Students who’d experienced torque with their own bodies, the experimenters found, achieved higher scores on the assessment. Their superior understanding was especially evident in their answers to the most challenging theoretical questions. What’s more, brain scans showed that when they were asked to think about torque, the region of the brain that controls movement was activated only in those who’d had a direct physical encounter with the force. Even while lying immobile inside an fMRI machine—or while sitting still, taking an exam—these students were able to access a bodily experience of
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