by Franklin Wordsmith | Jun 10, 2015 | Neuroscience
Here’s the neuroscience (you knew it was coming!). When we tell stories, they bypass the skeptical part of people’s brains (their frontal cortex) and connect with their emotional brain (the limbic system). The good news is that this is where people make...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Apr 29, 2015 | Neuroscience
In high school, a teacher had us do two-hour in-class themes. We read a book in advance and had two hours to handwrite a long essay in response to a question she posed – using solid reasoning and quotes from the book. There was a pendulum schoolhouse clock in the...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Mar 26, 2015 | Neuroscience
Last month we talked about how a crisis can steal two-thirds of your brain. The best description I’ve found on how to get your brain back comes from Dr. Mark Goulston. He calls this the “Oh F#@& To OK” process. Here’s a user’s guide...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Feb 9, 2015 | Neuroscience
How many times have you ruefully said, “And then I lost my mind!” Maybe it was yet another thing on an overfull “to do list” at work. Or an exasperating exchange with a teenager. Or opening the garage door and seeing huge drifts of snow in the driveway...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Oct 14, 2014 | Neuroscience
Your conscious mind can process 40 bits of data per second. Your unconscious mind can handle 40 million! How do you keep your brain from exploding? This is the RAS’ (reticular activating system) job. It literally screens out all the stuff you don’t need to...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Mar 10, 2014 | Culture, Neuroscience
How many times have you thought, “If that client would just do what I tell him to, everything would be great!” Or “that employee.” Or “that business partner.” Or — let’s face it — “that family member.”...
