Focus and attention
Goals and motivation
idea
Facing a tedious to-do list? This trick could make it easier
The ‘easy addendum effect’: how careful timing of your easier tasks could help you feel better at the end of the day
by Shayla Love
Learning and education
idea
This is how to nurture curiosity in children (and yourself)
The curiosity that comes naturally to babies and young children can soon wilt – but there are ways to help it grow
by Shayla Love
Thinking and intelligence
guide
How to think like a detective
The best detectives seem to have almost supernatural insight, but their cognitive toolkit is one that anybody can use
by Ivar Fahsing
Music
idea
What is it about musical hooks that makes them so catchy?
From hummable riffs to striking lyrics, the catchiest hooks tell us something about the limits of human attention and memory
by Tim Byron & Jadey O’Regan
Work and vocation
idea
Why AI surveillance at work leads to perverse outcomes
In the name of efficiency, workplace AI technologies shift burdens long-assumed by employers onto workers
by Karen Levy
Creativity
guide
How to be lucky
Most of us think that luck just happens (or doesn’t) but everyone can learn to look for the unexpected and find serendipity
by Christian Busch
Technology and media
idea
The pleasure, the pain and the politics of a digital detox
Studying why and how people take digital-media breaks can reveal what individuals and societies value in unmediated spaces
by Trine Syvertsen
Focus and attention
idea
Go on, admit it. You’re multitasking. Here’s how to do it better
Our limited mental resources make multitasking inefficient. As you’re unlikely to stop it, you can learn to do it better
by Virginia Clinton-Lisell
Focus and attention
guide
How to wait well
Instead of fuming in subjugated irritation, turn wait times into chances to connect, muse and think big about the future
by Jason Farman