Cognitive science

March 12th 2026

Generic Meeting Photo From Creative Commons Global Summit 2018 Big Cropped

Your Corporate Jargon–Loving Coworker Might Actually Be as Stupid as You Think, Study Shows

We all know that guy, and yes, your suspicions are true: Advocates of corporate speech aren't the sharpest pencils in the office.

Science Matthew Phelan Mar 12

April 9th 2023

Don’t Play Poker With ChatGPT

A new study shows that large language AI models have trouble weighing potential gains and losses, writes a USC engineering professor.

Artificial Intelligence Mayank Kejriwal Apr 9

April 5th 2023

False Memories Can Form Within Seconds, Study Finds

It's not just distant recollections that can fool you.

Health Ed Cara Apr 5

March 13th 2023

Great Apes Caught Spinning Themselves Just to Get Dizzy

Researchers believe the behavior could be a clue to why humans seek out altered mental states.

Biology Isaac Schultz Mar 13

February 26th 2023

Calm Down. There is No Conscious A.I.

The breathless panic over the emergent tendencies of Bing's AI is based on a deep confusion about consciousness.

Tech News Stephen Asma Feb 26

September 28th 2022

Want More Women in Tech? Read Better Sci-Fi

In She's In Ctrl: How Women Can Take Back Tech, Dr. Anne- Marie Imafidon explores how the stories we tell ourselves about women can inspire our futures.

Culture Anne-Marie Imafidon Sep 28

December 31st 2021

The Best Illusions of the Year Will Leave Your Brain Hurting More Than 2021 Did

Invisible queens, spinning rings, and Crocs with socks round out this year's winners.

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Dec 31

August 2nd 2021

Will We Ever Be Able to Edit or Delete Memories?

"Ultimately, the question before us now is not whether we can edit memory, but whether we should."

Tech News Daniel Kolitz Aug 2

March 30th 2021

Scientists Implant and Then Reverse False Memories in People

Researchers have demonstrated just how easy it is to trick the mind into remembering something that didn’t happen. They also used two very simple techniques to reverse those false memories, in a feat that paves the way for a deeper understanding of how memory works. Our brains are far from perfectly functioning recorders of our…

Health Sofia Quaglia Mar 30

December 21st 2020

The Best Illusions of the Year 2020

Also known as 2020's final attempt to break your brain.

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Dec 21

August 24th 2020

What to Know About Neuralink, Elon Musk’s Brain-Computer Interface Project

Elon Musk is set to make an announcement about Neuralink, a company designing brain-computer interface technology, on Friday, Aug. 28. It sounds like science fiction, but research in this area has progressed rapidly in recent years, though we’re still far from being able to send emails with our minds. Unlike Musk’s other famous ventures, SpaceX…

Health George Dvorsky Aug 24

February 12th 2020

Anesthetized Monkeys Wake Up Instantly When Researchers Stimulate Brain Region Linked to Consciousness

By prodding a tiny brain region linked to consciousness, scientists caused anesthetized monkeys to suddenly become awake and alert. This fascinating result is providing new clues about the brain and how it produces conscious awareness—insights that could potentially lead to therapies for patients trapped in a coma. The brain remains the most mysterious organ in…

Health George Dvorsky Feb 12

November 21st 2019

Remarkable Scans Show How the Human Brain Rewires Itself After Half Is Removed

In rare cases, patients suffering from severe epilepsy undergo an operation in which an entire brain hemisphere is removed. New research shows the startling degree to which the remaining hemisphere is able to pick up the slack. The human brain has an amazing ability to reconfigure itself following a dramatic loss of function, a phenomenon…

Health George Dvorsky Nov 21

September 25th 2018

Would Perfect Memory Be a Burden or a Superpower?

The ability to remember every moment of your life sounds like an amazing proposition, but for the very few people who actually have this ability, it comes at a cost. Known as Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), or hyperthymesia, the condition—such that it is—was first chronicled by University of California-Irvine neurobiologist James McGaugh in 2006.…

Human History George Dvorsky Sep 25

August 28th 2018

Tiny Tunnels Previously Unknown to Scientists Found Between the Skull and Brain

It’s not every day that scientists find a completely new aspect of human anatomy, but a study published this week in Nature Neuroscience is providing exactly that, describing a previously unknown network of tunnels located between the skull and the brain. In mice, the newly discovered tunnels, or vascular channels, allow for the quick transport…

Health George Dvorsky Aug 28

July 5th 2018

This Brain Part Could Explain Why Parrots Are so Much Smarter Than Other Birds

Parrots are known for their intelligence, but why they should be so much smarter than other birds isn’t entirely clear. New research suggests parrots have an enlarged brain circuit responsible for higher-order thinking—a brain circuit with strikingly mammalian-like characteristics. With all due respect to the indisputable brilliance of corvids, parrots are probably the smartest birds…

Biology George Dvorsky Jul 5

November 14th 2016

Brain Implant Allows Paralyzed Woman to Spell Out Messages With Her Mind

Researchers in the Netherlands have successfully tested a brain implant that allows a patient with late-stage Lou Gehrig’s disease to spell messages at the rate of two letters per minute. The new system was tested on Hanneke De Bruijne, a 58-year-old woman in the late stages of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral…

Tech News George Dvorsky Nov 14

July 20th 2016

Crazy Detailed Brain Map Finds Nearly a Hundred New Regions

Neuroscientists working on the Human Connectome Project have compiled the most accurate map yet of the human cerebral cortex. The researchers identified 180 distinct areas of the brain’s outer layer—effectively doubling the previous number of known regions. The new map, compiled by David Van Essen and Matthew Glasser of Washington University in St. Louis—with the…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 20

July 7th 2016

Don’t Click This

Wow. So that happened. After we specifically asked you not to click on this article, you went ahead and did it. In doing so, you just fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book. To get your much-valued click, we employed a means of persuasion known as “strategic self-anticonformity,” or what’s commonly known…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 7

June 13th 2016

We Finally Know Why Birds Are So Freakishly Smart

Birds are capable of extraordinary behavioral feats, from solving complex puzzles to tool making. There may be good reason for that. A new study shows that, pound for pound, birds pack more neurons into their small brains than mammals, including primates. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this study is the…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jun 13

Cognitive science

Your Corporate Jargon–Loving Coworker Might Actually Be as Stupid as You Think, Study Shows

Don’t Play Poker With ChatGPT

False Memories Can Form Within Seconds, Study Finds

Great Apes Caught Spinning Themselves Just to Get Dizzy

Calm Down. There is No Conscious A.I.

Want More Women in Tech? Read Better Sci-Fi

The Best Illusions of the Year Will Leave Your Brain Hurting More Than 2021 Did

Will We Ever Be Able to Edit or Delete Memories?

Scientists Implant and Then Reverse False Memories in People

The Best Illusions of the Year 2020

What to Know About Neuralink, Elon Musk’s Brain-Computer Interface Project

Anesthetized Monkeys Wake Up Instantly When Researchers Stimulate Brain Region Linked to Consciousness

Remarkable Scans Show How the Human Brain Rewires Itself After Half Is Removed

Would Perfect Memory Be a Burden or a Superpower?

Tiny Tunnels Previously Unknown to Scientists Found Between the Skull and Brain

This Brain Part Could Explain Why Parrots Are so Much Smarter Than Other Birds

Brain Implant Allows Paralyzed Woman to Spell Out Messages With Her Mind

Crazy Detailed Brain Map Finds Nearly a Hundred New Regions

Don’t Click This

We Finally Know Why Birds Are So Freakishly Smart

Amazon Is Sticking With ‘Rings of Power’ to the End

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Let us help find what you are looking for...