Journalist and memory expert Joshua Foer talks about an ancient technique called the memory palace and claims that anyone can improve their memory through the application of this and other cognitive tactics.
Building on the work of Daniel Simons’ original “Door Study,” Derren Brown pushes the envelop on change blindness, attention and perception.
In a brilliant talk, Daniel Pink highlights the huge disparity between “what science knows and what business does.” He makes the case that bigger financial incentives can narrow focus, reduce creativity and are successful only when the goal of a particular task is straightforward and does not require cognitive skill. He contrasts this with the incredible results that intrinsic motivators can produce, and argues for a new business approach that focuses on autonomy, mastery and purpose.
A profound talk by Sir Ken Robinson on human intelligence and the pressing need for an education system worldwide which nurtures childhood creativity. He argues that schools today are geared towards stigmatizing wrong answers (which subsequently restricts creativity and freedom of expression in students) and makes the point that creativity is something we slowly unlearn as we get older and become molded by the “rules” of general society.
In this video expert lie-spotter Pam Meyer shares both scientific research and her personal insights on the issue of deception, including why we lie and how to spot a lie. Studies claim that on any given day the average person is lied to between 10 – 100 times, and that strangers lie 3 times within the first 10 minutes of meeting each other. Meyer explains that lying is a cooperative act, and that the power of a lie stems from our willingness to believe it.
