I was surprised to read about neuroscience and the brain considered from a particularly intelligent general perspective in the politician Al Gore’s recently published The Assault on Reason (now a Penguin soft-cover). I recommend this book for its perspective about the relationship between “reason” and “marketing” — as “truth” hangs in the balance — in…
Our rule when reading about “Ten Misconceptions About Aging” is that you read about prior “misconceptions” before your are entitled to read about this current one, MC #6. If you haven’t done your homework, see blogs on this subject on November 7th, December 5th, April 29th, May 1st and May 5th. Then come back and…
Over the past three years, we have conducted several research projects at Rossmoor, a retirement community with about 9,000 residents about 20 miles east of San Francisco. Rossmoor is in a beautiful rural setting in a narrow valley surrounded by oak-cloaked hills. I have given a number of lectures there, and am always struck by…
If you haven’t done your homework (haven’t read “misconceptions 1-4”), go do it, then read this one. You’ll find those entries on November 7th, December 5th, April 29th, and May 1st. Which lead us to: Misconception 5. Our functional abilities at any stage of life are a handoff from Mother Nature or the Creator of…
Many of you may have seen this program. At last count, it has been shown several thousand times. Almost every PBS station has repeatedly aired it. Moreover, like a bad penny, it’ll show up again, in the next pledge-break period! All of this attention stems from its success. PBS viewers have made this one of…
Before I talk about this misconception, if you’re new to this argument I ask you to go back and start at the beginning by reviewing misconceptions 1-3. They are described in posts made on October 7th, December 5th, and April 29th. After you read them, you’re ready for #4! Misconception 4: <strong>Cognitive fitness is all…
I recently read Elyn Saks personal account of her life with schizophrenia (<em>The Center Cannot Hold</em>, Hyperion:New York) and found it to be enlightening, frequently almost painful to read, and at the same time heartening, and hopeful. Her lucid, blunt descriptions of her illness has further amplified my personal motivation (which was already pretty high!)…
This past weekend I visited two outstanding programs in Portland designed to inform Oregon educators (and through them, school-age children) and an interested citizenry about advances in neuroscience. I was very much impressed by these programs; they are good models of what SHOULD be happening, all across America. <strong>Brain Awareness</strong> (www.oregonbrains.org) targets teachers and school…
Many of you may not be aware that Posit Science has launched another wonderful suite of brain fitness exercises, for visual training in BrainHQ, that focuses on improving visual perception, attention, memory/cognition, and fast-responding abilities (see www.positscience.com). We are very proud of this new training program suite. It was created with the help and assistance…
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