Do you remember band class? Maybe it was just a flute or recorder, or maybe you were forced to study an instrument for a few years in middle school. Maybe you even picked up a thing or two from these classes, but how about now?   For me, music felt...

Why does it matter why we have brains? It seems like such a self-evident question that we don’t bother asking it… but once we do, it proves much more complex than anticipated.   It is a question which should be asked as we delve into philosophy, psychology or any other...

Blackouts.   Anybody who has ever drank a lot (or been around people who do) knows about this phenomenon. Entire sections of the night can disappear from a person’s memory without a trace. A recent Lifehacker article about drinking and decision-making caught my eye, and one comment in particular claimed...

Nobody wants digital learning techniques (software, games etc.) to succeed more than me. I was formally trained in computer science and video game design, and readers of the blog know that neuroscience, human learning and foreign languages are all amongst my primary interests. I’ve even created a few iPhone apps...

I posted a first look at Google+ yesterday, full of screenshots. As a mobile developer I am in a unique position to give a side-by-side tour of the mobile experience (since I own and develop for the iPhone, iPad, Android, etc). This post aims to provide a visual walk-through of...

This morning I woke up to a Google+  invite in my inbox and even as I write this article I am trying it out for the first time. I’ll take you through my thoughts of the service as I experienced each of the features and try to focus on photos...

I do not approach the idea of taking any drug lightly, even one prescribed to me by a doctor.  So when I was setting up my experiment on the effects of different drugs on studying, I knew that I had to choose the subjects of my experiment carefully.   There...

If you’re traveling abroad, chances are you still want people to be able to get a hold of you.  With a few steps, you can set up Skype to make it so that your home phone (or cell phone) goes right to your cell phone in your pocket without any...

Some people swear by mnemonics, including many polyglots whose learning ability I trust and even admire.  I, on the other hand, hate them.  I have never known someone who uses a memorization technique to learn material as quickly or reliably as those who don’t.  I’m not saying that they don’t...

In preparing to experiment on how to sleep less, I could not help but take a look at polyphasic sleep (note: I make a distinction between Polyphasic and Biphasic sleep here; see below for more).  If you listen to the proponents of the technique (including people whom I respect, such...