How to Stick to Your New Year Resolutions
The trick may be to focus on leaving your old "inferior self" behind
Illusion Chasers
Illusions, Delusions, and Everyday Deceptions
The Force of the Lightsaber Illusion
The white in the middle of this lightsaber can’t be any whiter than the white background that your screen generates: but it nevertheless appears brighter.
Mind Magic--The Neuroscience of Magic
Don’t miss the new neuro-magic video at Scientific American, featuring the amazing Joshua Jay!
Call for Illusion Submissions: The 2016 Best Illusion of the Year Contest
Contestants are invited to submit 1-minute YouTube videos featuring novel illusions (unpublished, or published no earlier than 2015) of all sensory modalities (visual, auditory, etc.). The content of the 1-minute video presenting your illusion is solely up to you, and the only requirement is that it wows all viewers!
Training Reduces the Size of the Blind Spot
New research shows that a mere 8 days of training can reduce the size of the physiological blind spot.
Neuroscience in Fiction: Age Progression
Yesterday, the journal Nature published a short science fiction story that I wrote to explore the concept that we create reality in our own brains, irrespective of what the world outside may be like. It’s titled “Age progression.”
The Neural Activity Patterns That Make Us Hallucinate
Hallucinations may arise from both imprecise sensory information and cognitive bias
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This (Everybody's Looking for Something)
On the night of June 7, 1525, the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer dreamt about the Apocalypse. Captivated by the dream’s imagery, he committed it to a watercolor he rushed to paint after he woke
Victorian Illusions
This week a new article on illusions from the Golden Age, written by Susana Martinez-Conde and me, came out: Scientific American Mind. The Victorian era was a watershed in brain science and the study of illusions and perception served as the cornerstone for the field of Psychology that grew from it.
Dalí's Reinterpretation of Rembrandt's Self-Portrait
Salvador Dalí always thought of himself as a replacement for his older brother, who had died before the famous painter was born. Dalí’s theory is strengthened by the fact that his older brother had also been named Salvador. That’s creepy. We’re not certain if his art was a form of therapy, but it could explain some of his weird (and wonderful!) ideas. It is perhaps not surprising that double interpretations and images abound in Dali’s art. Our new Illusions column in Scientific American: Mind, out this month, focuses on Dalí’s Doubles.
Blog Index
@ScientificAmerican
STAFFBehind the scenes at Scientific American
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Anecdotes from the Archive
STAFF
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Anthropology in Practice
Exploring the human condition.
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Beautiful Minds
Insights into intelligence, creativity, and the mind
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Budding Scientist
Everything you always wanted to know about raising science-literate kids
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Cross-Check
Critical views of science in the news
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Dark Star Diaries
STAFF
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Dog Spies
Explore the science behind the dog in your bed
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How to Stick to Your New Year Resolutions
The trick may be to focus on leaving your old "inferior self" behind
Read
The Force of the Lightsaber Illusion
The white in the middle of this lightsaber can’t be any whiter than the white background that your screen generates: but it nevertheless appears brighter.
Read
Mind Magic--The Neuroscience of Magic
Don’t miss the new neuro-magic video at Scientific American, featuring the amazing Joshua Jay!
Read
Call for Illusion Submissions: The 2016 Best Illusion of the Year Contest
Contestants are invited to submit 1-minute YouTube videos featuring novel illusions (unpublished, or published no earlier than 2015) of all sensory modalities (visual, auditory, etc.). The content of the 1-minute video presenting your illusion is solely up to you, and the only requirement is that it wows all viewers!
Read
Training Reduces the Size of the Blind Spot
New research shows that a mere 8 days of training can reduce the size of the physiological blind spot.
Read
Neuroscience in Fiction: Age Progression
Yesterday, the journal Nature published a short science fiction story that I wrote to explore the concept that we create reality in our own brains, irrespective of what the world outside may be like. It’s titled “Age progression.”
Read
The Neural Activity Patterns That Make Us Hallucinate
Hallucinations may arise from both imprecise sensory information and cognitive bias
Read
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This (Everybody's Looking for Something)
On the night of June 7, 1525, the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer dreamt about the Apocalypse. Captivated by the dream’s imagery, he committed it to a watercolor he rushed to paint after he woke
Read
Victorian Illusions
This week a new article on illusions from the Golden Age, written by Susana Martinez-Conde and me, came out: Scientific American Mind. The Victorian era was a watershed in brain science and the study of illusions and perception served as the cornerstone for the field of Psychology that grew from it.
Read
Dalí's Reinterpretation of Rembrandt's Self-Portrait
Salvador Dalí always thought of himself as a replacement for his older brother, who had died before the famous painter was born. Dalí’s theory is strengthened by the fact that his older brother had also been named Salvador. That’s creepy. We’re not certain if his art was a form of therapy, but it could explain some of his weird (and wonderful!) ideas. It is perhaps not surprising that double interpretations and images abound in Dali’s art. Our new Illusions column in Scientific American: Mind, out this month, focuses on Dalí’s Doubles.
Read
Observations
Opinion, arguments & analyses from guest experts and from the editors of Scientific American
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Plugged In
More than wires - exploring the connections between energy, environment, and our lives
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Roots of Unity
Mathematics: learning it, doing it, celebrating it.
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Rosetta Stones
Adventures in the good science of rock-breaking.
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SA Visual
STAFFIllustrating science since 1845
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Talking back
STAFFA science blog, sans blague
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Tetrapod Zoology
Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals - living and extinct
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The Artful Amoeba
A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
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Voices
Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
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