Dr. Gary Small

They must do it to play psychological games with us.
When you live in California, it’s always another year of drought. No matter how many deluges of flooding rain you’ve waded through during the winter, the following summer you can’t water your lawn because of draught.
Every weatherperson I could find on the radio, television, internet and [...]

The rapid pace of information constantly assaulting our brains challenges our ability to pay full attention to any one thing. Our email, twitters, texts, and instant messages pressure us into quick responses that lead us to sacrifice detail and accuracy… The mental clutter, noise and frequent interruptions that assail us further fuel this frenetic cognitivestyle.

A new study suggests that constant texters may be sacrificing accuracy for expediency. One of the convenient features of our handhelds – the program that figures out the word we want to use before we finish typing it – maybe be part of the problem. And, the new research suggests that frequent texting may even rewire the brains of young people.

When we think of addiction, most of us think of alcoholism or drug abuse. But the easy access, anonymity, and constant availability of the Internet, email, texting, chatting and twittering has led to a new form of compulsive and dependent behavior – techno-addicts.

I’ve learned by now that some opportunities come up in life when putting yourself out there for someone else makes your own life more meaningful – if you can just recognize those moments in time. And if you don’t seize those opportunities, they’re gone forever – you may never get another chance to make things right with an elderly parent, or spend more time with your children while they’re young, or go to Baltimore to hold your friend’s hand.

The moment she called me “Mommy,” that something was up.
“He stopped short, Mommy, right in front of me,” my daughter blurted through the phone. I knew from the moment she called me “Mommy” that something was up.
She continued, “I braked but I couldn’t stop…”
“And?” I was forced to ask.
“We had an accident.” She croaked, her [...]

A very common reason we have trouble remembering people’s names – sometimes only seconds after being introduced – is that we are not paying attention in the first place. Fortunately, for those of us who take solace in being “good with faces,” there are many easy strategies to improve our ability for remembering names.