Surprising Science — October 13, 2010

Rationalizing Over-Rated

“This research is an important reminder that the unconscious is smarter than we can comprehend, as it processes vast amounts of information in parallel.”

bigthinkeditor

“There’s a fascinating new paper in Psychological Science by the Dutch psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis on the virtues of unconscious thought when it comes to predicting the outcome of soccer matches. It turns out that the conscious brain…gets in the way of expertise. …(This) experiment suggests that…the best experts naturally depend on their unconscious mind, on that subterranean warehouse of feelings, hunches and instincts.” “This research is an important reminder that the unconscious is smarter than we can comprehend, as it processes vast amounts of information in parallel. …Sometimes, we just need to learn to listen.”

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

Up Next

Politics & Current Affairs

Military Suicides

“In the last few weeks, four young gay men have committed suicide, all in some way connected to fear, shame or isolation around the issue of their homosexuality.”