Table of Contents
Preface ix
1 Does being open to experience lead to success? 1
2 Can we really make ourselves happy? 10
3 How do we catch a liar? 18
4 Should we play brain games? 25
5 Do stories help us remember? 32
6 Is pain open to interpretation? 40
7 Do schools teach the way children learn? 46
8 Why do tongue twisters work? 52
9 Do we get more done when we multitask? 58
10 Can we be conscientious and creative? 66
11 Is it true that we only use 10 percent of our brains? 74
12 Is our memory doomed to fail? 80
13 Why are continuity errors in movies difficult to catch? 86
14 Are all narcissists alike? 92
16 Does time speed up as we get older? 98
16 Why is forgiveness so powerful? 104
17 Is our thinking ever coherent? 109
18 Are our beliefs consistent with one another? 116
19 Why is it hard to learn a new language? 122
20 Is our right brain different from our left brain? 130
21 How do we overcome writer's block? 137
22 Is failure necessary? 143
23 How much of what we see is real? 150
24 Does punishment work? 157
25 Why are comparisons so helpful? 164
26 Why do people choke under pressure? 170
27 How do we decide what to buy? 177
28 What is the best way to brainstorm? 184
29 Why is online communication so ineffective? 190
30 Is it possible to remember something that didn't happen? 196
31 Is prejudice avoidable? 202
32 What's the best way to deal with life's endless litany of nuisances? 208
33 Is mind reading a necessary skill? 214
34 What are brains for, anyway? 220
35 Does listening to Mozart make us smarter? 224
36 Why are other people such slackers? 230
37 Can delusion be a good thing? 236
38 Why do we call a dog a "dog"? 242
39 Why do we love kitten videos so much? 248
40 Is nostalgia good or bad? 254
Reference 260
Acknowledgments 272
Index 274
About the Authors 278
