Are you guilty of distorted thinking? Yup!

It's true, we are all susceptible to cognitive biases, perhaps this awesome song will help you remember the multiple ways in which our homo sapiens brain wrongly perceive the world.

Even when we aren't victims of distorted thinking, we still have the tendency to put obstacles in our way through self-imposed limitations and functional fixedness (this video demonstrates a lack of functional fixedness).   

Perhaps an understanding concept and schema formation would be good medicine for overcoming all these obstacles to clear, objective thinking?

Out of the Mouth of Babes: Language Acquisition

As promised, the video we did not have time for in class; "The Linguistic Genius of Babies". The video is a 10-minute TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talk. Please watch the video and comment below.

Also, If you have extra time, "Language Acquisition" is a fascinating full length (about 1 hour) documentary on language. At least watch the first ten minute segment.

I almost forgot to post this.... Memory

Mnemosyne, the personification of memory

 Hopefully you enjoyed the in-class memory demonstrations and can now appreciate that our memories are even more subjective than our sensations and perceptions, what's a homo sapien to do?

To start with, take a look at this very short overview of the basics of memory . Then take a look at a longer, more detailed review. (by the way "rote" rehearsal = maintenance rehearsal).

Some of you seem to be really interested in the idea of suggestibility, the reliability of eye-witness testimony and false memories, the following will give you a deeper look:

the video we watched in class
false memories with Photo Shop
problems with eye-witness testimony
false memories with the queen of false memories, Elizabeth Loftus

If you've got some extra time on your hands, you may want to read "How our Brain Makes Memories", a great article from the Smithsonian about traumatic memories and PTSD