Thinking Clearly and Analytically

Wysa’s AI-Guid­ed Men­tal Health Plat­form Clos­es $5.5M Series A to Bridge the Gap in Employ­ee Men­tal Health (press release): “Wysa, the lead­ing glob­al AI-pow­ered men­tal health plat­form, today, dur­ing Men­tal Health Aware­ness Month,

Why an evi­dence-dri­ven approach is the best way for busi­ness­es to sup­port work­place men­tal health (World Eco­nom­ic Forum): Men­tal health has nev­er been high­er on the agen­da for busi­ness­es. It is easy to see why, as even pri­or to COVID-19, anx­i­ety and depres­sion were esti­mat­ed to cost the glob­al econ­o­my over $1 tril­lion every year in […]

For starters, kill the multitasking.

Scientists have noted over the years a litany of consequences associated with underage drinking. According to Dr. Enoch Gordis, director of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the list includes: “interference with learning, social, and other competencies, fatal traffic crashes, [alcohol-related] injuries, homicide, suicide, and early, more frequent, and less safe sexual activity.”…

Any study of memory is, in the main, a study of its frailty. In “Remember,” an engrossing survey of the latest research, Lisa Genova explains that a healthy brain quickly forgets most of what passes into conscious awareness. The fragments of experience that do get encoded into long-term memory are then subject to “creative editing.”

What could work after the pandemic look like, and what could it mean for the US economy?

Humans are programmed to think we’re right at all costs. Fighting that instinct will set you free.

In classrooms, some students absorb and master these skills faster than others. Oakley calls these “race car learners” who zoom to the finish line. In contrast “other students have hiker brains,” says Oakley. “They get to the finish line, but more slowly.”

In times of uncertainty and seclusion, people seek guidance and stability. In the workplace, they usually turn to their superiors. It can be hard for managers to live up to these expectations, and the task of managing people remotely is one few leaders have been prepared for. It’s harder to grasp the context in which colleagues work and live — as well as the challenges they may face — when you don’t see them regularly. All of this increases the likelihood of misunderstandings and can put additional strain on team relations. 

At Farnam Street, we aim to master the best of what other people have figured out. Not surprisingly, it’s quite a lot. The past is full of useful lessons that have much to teach us. Sometimes, we just need to remember what we’re looking for and why.

"Someone with great intrinsic skills can be put in charge of anything and they will figure it out,"

In the relatively short time since the massacre at Columbine High School in April 1999, the incident has grown to embody the need for educational and gun-control reform in the United States. But it has also focused attention on how dangerous and stressful places schools can be—and not just the ones in which children are…

Space Between the Ears (Cere­brum): A few short months ago, news pro­grams around the globe showed NASA engi­neers and sci­en­tists cel­e­brat­ing as a robot named Per­se­ver­ance suc­cess­ful­ly land­ed on the sur­face of Mars. The mis­sion: cap­ture and share images and audio that have nev­er been seen or heard before. As impressed as most observers were […]

Start by embracing the discomfort of not knowing.

It is well known that, compared to adults, children tend to have a much easier time learning new languages and acquiring new skills, such as playing an instrument. A recent study of brain development in children suggests that there may be an anatomical reason for the ease with which children are able to acquire these…