Ask Me Everything6

Visual tricks

Five ways to improve your memory

Your brain uses clues in your surroundings to make sense of what you see, but sometimes the images are confusing and the brain is tricked.

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These four parallel lines may appear to lean slightly to the left or right, but they are actually perfectly straight.

The linę on the left may look as if it’s longer than the one on the right, but they are exactly the same length.

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How to: remember

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01 ■ Pass all the information gathered by your senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste) into your sensory memory.

02,

Now discard most of that sensory information, otherwise your brain will be overwhelmed. If the information could be significant, then storę it temporarily in your short-term memory.

03.

When your brain

recognizes information as important, it will file away those facts, skills, or experiences in your long-term memory—ready for you to remember forever.

The grid lines seem to be connected by a pattern of white circles, but these are just gaps between the lines.

Blood to the head

■ The brain is covered in a 645-km (400-mile) network of arteries, veins, and capillaries.

■ Around 20 percent of the body’s oxygen intake is reserved for the brain, even though it makes up a mere 2 percent of the body's mass.

■ If the brain’s blood supply is cut off, unconsciousness can occur after just ten seconds.

■ Loss of oxygenated blood for 5-10 minutes can cause serious brain damage.

brain

In ten per cent of the population, the right half of the brain dominates and these people are left-handed.

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Left or right?

The left half of the brain Controls the right side of the body, and the right half of the brain Controls the left side.

For most people, the left half of the brain dominates and they are right-handed.

Famous left-handers include Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, English scientist Isaac Newton, and U.S. President Barack Obama (pictured).

Ambidextrous people vy can use both hands egually well.

You can also have a dominant eye and a dominant foot.

"Consciousness

01: Consciousness is awareness of your own existence and of your surroundings.

02: Consciousness is not controlled by one particular part of the brain but depends on activity throughout the outer layer of the cerebrum—the part of the brain that is responsible for memory, thinking, personality, etc.

03: Humans don’t develop a sense of self until they are around 18 months old.

Brain 144|145

(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.