Retrain Your Brain

### Cold Open

Jason Silva: Your brain might not be a computer, but much like a computer, it can benefit from regular updates and upgrades to keep running at peak performance. We live in the computer age. Whether it's our laptops, our cell phones or our tablets, many of us spend a lot of time staring at a screen. But have you ever stopped to consider, with all these rapid advances in technology, your brain might be getting left behind? After all, your brain is ancient hardware struggling to run all the latest software. Wouldn't it be great if you could retrain your brain and actually improve your capacity and capability? Would is surprise you to know getting an upgrade isn't as far-fetched as it sounds? The only way to upgrade your brain is through mental training.

### Questions

So why do some lines cause your brain to see the same motion in entirely different ways?

## Games

### Game #1: A Second Ago

Are some squares staggered?

Result: You see it staggered when the lines are there.

Why: Because of contrast, certain parts of the squares seem to stagger. The black and white and lines the contrast speeds up or slows down between the alternating black and white. Your brain uses a mental shortcut to suppose how they move, and your brain often prefers accuracy over speed.

### Game #2: Mind Reading Time

But the days of the week in order. Then, answer questions.

Result: When answering the questions, most people think of a red hammer.

Why: Your brain has a specific way of storing information. Your brain sorts objects or things by category often and goes to the best examples when asked. Since the best example for colors and tools was red, and hammer, most people said that. As for the days of the week, it was simply a distraction so that when asked the question, you immediately went to the best examples.

### Game #3: Lights, Camera, Memory!

Remember what you see in a movie clip.

However, the crash was staged just to test your memory.

Result: Most people watching say 20 miles an hour for the speed of the crash. But the spectators give answers all over the place. How can one guy think it's 15mph and one think it's 50mph even though they saw the same crash?

Why: The answer lies in the question. While Sergant Curtis said smashed to some spectators, and to some said bumped. By saying the word smashed instead of the word bumped, And thus, they guessed higher or lower depending on the version.

But did the driver go through a stop sign?

Nope. It was a yield sign.

How: The misinformation effect, which Sargent Curtis used, so your brain re-shapes the memory based on those details.

### Game #4: Brain Slots

Figure which slot machine has higher numbers while staring at a bullseye.

Result: You probably picked the red slot machine.

Why: Your gut feeling wasn't a hunch. It was your brain's ability to crunch numbers. So when you're in a situation with numbers, your brain has you covered.

### Game #5: Brain Games Video Game(Brain Bumpers)

Play a game with memory to increase your brain's capacity.

Result: With each brain bumper challenge, you got better.

Why: Just by playing increases your brain.

### Game #6: Coin Triangle

Change the coins so a triangle looks different.

Result: Your retrained brain may or may have not gotten it.

So: It improves spacial reasoning. But just by playing similar games, your brain can improve.