Update: The placebo effect works even when people know they are taking a placebo

By Alvaro Fernandez | August 27, 2020

Wel­come to a new edi­tion of Sharp­Brains’ e‑newsletter, fea­tur­ing 14 research find­ings, resources and tips for brain health … and start­ing with this fas­ci­nat­ing study: #1. Wow. The place­bo effect works even when peo­ple know they are tak­ing a place­bo #2. Beat­ing Alzheimer’s Dis­ease will require a com­bined physical/ men­tal approach: From the ten fac­tors found…

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Quick brain teaser to prove the limits of multitasking

By Dr. Pascale Michelon | August 21, 2020

How often do you dis­cuss office gos­sip via chat while par­tic­i­pat­ing in a Zoom meet­ing? Or read a great arti­cle while talk­ing on the phone with a client? Or, wait, think about work prob­lems while help­ing your child with home­work? Yup, it is not easy to stay focused and be tru­ly productive. 

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Fun optical illusion to tease your mind

By SharpBrains | July 31, 2020

????????RT pic.twitter.com/WBoG7rAD2f — ?????? (@jagarikin) July 24, 2020 The text above, in Japan­ese, says: “If it appears to rotate, RT” :-) You can quick­ly notice how the dots do not move at all … and how the effect takes place. More fun illu­sions and brain teasers: What do you see first, peo­ple or oth­er ani­mals? Tease your…

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Study: Across all ideological groups, higher cognitive ability and intellectual humility predicts support for free speech

By SharpBrains | July 7, 2020

Free­dom of Speech: A Right for Every­body, or Only for Like-Mind­ed Peo­ple? (Het­ero­dox Acad­e­my): Free­dom of speech is often con­sid­ered key to a well-func­­tion­al democ­ra­cy. In many coun­tries, free­dom of speech is con­sid­ered a more impor­tant demo­c­ra­t­ic val­ue than reg­u­lar elec­tions. But do peo­ple gen­uine­ly believe in the virtues of open debates by sup­port­ing freedom…

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