Why Bilinguals Are Smarter

Turns out being bilingual makes you a better multitasker. 

Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.

This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development.

They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles.

The Benefits of Bilingualism by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, NYTimes.com

If you have a baby, expose them to two languages. 

If children are exposed to two languages before their first birthday, this has unanticipated benefits. You can measure them in the laboratories when you bring these babies in.  They are better able to, for instance, resolve conflict cues. They are better able to unlearn a rule that they learned.  So for instance, if they learn that pulling on a string leads to a mobile moving or something else that they like, if the rule suddenly changes, they’re more rapidly able to resolve that conflict and learn the new rule. 

Bilingualism Will Supercharge Your Baby’s Brain by Sam Wang, BigThink.com

As for adults, well, learning a second language protects against Alzheimer’s.

Drunken Insights

A brand-new study by scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago compared performance on insight puzzles between sober and drunk students. (They were aiming for real intoxication, giving students enough booze to achieve a blood alcohol level of 0.075.) Once the students achieved “peak intoxication” the scientists gave them a battery of word problems – they’re known as remote associate tests – that are often solved in a moment of insight. Here’s a sample problem. Your task is to find the one additional word that goes with the following triad of words:

Cracker Union Rabbit

In this case, the answer is “jack.” According to the data, drunk students solved more of these word problems in less time. They also were much more likely to perceive their solutions as the result of a sudden insight. And the differences were dramatic: The alcohol made subjects nearly 30 percent more likely to find the unexpected solution.

Once again, the explanation for this effect returns us to the benefits of not being able to pay attention. The stupor of alcohol, like the haze of the early morning, makes it harder for us to ignore those unlikely thoughts and remote associations that are such important elements of the imagination. So the next time you are in need of insight, avoid caffeine and concentration. Don’t chain yourself to your desk. Instead, set the alarm a few minutes early and wallow in your groggy thoughts. And if that doesn’t work, chug a beer.

via Why Being Sleepy and Drunk Are Great for Creativity by Jonah Lehrer, wired.com

Constructal Law: A Design Theory of Everything

Over the last 16 years, the mechanical engineer Adrian Bejan, now a professor at Duke University, has been working on a theory for how the world works. It’s a theory of everything: how living creatures are shaped, how lava flows down mountains, how snowflakes form, how people organize our societies. It’s called the constructal law.

His new book Design in Nature: How the Constructal Law Governs Evolution in Biology, Physics, Technology, and Social Organization shows how constructal law applies to power grids, the arteries and veins of our bodies, even the structures of corporations.

(via Studio 360)

Building New Habits Through Advertising

The malleability of habits isn’t news to Madison Avenue: Effective commercials show how people can be quickly trained to do something new and then keep on doing it. The secret, it turns out, is the quick combination of a memorable cue and a rewarding experience.

via How Habits Hold Us by Jonah Lehrer for online.wsj.com

Critical Thinking: A Field Guide In 6 Short Films

Australia’s TechNyou has created a six-part short film mini-course on critical thinking. Althougth intended for young students it is perfect for inquisitive minds of all ages. The series is written by Mike McRae and James Hutson, who also directed and did the animation, and is funded by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research of the Australian Goverment. (How great is that? And why does the US not have a Department of Innovation?) Additional educational resources, including a teacher’s guide, are available through their website. 

Part 1: A valuable argument.

Part 1 of the TechNyou critical thinking resource. The resource covers basic logic and faulty arguments, developing student's critical thinking skills. Suitable for year 8-10, focused on science issues, the module can be adapted to suit classroom plans.

Part 2: Broken logic.

Part 2 of the TechNyou critical thinking resource. The resource covers basic logic and faulty arguments, developing student's critical thinking skills. Suitable for year 8-10, focused on science issues, the module can be adapted to suit classroom plans.

Part 3: The man who was made of straw.

Part 3 of the TechNyou critical thinking resource. The resource covers basic logic and faulty arguments, developing student's critical thinking skills. Suitable for year 8-10, focused on science issues, the module can be adapted to suit classroom plans.

Part 4: Getting personal. 

Part 4 of the TechNyou critical thinking resource. The resource covers basic logic and faulty arguments, developing student's critical thinking skills. Suitable for year 8-10, focused on science issues, the module can be adapted to suit classroom plans.

Part 5: The gambler’s fallacy. 

Part 5 of the TechNyou critical thinking resource. The resource covers basic logic and faulty arguments, developing student's critical thinking skills. Suitable for year 8-10, focused on science issues, the module can be adapted to suit classroom plans.

Part 6: A precautionary tale. 

Part 6 of the TechNyou critical thinking resource. Transcript can be found here: http://technyou.edu.au/fun-stuff/videos/video-transcripts/ Starts in Part 1: A valuable argument http://youtu.be/iSZ3BUru59A The resource covers basic logic and faulty arguments, developing student's critical thinking skills. Suitable for year 8-10, focused on science issues, the module can be adapted to suit classroom plans.