Brain Trust
Authors: Garth Sundem
ALSO BY GARTH SUNDEM
The Geeks’ Guide to World Domination
Brain Candy
Copyright © 2012 by Garth Sundem
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the
Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
Three Rivers Press and the Tugboat design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sundem, Garth
Brain trust : 93 top scientists reveal lab-tested secrets to surfing, dating, dieting, gambling, growing man-eating plants, and more! / Garth Sundem.
p. cm.
Summary: “Based entirely on original interviews with Nobel laureates,
MacArthur geniuses, National Science Medal winners, and other leading
scientists,
Brain Trust
delivers more than 100 proven, scientifically valid
tips guaranteed to make you more awesome”—Provided by publisher.
1. Science—Miscellanea. I. Title.
Q173.S947 2012
500—dc23
2011022036
eISBN: 978-0-307-88614-9
Illustrations: Garth Sundem
Cover design: Kyle Kolker
Cover photographs: (shirt) © Brand × Pictures;
(scientists) Lambert
/
Archive Photos
/
Getty Images
v3.1
To the 130-ish brilliant scientists who took time from teaching, research, and their otherwise busy lives to tutor me in how to best live mine.
CONTENTS
TRANSFORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH LANGUAGE
Steven Pinker
COGNITIVE SCIENCE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
EAT FOR EIGHT HOURS, LOSE WEIGHT
Satchidananda Panda
REGULATORY BIOLOGY, SALK INSTITUTE
HOW TO BUILD TINY, FLYING CYBORG BEETLES
Michel Maharbiz
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY
HOW TO LEARN
Robert Bjork
PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA–LOS ANGELES
THE BODY LANGUAGE OF DOMINANCE AND LOVE
David Givens
ANTHROPOLOGY, CENTER FOR NONVERBAL STUDIES
HOW AND WHEN TO OVERRULE CHOICE
Sheena Iyengar
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL
THE COOLEST CARD TRICK EVER
Ian Stewart
MATHEMATICS, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
HOW TO BET SPORTS
Wayne Winston
DECISION SCIENCE, INDIANA UNIVERSITY-BLOOMINGTON
AVOID CONSUMPTION QUICKSAND
Niro Sivanathan
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL
HOW TO HANG TEN
Paul Doherty
PHYSICS, THE EXPLORATORIUM
HOW TO SELL FOR BIG BUCKS ON EBAY
Gillian Ku
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL
SHOULD YOU MULTITASK?
David Strayer
COGNITIVE SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
TEACH YOUR TODDLER PERFECT PITCH
Diana Deutsch
AUDITORY PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA–SAN DIEGO
HOW TO AGREE (AND WHY NEGOTIATIONS FAIL)
George Loewenstein
BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
WIN THE LOTTERY
Skip Garibaldi
MATHEMATICS, EMORY UNIVERSITY
IMAGINE EATING TO EAT LESS
Casey Morewedge
DECISION SCIENCE, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
USE RUBBER BANDS TO BE A RADICAL ROCK CLIMBER
Hugh Herr
BIOMECHATRONICS, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
DECOUPLING “COMFORT” AND “FOOD”
Mark Wilson
PSYCHOBIOLOGY, YERKES NATIONAL PRIMATE RESEARCH CENTER
WRING AN EXTRA $20 OUT OF A USED CAR
Devin Pope
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
HAPPINESS, WHY LAWYERS DON’T VOLUNTEER, AND HOW TO FUND A NONPROFIT
Sanford DeVoe
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ROTMAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
THE SCIENCE OF SPEED DATING
Paul Eastwick and Eli Finkel
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
HOW TO BE A BALLER
John Fontanella
PHYSICS, UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY
HOW TO PANHANDLE
Lee Alan Dugatkin
BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
HOW TO TAKE A CORNER
Charles Edmondson
PHYSICS, UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY
DESTROY STUFF WITH AWESOME SUPERVILLAIN POWERS
Steve Strogatz
MATHEMATICS, CORNELL UNIVERSITY
CREATE A CULTLIKE POSSE OF WORSHIPFUL AUTOMATONS
Eli Berman
ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA–SAN DIEGO
BUILD A CYBERNETIC THIRD ARM
Yoky Matsuoka
BIOROBOTICS, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
BE A SCRABBLE JEDI
Jason Katz-Brown
QUACKLE, GOOGLE
GET YOUR SPOUSE TO DO MORE HOUSEWORK
George Akerlof
ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY
MAKE THE MOST OF THE GENES YOU GOT
Joseph Ecker
GENETICS, SALK INSTITUTE
THROW A PUNCH
Jearl Walker
PHYSICS, CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY
MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH
Robert Provine
NEUROSCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND–BALTIMORE COUNTY
SEE UNHOLY COLORS
Jay Neitz
OPHTHALMOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
DRINK MORE TO EAT LESS
Brenda Davy
NUTRITION, VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
HOW TO AVOID CAR THEFT
Ben Vollaard
CRIMINOLOGY, TILBURG UNIVERSITY
TO KNOW OTHERS, KNOW THYSELF
Julian Keenan
NEUROSCIENCE, MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY
HOW TO SPOT A LIAR
Paul Ekman
PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA–SAN FRANCISCO
GROW HUGE CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
Louie Yang
ECOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS
CHOOSE PEOPLE WHOSE COLLABORATION WILL BE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS
Brian Sauser
SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT, STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
GET A JOB!
Roger Bohn
MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA–SAN DIEGO
KNOW IF PEOPLE ARE OUT TO GET YOU
Jennifer Whitson
MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MCCOMBS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
DESIGN A POLL TO GET THE RESULTS YOU WANT
Charles Franklin
POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
HOW TO BEAT SUCKERS AT POKER
Jonathan Schaeffer
COMPUTER SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
DISAPPOINTED OR PLEASANTLY SURPRISED? ADJUST YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Gordon Dahl
ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA–SAN DIEGO
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR EVIL WAYS
B. J. Fogg
PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STOP YOUR BODY FROM DISSOLVING ITSELF
Gerald Weissmann
MEDICINE, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
SCAM-PROOF YOURSELF
Stephen Greenspan
PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
AVOID BUYING STUFF YOU DON’T NEED
Brian Knutson
NEUROSCIENCE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
CONTROL GOSSIP
Tim Hallett
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, INDIANA UNIVERSITY-BLOOMINGTON
DO THE UTILITY SHUFFLE TO DIVIDE CAKE, CHORES, CARBON, AND THE BILL
Eric Maskin
ECONOMICS, INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY
MIGHT AS WELL FACE IT: ADDICTED TO LOVE
Larry Young
NEUROSCIENCE, YERKES NATIONAL PRIMATE RESEARCH CENTER
CREATE FALSE MEMORIES TO GET MORE PEACH SCHNAPPS
Elizabeth Loftus
PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
SAVE THE WORLD IN YOUR SPARE TIME
Luis von Ahn
COMPUTER SCIENCE, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
USE FACEBOOK TO PICK YOUR PARTY POSSE
Robin Dunbar
ANTHROPOLOGY, OXFORD UNIVERSITY
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH A CRIME IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris
PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSTY OF ILLINOIS–URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, UNION COLLEGE
THE SHORTEST PATH BETWEEN ERRANDS
William Cook
MATHEMATICS, GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
HOW TO SURVIVE ARMAGEDDON
Mira Olson
CIVIL ENGINEERING, DREXEL UNIVERSITY
BE A TRENDSETTER
Simon Levin
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
TRAIN THE BRAIN OF THE ULTIMATE INVESTOR
Antoine Bechara
NEUROLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
YOUR FUTURE SELF KNOWS BEST
Katherine Milkman
BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS, WHARTON SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER (WITHOUT EXERCISING)
Ronald Evans
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, SALK INSTITUTE
SEXY OF VOICE, SEXY OF BODY
Gordon Gallup
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF ALBANY
SPOTTING SINCERITY—A SLOW “YES” MEANS “NO”
Colin Camerer
NEUROECONOMICS, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
YOU SUCK, SO I ROCK
David Dunning
PSYCHOLOGY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY
PROOF YOURSELF AGAINST SENSATIONALIZED STATS
Keith Devlin
MATHEMATICS, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
AVOID THE CARPLIKE STARE OF CHOICE PARALYSIS
Jonah Berger
DECISION SCIENCE, WHARTON SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
THE POWER OF A CONNECTED MINORITY
Michael Kearns
COMPUTER SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA