Here are some links to a few of the really great articles and blog posts I come across in the course of keeping up to date on the best way to use the brain & mind. Click on the titles below to go to the original posts. Please check these sites out. I think you’ll be glad you did.
Psychological Benefits of Writing
Gregory Ciotti (Sparring Mind)
Writing isn’t just for writers.
Have you ever had too many Internet tabs open at once? It is a madhouse of distraction. Sometimes I feel like my brain has too many tabs open at once. This is often the result of trying to mentally juggle too many thoughts at the same time. Writing allows abstract information to cross over into the tangible world. It frees up mental bandwidth, and will stop your brain from crashing due to tab overload.
You Don’t Know What You’re Saying
Scientific American (reprinted from Nature)
Our awareness of our own speech often comes after the words have left our mouth, not before. The dominant model of how speech works is that it is planned in advance — speakers begin with a conscious idea of exactly what they are going to say. But some researchers think that speech is not entirely planned, and that people know what they are saying in part through hearing themselves speak.
Things You Cannot Unsee
The Atlantic
What you know influences what you see. Once you see something in a different way, you can’t unsee it. “[P]erception is not the result of simply processing stimulus cues. It also importantly involves fitting prior knowledge to the current situation to create a meaningful interpretation.” — Villanova psychologist Tom Toppino
How Attention Works: The Brain’s Anti-Distraction System Discovered
Jeremy Dean (PsyBlog)
Attention is only partly about what we focus on; it’s also about what we manage to ignore. “Most contemporary ideas of attention highlight brain processes that are involved in picking out relevant objects from the visual field. Our results show clearly that this is only one part of the equation and that active suppression of the irrelevant objects is another important part.” –John M. Gaspar, Simon Fraser University
Super-Focus: 10 Natural Steps to Nurture Your Attention
Jeremy Dean (PsyBlog)
How to deal with interruptions, structure your environment, enter a flow state and much more.
The Backfire Effect: The Psychology of Why We Have a Hard Time Changing Our Minds
Maria Popova (brainpickings)
The disconnect between information and insight explains our dangerous self-righteousness. “Just as confirmation bias shields you when you actively seek information, the backfire effect defends you when the information seeks you.” –David McRaney, author of You Are Not So Smart and You Are Now Less Dumb
Re: You Don’t Know What You’re Saying. So true. Ever notice how you sit down and work out what you’re going to say in a public forum, and when you actually speak, it comes out different. At times, it’s much better expressed. At others … oh well!
Yes, I’ve noticed that. I’ve also noticed that although I have all my course sessions planned in advance, I’m often surprised to hear myself saying some of the things I say during a class. I think System 1 has something to do with this phenomenon. Being faster on it’s feet, so to speak, it overrides the conscious preparation.
Thanks for commenting.
Very interesting posts, Joycelyn. I added several to Evernote.
The following sounds like haiku 🙂
One of my favorite templates for educational writing is the following article from Buffer CEO Joel Gascoigne.
It is a quick read at 342 words, and demonstrates what I believe is a frictionless approach to getting started with non-fiction, educational writing. Notice how approachable it is for writers of all skill levels.
It focuses on learning a single important concept.
It utilizes quotes to “stand on the shoulders of giants” (including thoughts of others).
It emphasizes a concise writing style that forces quick thoughts and quick sentences.
Then there is
Once something is added to your collection of beliefs, you protect it from harm. You do this instinctively and unconsciously when confronted with attitude-inconsistent information.
I see this in others plus myself, but the write-up is very interesting.
You definitely have haiku on the brain–which isn’t a bad thing. 🙂
Can you send me the link to the article on non-fiction/educational writing. I’d really like to check it out.
Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful response.
Actually Joycelyn, its an excerpt form one oh the links you provided, Psychological Benefits of Writing. There is a lot of fascinating information in the links you provided. But since I haiku on the brain that passage really jumped out.
Ha ha! Apparently I have too many mental tabs open. 🙂
LOL Don’t we all…………