Many startups are offering learning products based on dubious claims. While the neuroscience of learning is pretty well understood in terms of underlying biological mechanisms, very few interventions have been proven to have a positive impact on these processes. In a sea of unproven strategies, spaced repetition is the strongest evidence-based learning technique. The concept … Read More
These are raw notes from the Maintaining health and wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic King’s College conference on April 2, 2020. This lecture by Dr Joseph Chilcot was titled Health behaviour for COVID-19: The good, the bad, and the ugly. Don’t expect any commentary or additional research. You know sugar is bad for your health. … Read More
The average lifespan of a technical skill is roughly 18 months. The world is moving fast. Anything you learn today may become obsolete tomorrow. It may feel discouraging—why bother acquiring a new skill if it will soon be useless?—but it shouldn’t be. The fact is it has never been easier to teach yourself anything. In … Read More
Many productivity experts will recommend specific tools to better manage your work and your life. The truth is: you probably don’t need yet another app. I have been using Google Sheets for years to organise many areas of my life. Here is a step-by-step tutorial to get started with Google Sheets as a productivity tool … Read More
Taking smart notes is one of the most efficient ways to increase your productivity and your creativity. But what kind of notes? Once you start considering all the mediums, techniques, strategies, and formats available to you when taking notes, the combinations are almost infinite. This attempt at a taxonomy of notes was inspired by a … Read More
The full, unedited transcript of our interview with Conor is only available for Ness Labs members. Members get access to exclusive content, an intimate thinking community, and deals on apps and courses to improve their productivity and creativity. Learn more about the membership or join now.
“Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!” claims the fifteen-year old Nintendo brain-training app, also known as Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training. The app consists of mini-games supposedly designed to stimulate various parts of the brain and help combat normal aging effects on the brain. The latest version was released early 2020 in Europe … Read More
“Life’s beauty is inseparable from its fragility.” This quote by Dr Susan David perfectly encapsulates the importance of emotional agility. We love and we lose, we are healthy and ill, we complain about someone, then we miss them when they’re gone. The complex interplay between beauty and fragility is at the core of life. Dr … Read More
Want to write an original article but still at the idea stage? This step-by-step tutorial will teach you a simple method to go from research idea to original article. One of the best ways to learn is through the generation effect. Creating your own material based on what you want to learn activates your semantic … Read More
The Stanford marshmallow experiment is probably the most famous study in delayed gratification. In 1972, a group of kids was asked to make a simple choice: you can eat this marshmallow now, or wait 15 minutes and receive a second treat. In the paper, the researchers highlighted two significant findings. First, not physically seeing the … Read More