Mind & BrainFebruary 2, 2012
Remembering the Exception to the Rule: Of Mockingbirds and Morality
Stories by Maria Konnikova
Maria Konnikova is a science journalist and professional poker player. She is author of the best-selling books The Biggest Bluff (Penguin Press, 2020), The Confidence Game (Viking Press, 2016) and Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes (Viking Press, 2013).
Mind & BrainJanuary 25, 2012
Can You Keep a Secret? Maybe You Shouldn't, Even If You Can
Mind & BrainJanuary 12, 2012
What Do Polar Bears and Social Faux Pas Have in Common?
Mind & BrainJanuary 4, 2012
The Psychology Behind Gift-Giving and Generosity
Mind & BrainJanuary 1, 2012
Infants Possess Intermingled Senses
Babies are born with their senses linked in synesthesia
Mind & BrainDecember 28, 2011
Winnie-the-Pooh and the Pervasiveness of Egocentric Bias: Why We Are All THAT Sort of Bear
Mind & BrainDecember 21, 2011
What Can Winnie-the-Pooh Teach Us About Media Multitasking?
Mind & BrainDecember 14, 2011
Understanding Freud's Legacy Through the Eyes of W. H. Auden
Mind & BrainDecember 6, 2011
An Introduction to Psych You Up. Literally.
Mind & BrainNovember 15, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don’t Try to Make Bricks without Clay
If this week’s lesson sounds a bit repetitive, it is meant to, not only because it touches on so many of the poor thought habits that Holmes singles out in his attempts to craft Watson into an abler logician, but also because it is the last–for now, at least–of the "Lessons from Sherlock Holmes" series, [...]
Mind & BrainNovember 15, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don't Try to Make Bricks without Clay
Mind & BrainNovember 8, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Preconceptions and the Blunting of Imagination
Sometimes, the impossible takes place: Sherlock Holmes makes a mistake. Yes, it happens. The master detective falls prey to some of the very errors he urges us to avoid.
Mind & BrainNovember 8, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Preconceptions and the Blunting of Imagination
Mind & BrainNovember 1, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Why Most of Us Wouldn’t Be Able to Tell That Watson Fought in Afghanistan
I remember well my amazement when I heard my first ever demonstration of Holmes’s observational and deductional prowess in A Study in Scarlet.
Mind & BrainNovember 1, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Why Most of Us Wouldn't Be Able to Tell That Watson Fought in Afghanistan
Mind & BrainOctober 25, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: From Perspective-Taking to Empathy
Last week, I wrote about the importance of perspective-taking. This week, I’d like to continue with one of its close relatives, a state that would indeed be largely impossible without its existence: empathy.
Mind & BrainOctober 25, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: From Perspective-Taking to Empathy
Mind & BrainOctober 18, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: The Importance of Perspective-Taking
I often find myself walking into the kitchen (or the living room or bedroom or wherever), unable to recall why I was going there in the first place.
Mind & BrainOctober 18, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: The Importance of Perspective-Taking
Mind & BrainOctober 11, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don’t Judge a Man by His Face
How do we perceive someone we’ve only just met? How do we judge him, assign him to some sort of category in our mind, explain to ourselves what he is and what he is likely to be?
Mind & BrainOctober 11, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don't Judge a Man by His Face
Mind & BrainOctober 4, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Trust in The Facts, Not Your Version of Them
When we look around us, what is it that we see? Do we see things as they are, or do we at once, without thinking, begin to interpret? Take the simple example of a wine glass.
Mind & BrainOctober 4, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Trust in The Facts, Not Your Version of Them
Mind & BrainSeptember 27, 2011
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don’t Decide Before You Decide
When we make a decision, we are, in fact, deciding. It’s plain common sense. The definition of a decision. A tautology if ever there was one.