Don’t Fuggedaboutit
From CNN: Math anxiety hinders one’s ability to do well on tests by occupying the working memory.
It’s no secret that the capacity of the working memory is limited (7 +/- 2, anyone?), but apparently it can be even further restricted when one is anxious, or at least in a math test-taking situation.
As someone with a history of choking on math tests throughout high school (thankfully, this didn’t seem to apply to statistics, the only math I had to take in college and grad school), I find this a great relief to have an explanation for what was going on. I knew the material, but it always happened that one or two questions in I’d suddenly not remember crucial equations or operations. Luckily, I was able to make up for my deficits by doing really well on homework. Except for trigonometry. To this day, I’d still like to have another go at that class.
Suddenly I See
Wow, how cool!
First we had the cochlear implant, which helps restore hearing, and now we have this. It’s really amazing, the technology available today.
BBC News, via Lifehacker.com.
Bad Example! No! No!
If I were the letter-writing sort, I would be firing off an angry letter to ABC and the writers of “Desperate Housewives” right this moment.
Unfortunately, I’m lazy. So I blog.
I missed Sunday’s episode of “Desperate Housewives” due to skating practice, so while I was in my office hours today I watched online. This was not long after a class lecture in which I addressed the issue of hypnosis and what it’s capable of. While assessing the class’ knowledge, I found that the majority believed that hypnosis can reliably enhance one’s memory of past events. I originally chalked this up to people not reading the textbook chapters like they’re supposed to before class. But after watching the new episode, I’m wondering just how many were influenced by seeing a near-impossible occurrence on the show.
Without giving away too many spoilers about the plot–HYPNOSIS WILL NOT RELIABLY HELP YOU REMEMBER PAST EVENTS. In fact, it can produce many errors. I hope that the writers of “Desperate Housewives” recognize this when they continue the storyline. No court would accept testimony based on recollections obtained through hypnosis. No way, no how.
So there’s still time for the writers to correct this egregious error, but I have to admit that I have little faith that they will actually do so. It just doesn’t make for good drama. Unfortunately, incorrect information does.
If Elizabeth Loftus were dead, she’d be spinning in her grave.
Brain Cells Fire In Patterns
Did you happen to catch cognitive/evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker on “The Colbert Report” last Wednesday? If you didn’t, here’s a link to the page where you can find the video:
I love that the first thing Stephen Colbert comments on is Dr. Pinker’s hair. Anyone else ever notice that prominent male research psychologists tend to have big hair? Maybe my noticing is just a bit of confirmation bias on my part.
