Cognitive Performance Quotes

There's a lot of research that indicates the brain rewards us for multi-tasking by giving us a shot of neurochemicals whenever we start a new task. Our brain rewards us even as our performance in every task degrades. We don't even notice that our performance is bad. We don't care. We feel like masters of the universe because our brain is chemically rewarding us for multi-tasking.

The human mind works at low efficiency. Twenty percent is the figure usually given. When, momentarily, there is a flash of greater power, it is termed a hunch, or insight, or intuition.

Open-plan offices have been found to reduce productivity and impair memory. They’re associated with high staff turnover. They make people sick, hostile, unmotivated, and insecure.

I don't know what my IQ is. People who gloat about their IQ's are losers

There is an unusually high and consistent correlation between the stupidity of a given person and that person’s propensity to be impressed by the measurement of IQ.

Multitasking divides your attention and leads to confusion and weakened focus.

Our minds are like certain vehicles,--when they have little to carry they make much noise about it, but when heavily loaded they run quietly.

People's brains work differently. The brain is like a muscle and you have to train it, keep it active, keep active in races. I notice if I haven't raced for a while. It's hard to see things clearly so you have to relearn that.

You spend money on Internet connection for your employees. Why not spend money on the energy that fuels their brains?

You have a different audience. Your personal energy is different because some days you're energized, some nights you might be tired so that affects your memory and your emotion.

If his IQ slips any lower, we'll have to water him twice a day

Mindfulness creates centered awareness. When you do one thing at a time, you're guaranteed excellent results. If you do too many things simultaneously, it messes up your neural circuits. Focus on one thing at a time.

Your subjective sense of how well you're doing under conditions of sleep deprivation is a miserable predictor of, objectively, how you actually are doing.

Misbeliefs in one's inefficacy may retard development of the very subskills upon which more complex performances depend

Daydreaming defeats practice; those of us who browse TV while working out will never reach the top ranks. Paying full attention seems to boost the mind's processing speed, strengthen synaptic connections, and expand or create neural networks for what we are practicing.

Chewing gum actually lowers your cortisol levels, the hormone responsible for stress. But chewing gum doesn't just reduce stress, it also makes you more alert and improves your performance in memory-oriented tasks. It does so by increasing the blood flow to your brain and alerting your senses.

Your brain at positive is 31% more productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed.

This idea that clumsy, stumbling people are real bright is ridiculous, because intelligence is related to neurologic function, and really intelligent people are very well-coordinated.

Thought depends absolutely on the stomach, but in spite of that, those who have the best stomachs are not the best thinkers.

I'm 57 years old, and I host a quiz show every single day. I got asked in a recent interview, did I feel that hosting a quiz show helps keep my brain sharp? And I asked - would you ask Stephen Fry that question, who is exactly the same age as me? Somehow, I'm managing to stand up and stay cogent despite my incredible age.

When I sleep to much I don't score. That's the reason I like to go out a lot.

Eat carbohydrates: All these protein diets may help you twirl prettily in a size-2 dress, but if you want your mind to take a few marvelous leaps, then you have to give it the food it needs.

I don't like the feeling, but I've got to say that a little fear makes me a more focused, more responsible programmer.

It is commonly seene by experience, that excellent memories do rather accompany weake judgements.

Given two people with exactly the same ability, the one person who manages day in and day out to get in one more hour of thinking will be tremendously more productive over a lifetime.