Focus and attention
Money and economics
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Why efficiency is dangerous and slowing down makes life better
The urge to do everything faster and better is risky. Far wiser to do what’s good enough for the range of possible futures
by Barry Schwartz
Mind and brain
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Slow down, it’s what your brain has been begging for
It’s no small task to live a life of sustained attention. So slow down, and give your brain a break to do its work
by Teodora Stoica
Thinking and intelligence
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When a tricky task makes your brain hurt, here’s what to do
Although thinking hard is a daily experience, psychologists are only just beginning to understand how aversive it can be
by Todd Vogel
Focus and attention
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Sometimes, paying attention means we see the world less clearly
Does attention distort knowledge, or am I overthinking it? What visual illusions say about the secret workings of the mind
by Henry Taylor
Technology and media
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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
Learning and education
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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
Hallucinations and delusions
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It’s not necessarily deluded to feel in control when you’re not
Far from being a sign of delusion, the so-called ‘illusion of control’ shows that we’re highly attuned to the world
by Daniel Yon
Goals and motivation
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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
Focus and attention
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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
Music
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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
Focus and attention
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What might mushroom hunters teach the doctors of tomorrow?
Algorithms and artificial intelligence are a helpful aid to doctors. But they still need to learn the arts of noticing
by Anna Harris & Lisa Herzog
Work and vocation
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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