Category Archives: Psychology

Superior motion perception in individuals with autism?

The empirical evidence seems to contradict Betteridge’s law. For the past 10 years, research on the “spatial suppression effect” showed that large moving stimuli are more readily perceived than smaller ones. However, this relationship doesn’t seem to hold in certain … Continue reading

Posted in Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

The current mental health crisis and the coming Ketamine revolution

Few FDA approved drugs have a reputation as controversial as Ketamine. This reputation is well earned. Originally developed in the 1960s as a short-acting anesthetic for battlefield use, in recent decades it has become notorious as a date-rape drug (‘Special … Continue reading

Posted in Psychology, Science | 19 Comments

Can music elicit a visual motion aftereffect?

Briefly, if you look at a large moving scene for a while, you will experience things moving in the opposite direction afterwards. This “motion aftereffect” was already known to Aristotle, presumably from the visual inspection of waterfalls. It was rediscovered … Continue reading

Posted in Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

What you should do

It actually doesn’t happen that infrequently that students seek me out for advice on this very question – what should they do with their life? I’m usually happy to oblige, but there is now sufficient data (including long term feedback), … Continue reading

Posted in Life, Optimization, Psychology | 4 Comments

Science and the Zodiac – a brief introduction to an epistemological placebo

It is somewhat of a cheap shot for a scientist to come down harshly on astrology. As a matter of fact, it is probably the lowest hanging fruit there is. Nevertheless, the undying popularity of astrology in general and horoscopes … Continue reading

Posted in Psychology, Science | 8 Comments

Circadian synesthesia: Light therapy seen (heard?) in new light

Therapy with extremely bright light (10,000+ lux) has been known for a long time to bring about remarkably strong and – if done right – remarkably positive effects. It can “cure” Seasonal Affective Disorder (aptly named SAD), as well as … Continue reading

Posted in Neuroscience, Optimization, Psychology, Technology | 1 Comment

Is reality retrocausal?

Science is concerned with systematically probing the fundamental nature of reality, determining what is and what is not the case. In other words, science is about figuring out what is going on and about understanding how the world works (with … Continue reading

Posted in Journal club, Psychology, Science | 3 Comments