Have you taken classes to learn a new sport or musical instrument or a language? It’s hard work! Why is it that as children we effortlessly absorb new skills and we don’t as adults?
That’s what 50-something listener Gary Grief wondered about playing guitar. Do you need to play more frequently as an adult to attain the same level of expertise? Does the 10,0 ... Show More
Jul 4
Can we harness solar energy from other stars?
Listener Dickson Mukisa from Uganda has been gazing up at the stars. But he’s not making wishes. He wants to know whether we can harness their energy, in the same way we do with our OWN star – the sun. After all, they may seem small and twinkly to us, but each one is a gigantic f ... Show More
26m 28s
Jun 20
How can we persuade more people to cycle?
Cycling is good for our health, good for the planet, and it can be an efficient way of moving around busy cities. But despite all the rational arguments for it, in most cities the number of people who get on their bikes is low.CrowdScience listener Hans wants to know whether it’s ... Show More
26m 28s
Mar 2022
What is Acquired Savant Syndrome?
For most people, learning any skill is a long, at-times challenging journey. Humans struggle to acquire expertise and, after attaining it, they must regularly use this knowledge or risk losing it. But what if you woke up one day, after an injury, to find you suddenly understood a ... Show More
57m 55s
Apr 2018
#31 Barbara Oakley: Learning How to Learn
Just when I start to think I’m using my time well and getting a lot done in my life, I meet someone like Barbara Oakley. Barbara is a true polymath. She was a captain in the U.S. Army, a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers, a radio operator in the South Pole, an engineer, unive ... Show More
1h 36m
Apr 2024
You can learn new things at any age, with Rachel Wu, PhD
Picking up a new skill as an adult can seem daunting. But research suggests that learning new things as you age may be key to keeping your cognitive skills sharp -- and that middle aged and older adults may be just as good at learning as younger people are. Rachel Wu, PhD, of the ... Show More
27m 23s
Jun 2022
Comment DEVENIR LE 0,1% dans ton domaine ? - Maîtriser l’EXCELLENCE
Tu as le désir de progresser en anglais ? Tu rêves de bien jouer du piano ? Tu aimerais devenir un champion de la lecture rapide ? Tout cela est possible, à condition d’avoir la bonne méthode d’apprentissage. Anders Ericsson, un psychologue suédois, a dédié toute sa vie à étudier ... Show More
8m 28s