Robb G. BestAug 28, 20182 minWhy the Secrets of Language May Be Hiding in Your BirdcageThe Bengalese finch is what happens when for 250 years, people breed the white-rumped munia for its snowy plumage. It’s paler than its wi...
Robb G. BestAug 16, 20182 minSeen and Heard: Growing Language Skills in KidsFor parents of young children hoping to boost their offspring’s language skills, the solution might be simpler than you think: talk to th...
Robb G. BestAug 10, 20182 minWant to Slow Aging? Keep Moving!Good news for those of you who make it a point to stay physically active: a recent experiment may suggest that regular exercise decreases...
Robb G. BestAug 2, 20182 minAre Women Better at Reacting to Faces?It’s an old stereotype that women can pick up on social nuances that men can’t. Ask a neuroscientist whether women are more adept at inte...
Robb G. BestJul 26, 20182 minDecoding the Hidden Language of Your EyeballPreviously, we’ve talked about how enlarged pupils can signify attention or arousal. If someone’s pupils dilate when you talk to them, co...
Robb G. BestJul 19, 20182 minHow Your Brain is Like a SnowflakeNo two human brains are exactly alike. Or at least, that’s what neuroscientists have generally assumed. After all, consider the highly sp...
Robb G. BestJul 11, 20182 minBird Brains: The Secret of Parrot IntelligenceParrots: at times, they seem almost suspiciously smart. It’s not just about the talking and the mimicry; the Harvard Gazette reports that...
Robb G. BestJul 5, 20182 minWhy Testosterone May Be the Real "Luxury Drug"“You are what you buy,” our consumer culture seems to tell us. But how fixed and immutable are our buying preferences? How subject are th...
Robb G. BestJun 28, 20183 minDon't Find Your Passion--Grow It!It’s graduation season, and that means it’s time to celebrate the grads in your life, revel in their accomplishments—and prepare yourself...
Robb G. BestJun 22, 20182 minCan Your Horse Read Your Mood?Horses are remarkable creatures. 47 million years ago, their evolutionary ancestor was just two feet tall. Anatomically speaking, their “w...
Robb G. BestJun 13, 20182 minWhen Songs Are Your FriendsHow do you listen to music? I don’t mean “Are you a headphones person or more of a speaker fan?” I mean, what parts of your brain do you ...
Robb G. BestJun 7, 20182 minWould You Fall For It? The Conspiracy MindAre you likely to fall for a made-up government conspiracy? That depends: how well-informed are you? If you said “very”…bad news, you mig...
Robb G. BestMay 31, 20182 minTasting Sounds, Hearing Colors: The World of SynesthesiaWhat color is Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”? For many, the question may sound like word salad, but if you have synesthesia, not only ...
Robb G. BestMay 17, 20182 minThe Cutest Fact You'll Learn TodayWe all want to hang out with the people who really “get” us—our equals, our peers. As it turns out, this even appears to hold true for in...
Robb G. BestMay 8, 20182 minGive Your Brain a Treat: Grab a Coloring BookCan’t get into meditation? It might be time to pick up a coloring book. That’s not meant to sound dismissive; it’s actual advice. Adult c...
Robb G. BestApr 27, 20182 minThe Book Brain: How Reading Transforms UsWhen you really think about it, the fact that you can read this sentence is nothing short of amazing. In a fraction of a second, you are ...
Robb G. BestApr 5, 20184 minWatch Out: The Other Side of DelightersLast week, we talked about how "delighters", those little extra touches, can make all the difference in sales. There’s just a few things ...
Robb G. BestMar 29, 20182 minHustling the Brain, or Why We're Suckers for DelightersToday’s consumers are savvier than ever. In this age of constant media bombardment, it may feel harder and harder to stand out from the n...
Robb G. BestMar 22, 20182 minWhat Copernicus Can Tell Us About Your Company's Staying PowerIn 1543, Polish astronomer and mathematician Copernicus published a then-radical theory, carefully timed just before his death: the Renai...
Robb G. BestMar 15, 20183 minThe Prisoner Dilemma: Problems with the Stanford Prison ExperimentIf you’ve taken a psych class in the past four decades, you’ve probably encountered some version of the following story: In 1971, psychol...