The media often portrays the negative effects of video games, however brain scientist Daphne Bavelier argues that action video games (for example Call of Duty – Black Ops) can have a significant and long lasting positive impact on our cognition. In her talk she shares research data that supports the remarkable viewpoint that, in moderate doses, action video games can dramatically improve brain plasticity, vision, attention and learning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTO_dZUvbJA
In this video Dan Gilbert talks about our psychological immune system and posits the idea that we can be happy even when we do not get the things we want. How can we be happy when our desires are not being filled? “Because happiness can be synthesized” Gilbert claims.
In this video Kathryn Schulz explains that while “we all know that the human species, in general, is fallible,” our abstract appreciation of human fallibility goes out the window if we are personally questioned or challenged. Schulz claims that we get stuck in the feeling of being “right” due to (1) error blindness and (2) the fact that we are educated from a very early age that the way to succeed in life is to never be wrong. She goes on to show the dangers of such a mindset, and suggests that we can improve ourselves simply by embracing our fallibility.
From buying a burger, to eating chips, to playing the lottery — Dan Gilbert examines the decision-making process and attempts to explain why we make bad choices. He speaks about the significance of Bernoulli’s equation to everyday life and posits that humans are not very adept at calculating “expected value.” Gilbert also highlights how our decisions can change when making comparisons with the past instead of with the possible, as well as how time impacts decision-making and satisfaction.
