Insights Archive

We normally think of mimicry as a party trick. Which is is — but it’s also something more. For an example, check out this skit from last week’s Saturday Night Live. It’s Bruno Mars doing … keep reading

You should read this story. It’s called “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” and it’s by Jeremy Denk, who happens to be a world-class pianist, but those details don’t really matter. What matters is that his … keep reading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1oDxu_7W8g&feature=player_embedded This clip got sent around last week among some top Olympic coaches, and quickly went viral in that community. As smart coaches do, they immediately started talking about how they might use this technology … keep reading

The other day I was asked to take part in a MOOC.  If you haven’t heard the term yet, you will soon. MOOCs  — Massive Online Open Courses — are speedily revolutionizing higher education, because … keep reading

Scientists call it the “sweet spot” — that highly productive zone on the edge of our abilities where learning happens fastest. The problem, of course, is that the sweet spot doesn’t feel sweet. In fact, … keep reading

I was brought up in a family of world-class nappers. My father was legendary for his seemingly effortless ability to attain the holy grail of napping: the three-hour Sunday snooze. My mother took the micro … keep reading

You might recall last week’s post about an Illinois teenager named Torin Bakke, who recorded his improvement after 200, 1,000, and 3,000 hours of clarinet practice. So when Torin wrote in to say hello, I … keep reading

My friend Henry is a great teacher. He’s taught the advanced science classes at one of California’s most high-performing middle schools for about a decade. The kids in his class are bright, hugely motivated, and … keep reading

This past weekend my 17-year-old son Aidan and I traveled to Boston to attend the Sports Nerd Super Bowl, also known as MIT’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. It’s the year’s supreme gathering of scientists, coaches, … keep reading

The main problem with practice is that we all have a powerful instinct to avoid it. There’s a perfectly good reason for this: your unconscious brain. Practice involves spending lots of energy struggling for an … keep reading