Wonder of Wonders: The Human Brain

“You can not believe in magic all you want. But that’s a lot like holding your breath for your
whole life because you don’t believe in air.” ~ from Story People’s Kai Skye

In the recent “All Learning, No Questioning: How Schools Smother Curiosity,” educator/author Alfie Kohn cites a study by Williams College’s developmental psychologist Susan Engle on “variations in rates of children’s curiosity.” Her conclusion: “There was an astonishingly low rate of curiosity in any of the classrooms we visited.”

And yet, as Kohn reminds us, “Curiosity is valuable in its own right—and not just for children. It’s a passport to a richer, more fulfilling life. But it also contributes to academic achievement, and, more important, to intellectual flourishing.”

So, for a curiosity reset, start with a few brain teasers: (Answers below)

  1. Why can’t a man living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina be curried west of the Mississippi River?
  2. Some months have 30 days, some have 31. How many have 28?
  3. I have in my hand two U.S. coins which total 55 cents in value. One is NOT a nickel. What are the two coins?

“The human brain has 100 billion neurons, each neuron connected to 10,000 other neurons.
Sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the universe.” ~ Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist

Moving on, add these other brainy truisms:

  • The human brain weighs about three pounds—about 2% of our total body weight.
  • In the brain, messages travel between 156 and 270 miles per hour.
  • Touch something, and the message will travel 124 miles per hour to our brain.
  • The human brain can read up to 1,000 words per minute.

Yes!! Yes and wow, but what about these: TRUE or FALSE?  (Answers below)

_____ The brain cannot feel any pain—not even when poked.

_____ Newborns see the world upside down.

_____ Cold weather improves memory and concentration.

_____ Our eyes can take in 10 million pieces of information per second.

_____ Our brains use up to 20% of our body’s oxygen.

 “The brain is the most complex part of the human body. This 3-pound organ is the seat of
intelligence, interpreter of the senses, initiator of body movement, and controller of behavior…
It is the crown jewel of the human body.” ~ National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Strokes

Then throw in these tidbits:

  • After a recent study at Radboud University in the Netherlands, senior author Erik Bijleveld said, “The most striking finding was that mental effort feels unpleasant in a wide range of settings and contexts.”

OR, as Harvard psychologist David H. Rosmarin put it: “It really hurts to think!”

  • Cursing likely stems from the right side of the brain, an area responsible for memory and processing emotions, and it turns out that the most “foul-mouthed” city in America is Baltimore, Maryland, with Burlington Vermont, the least. Meanwhile, a recent study reported in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology found that “… Cursing increases strength, positive emotions, humor, distraction, and self-confidence.”
  • Three studies even found that cursing is associated with honesty!

Wonder of wonders and like magic… ~ Carol

Answers:

  1. He’s still living. 2. All months have 28 days. 3. A nickel & a 50-cent piece.
  2. True /False questions: ALL True!