One of the most actively debated questions about human and non-human culture is this: under what circumstances might we expect culture, in particular the ability to learn from one another, to be ...

Working memory is what allows humans to juggle different pieces of information in short-term scenarios, like making a mental grocery list and then going shopping or remembering and then dialing a ...

Social learning is typically thought to be most beneficial when the environments in which individuals live change quite slowly – they can safely learn tried and tested information from one another and ...

Jack Knudson is an assistant editor for Discover Magazine who writes articles on space, ancient humans, animals, and sustainability, and manages the Planet Earth column of the print issue. View Full ...

Since no one ever does anything worthwhile on their own, who you know is important. But what you know — and what you do with what you know — is crucial. Learning, memory, and cognitive skills are a ...

Making smart decisions is a product of intelligence; that’s why Jeff Bezos is a proponent of recognizing two-way doors. (Bezos also feels the the smartest people often change their minds, not because ...

Mnemonics are tools that help your brain encode and retrieve information more effectively. This technique includes associating complex data with simple words, phrases, or images. For example, acronyms ...

Art students work for years to learn to create good portraits that capture the likeness of a subject. Even among trained artists, it takes a special talent to draw faces accurately. This problem ...