basketball player, sleeps in the opposing team’s official uniform shorts the night before games. Wade Boggs, Hall of Fame baseball player, always drew “chai” (Hebrew word for life) in the dirt before coming up to bat. Bruce Gardiner, NHL hockey player, dipped his hockey…
I didn’t start doing crossword puzzles because I thought they would provide long-lasting benefits for my brain. They were simply fun to do, especially on the train during my daily commute to work. Completing a puzzle as I rolled into Grand Central Station set a positive tone for me. No matter what happened that day, at least I had one…
For thousands of years, people have had strong connections to animals and often believe they had special powers. Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats, while some Native American tribes thought eagles could deliver prayers to God. Such beliefs have been relegated to folklore, but animals have proven their talents and value to humans in many ways. Gorillas and chimpanzees can learn a…
When I was a child, my entire family watched Perry Mason every Saturday night. At my young age I didn’t recognize the contrivance of how each case ended: The real murderer, who was never the defendant on trial, confessed his or her guilt right in the courtroom. This, of course, rarely happens in real life. But one aspect of these plots does…
Findings just published in Science magazine show that reading serious fiction may improve our ability to assess body language and what people are thinking. In a study at the New School for Social Research in New York City, participants ranging in age from 18 to 75 were instructed to read 10 to 15 pages of either literary or mainstream popular fiction. Authors…
