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They are known as great mimics, but now scientists have discovered that parrots also have varied musical tastes — and an intense dislike of dance tunes.

Researchers monitored the listening preferences of a pair of African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus)- a popular pet species, pictured – and found that while one favoured soothing “middle of the road” music, the other opted for more upbeat, modern pop.

Both birds also enjoyed rock and folk music and “danced” along, by bobbing their heads and legs. They even “sang along”, by squawking. But neither animal appreciated electronic dance music, which left them both distressed.

According to the article, the fast beat of dance music causes the birds some distress. But I wonder if the “unnatural” timbres of electronic music may also be off-putting? More research is required, I think.

Reason itself is fallible, and this fallibility must find a place in our logic.

Nicola Abbagnano  (1901-1990) Italian existential philosopher

The human mind can achieve fantastic things. One of them is “…our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance” as Daniel Kahneman notes in Thinking, Fast and Slow. Our cognitive hubris allows us to think that we’re smarter than we actually are, to stubbornly deny the overwhelming evidence that human cognition is in fact a messy subjective mix of facts and feelings, intellect and instinct, reason and gut reaction. Pure, objective, analytical ‘just-the-facts’ Cartesian reason is a wonderful goal – “God’s crowning gift to man” as Sophocles put it – but it’s an unachievable myth. And believing in it is dangerous.

Such misplaced pride in human intellect leads to what in my book, How Risky Is It, Really?, I have labeled The Risk Perception Gap…when we are more afraid of some threats than the evidence warrants, or less afraid of some perils than the evidence warns. This gap, worrying too much or not enough, is risky all by itself. Smug confidence in human reason, and the belief that once fully educated and informed people will then make the objectively ‘right’ decision about risk, only widens the gap and increases the danger.

And as cognitive science has produced more and more evidence about the limits of reason and the subjective nature of risk perception, many leading thinkers have called for what cognitive scientist Gary Marcus calls “Cognitive humility”, suggesting that “knowing the limits of our minds can help us to us to make better reasoners. Which is pretty much what Abbagnano said when we began, that “Reason itself is fallible, and this fallibility must find a place in our logic.

We have learned a great deal in the past several years that not only teaches us that our reason is fallible, but that explains why reason fails, and how. It is time to give our understanding of this fallibility a much more prominent place in the logic of how we make decisions to keep ourselves healthy and safe, both as individuals and as a society. But it must begin with a new more humble post-Enlightenment attitude about the limits of what the human brain can accomplish. As Descartes himself said; “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” Including how smart you think you are, and how objectively rational you think you and people in general can ever be.

Sometimes, demands on us exceed our ability to cope and we reach a point of feeling overwhelmed. We feel completely overcome in mind and/or emotion and feel ill-equipped to cope.

When we are faced with stressors, good (eustress) or bad (distress), we experience physiological, emotional, and cognitive arousal. Activating chemicals, such as endorphins, cortisol, and adrenalin, are released in order to help us rise to the challenge of meeting the demands of these stressors so that we may effectively manage them and reduce the arousal or tension we are experiencing. This state of arousal is known as the fight-or-flight response.

Those who have an internal locus of control (belief that they have control over that which affects them), those who have strong coping skills, those who have strong social support, those who have greater cognitive flexibility, problem-solving skills, and adaptability are less likely to feel overwhelmed. Those who have belief systems that maintain maladaptive, unhelpful thought processes are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and overwhelm.

Feeling overwhelmed? Try some of these strategies:

1. Practice acceptance – Some degree of anxiety is “normal”, healthy, and motivating. […] Anxiety, in itself, feels bad, but is not harmful and always passes. Think of it like a wave of the ocean; allow it to come in and ride it out.

2. Change your thoughts – [… T]houghts are often unrealistic, inaccurate, or to some extent, unreasonable. Catch those thoughts, think about them and how they affect you, and change them to more helpful, adaptive thoughts.

3. Be in the “now” – [… S]chedule some time to plan for what is to come, but take in all that is your present moment and enjoy the present.

4. Take a deep breath […]

5. Behavioral activation – Take action. Engage in an activity you may enjoy, such as, taking a walk, listening to music, reading a book). Engage in problem-solving […]

People in general, hold onto beliefs that are shaped by early experiences, the media, and faulty influences. The following list is a compilation of research that may surprise you. Video games, e-books, playtime, and music are all a part of an educator’s repertoire.

Read on, and be prepared to put your traditional beliefs aside as science points to innovative methods that indicate future success.

Here’s a selection:

1. Playing scary and violent video games help children master their fears in real life.

2. Gardening improves children’s desire to learn and boosts their confidence

3. Teaching kids at a very early age is counterproductive to their learning

4. Music and movement augment children’s language capabilities during the preschool years

5. Green spaces or natural backyards elevate children’s learning through discovery

6. Mature make-believe play provides the most beneficial context for children’s development

7. Play-based learning increases children’s attention span

8. Children behave better when parents are involved in their education at home and at school

9. Children who participate in laughing activities experience increase in memory retention

Neuroscience tells us that, to be more productive and creative, we need to give our brains a break. It’s the quiet mind that produces the best insights. But it’s a challenge to take that sort of time off in the midst of a busy day. Here are three specific, quick and easy ways to build purposeful break time into your day.

Quick meditation

New research from the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging suggests that people who meditate show more gray matter in certain regions of the brain, show stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy. In other words, meditation might make your brain bigger, faster and “younger”. As lead researcher Eileen Luders explains, “it appears to be a powerful mental exercise with the potential to change the physical structure of the brain.”

Pulsing

Psychologist K. Anders Ericsson, renown for his research and theories on expertise, points out that top performers in fields ranging from music to science to sports tend to work in approximately 90-minute cycles and then take a break. We are designed to pulse, to move between spending and renewing energy. Pulsing is the simplest, easiest, most immediate way to build breaks into your day.

Daydream walks

Most people have heard the story about how 3M’s Arthur Fry came up with the idea for the Post-it note: he was daydreaming in church. Jonathan Schooler, a researcher at UC Santa Barbara, has repeatedly shown that people like Fry who daydream and let their minds wander score higher on creativity tests. What separates this from meditation is that, instead of emptying your mind, you’re letting it fill up with random thoughts. The trick is to remain aware enough to recognize a sudden insight when it comes.