Psychologist logo
Feed your brain
Research

Link feast

Our pick of the week’s best psychology and neuroscience links.

23 April 2016

By Christian Jarrett

The Trippy State Between Wakefulness and Sleep
And how it can help solve the mystery of human consciousness.

Why The Internet Isn’t Making Us Smarter And How To Fight Back
Advice from psychologist David Dunning.

Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears
There’s a new book out on the history of crying.

Sorry, You Can’t Speed Read
Two psychologists have reviewed the literature and they conclude: “it’s extremely unlikely you can greatly improve your reading speed without missing out on a lot of meaning.”

What Can A Lemon Tell You About Your Personality?
Do you find yourself salivating at the merest thought of eating a lemon? The answer may say more about your mind than your taste for sour flavours (the first article for my new Personology column at BBC Future).

Enzo Yaksic: Profiler 2.0
For decades, the FBI has relied on a flawed criminal profile to identify and catch serial killers. Now a Boston data geek thinks he’s found a better way.

Cadaver Study Casts Doubts on How Zapping Brain May Boost Mood, Relieve Pain
Reporting for Science Magazine, Emily Underwood quotes researcher Vincent Walsh: The tDCS [transcranial direct current stimulation] field is “a sea of bullshit and bad science—and I say that as someone who has contributed some of the papers that have put gas in the tDCS tank”.

Why We Sleep Badly on Our First Night in a New Place
Is it because half our brain is staying up to keep watch?