Derren Brown's Blog, page 88

Why cab drivers have bigger brains

"Everyone knows that the black cab is a London icon, but have you ever wondered what makes London cabbies different from the rest of us?

Becoming a London taxi driver isn't as easy as you may think. Unlike other London folk who choose to take the tube or bus, drivers have to spend hours learning the city's road network for a face-to-face exam at the Public Carriage Office to get a licence to kick-start their cabbie careers.

So what exactly does this gruelling process do to their brains? Well...

The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories

"In case you haven't noticed, this site is currently being bombarded with a certain strand of conspiracy theorist. I'm still not entirely sure what these people believe in, apart from being absolutely certain that the government is developing brain-eating vaccines, spiking the water with lithium and trying to subdue the population with "reactive" medicine. While it's always sad to see so much angry ignorance on parade, it's also a fascinating case study in cognitive dissonance.

The theory of c...

Childish thinking: Today's TEDTalks playlist

"TED's on its annual two-week vacation; during the break, we're posting new playlists from the TEDTalks archive.

Today's playlist is about kids and their brains, which hold the dreams and possibilities of our future. How can we teach them … and how can we learn from them? Adora Svitak makes the case that grownups have lots to learn from "childish" thinking — creativity, audacity, open-mindedness."

Watch further videos in the collection over at TED Blog

The conservation of luck

"In the first of a new series, Ian Stewart, a professor of mathematics at Warwick University, takes a look at how we perceive luck and chance.

"A friend of mine won seven million on the Lottery," said the chap next to me in the gym. "That's the end of my chances. You can't win if you know someone who has."
There are as many urban myths about the National Lottery as there are legs on a millipede, but I'd not come across this one before. It set me wondering: why do people so readily believe this ...

Incredible paper sculptures by Jeff Nishinaka

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"Jeff Nishinaka carves and pinches paper to create intricate paper sculptures. The 52-year-old Los Angeles based illustrator and sculptor has been refining his paper craft since 1982. Taking anywhere from three days to four months to produce, Jeff's detailed pieces range from 8in by 8in to 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide.

Jeffrey is a full time artist and estimates that he has produced hundreds of his paper sculptures during his career. "I use very simple tools: tweezers, a mechanical pencil...

Daydreams really can take you far away

"Just how distracting daydreams can be depends on where exactly your wandering mind takes you, a new study suggests. The farther away your mind drifts — in time and space — the harder it is to remember what you just did. For instance, daydreams of your childhood home or a vacation on the other side of the world had a more pronounced effect on memory than thoughts of where you just were an hour ago.

However, since the study was conducted in an experimental environment and not the real world...

Crowdsourced Science: 5 Ways You Can Help the Hive-Mind

"Today DISCOVER blogger Ed Yong reports on a project called Foldit, in which citizen scientists playing a slick computer game helped to unravel the complex structure of proteins, and in doing so got the game into the prestigious journal Nature. There are plenty of great ways for non-professional scientists to help out scientific projects. DISCOVER previously brought you the ways to donate your computer's free time to projects like SETI@home and Stardust@home. But what if you want to use your ...

Ragbir Bhathal: Aussie Alien Hunter

"Just about a year ago Ragbir Bhathal was scanning the night sky for alien activity, just as he does every night. Except on this December eve Ragbir Bhathal found a strong, regular, repeating signal. Unless the whole thing stemmed from a huge glitch occurring simultaneously in all his million-dollar lab equipment, there stands a strong chance that Ragbir found a message sent by some intelligent, alien race.

Unlike most of the tin-foil hat wearing whackadoos in his field, Dr. Bhathal is a hard ...

We don't have to get sick as we get older

"If we can stop the physical deterioration that comes with age, molecular biologist Aubrey de Grey sees no reason why human beings shouldn't live to be 1,000.;

With his beard and robust opinions, there's something of the Old Testament prophet about Aubrey de Grey. But the 47-year-old gerontologist (who studies the process of ageing) says his belief that he might live to the very ripe old age of 1,000 is founded not on faith but science. De Grey studied computer science at Cambridge...

Study Shows Women Attracted to Men in Red

"What could be as alluring as a lady in red? A gentleman in red, finds a multicultural study published Aug. 2 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

Simply wearing the color red or being bordered by the rosy hue makes a man more attractive and sexually desirable to women, according to a series of studies by researchers at the University of Rochester and other institutions. And women are unaware of this arousing effect.

The cherry color's charm ultimately lies in its ability to...