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Good morning! In the spirit of "New Year, New You" (too late to say that?), we've officially dubbed our newsletter IQNEWS and given it a substantial facelift.
Each week we'll share with you, our loyal fans, mind-bending "knowledge bombs" we've encountered in the past seven days.
If you like or hate the new layout and/or content, please reply directly to this email to let us know. We'll reply back and promise not to get (overtly) offended at criticism.
Ok, on to the newsletter!
Topics include:
- Jam out: Music makes us happier than we thought.
- Ouch: How to take a hit.
- Swish: The "hot hand" theory appears to be true.
- Feelin' flossy: Never run out of floss again.
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Apparently there's science behind your obsession with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." A newly released meta-analysis of 26 previous studies found that singing, playing, and listening to music can all confer roughly the same mental health benefits as exercise.
The studies' findings ranged from gospel music mitigating risk of cardiovascular disease to choir participation reducing pain experienced by cancer survivors.
To be sure, an association between music and mental wellbeing has been demonstrated before. "The magnitude of music's positive association with health-related quality of life is [what was] unclear, particularly relative to established interventions, limiting inclusion of music interventions in health policy and care," write the researchers.
Because certain studies on exercise utilize the same mental health measurement instruments and criteria as studies on music, researchers were able to conduct a novel apples-to-apples impact comparison in this case, concluding that brain boosting benefits were "within the [same] range."
A few caveats underscored in the analysis:
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Exercise is still a good idea. While music yields the same range of mental health benefits as exercise, it can't replace other exercise-related benefits (like weight loss).
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Some people jam harder than others. While music's overall impact was undeniably positive, music's impact varied substantially across participants.
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Unclear if Elvis or Kanye is better. There is no "ideal" type of music, listening / singing duration, or context for engaging with music. You know what you like!
Long story short, Paul Rudd was right - slapping the bass is good for the soul.
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Taking a hit, social media harm, creative brains...
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| Image: Myung Chun / LA Times |
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The Oscars "slap heard around the world" made us wonder: how should one take a hit? Your main concern shouldn't be the hit - it should be potential impact of hitting the ground. Tuck your chin and create distance as quickly as possible!
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Some researchers claim social media causes no psychological harm; others claim the opposite. A new multi-year, 84,000 person study splits the difference, showing it lowers life satisfaction, but only for girls 11-13, boys 14-15, and both genders at 19.
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Turns out, highly creative people are literally wired differently. A new study found "exceptional creativity was associated with more random [brain] connectivity - a pattern that is less 'efficient' but helpful in liking distant brain nodes."
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A substantial portion of the brain is dedicated to facial recognition – so much so that we often see faces in inanimate objects. What’s fascinating, though, is that we almost always perceive those illusory faces to be male.
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If you’re a basketball fan, you’ve heard of the “hot hand theory” (someone who's made consecutive shots should get the ball). Statisticians have debated its validity for years! A recent study demonstrates the "hot hand" is in fact real, but it's rare.
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We’ve all heard antibiotics aren’t great for gut health. A new study suggests they aren’t great for the brain either. Of 14,542 women observed, those that took antibiotics for 2+ months in midlife scored lower on cognitive assessments years later.
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Prepare to floss like a boss
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Flossing is an important aspect of dental hygiene (and romantic success). But it’s annoying. It makes your gums bleed, cuts off finger circulation, and requires you to put your hands in your mouth – ick! Most of all, though, floss runs out too damn quick.
We recently stumbled upon a video where a guy fixes both the circulation AND run-out problems. Our minds were blown. And the video has only been viewed 9K times, which is a criminally low number.
Basically, this genius named Pierre discovered that if you wrap floss around 2 spare keyrings, you can cut down on 2/3rds of your floss usage while also sparing your precious index fingers. Give the video a watch here!
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- Astronauts are celebrated, but no one cares about deep sea explorers.
- The problem with meeting someone on his best behavior is it just gets worse from there.
- The first tester to finish the final version of a game temporarily holds the world record.
- Some people’s pets have seen them naked more than their significant other.
- When you drink something expecting it to be water and it isn’t, it’s a bad experience 100% of the time.
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| QUOTE / TIL / WORD / TRIVIA |
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Edgar Allen Poe: “Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence.”
Today I learned that before 2012, Pizza Hut was the largest purchaser of kale in the US, but they only used it as garnish for their salad bars. (more here)
elan [ ey-lahn ] - noun
energy, style, and enthusiasm
a rousing march, played with great elan
Q: What instrument is used to measure wind speed?
A: (see below next section)
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"These quick and easy collard greens are simmered with bacon, onion, garlic, and seasonings until tender. Our method of cooking collard greens requires only 10 minutes of steaming and a dash of hot sauce toward the ends makes the greens extra flavorful. This healthy collards greens recipe is gluten-free, low-carb, keto-friendly. Enjoy!"
Ingredients: Collard Greens, Bacon, Onion, Garlic, Salt, Pepper, Broth, Hot Sauce, Dried Cranberries
Recipe By: Eatwell101 (full recipe with instructions here)
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TRIVIA ANSWER: An anemometer is used to measure wind speed (invented in 1450).
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Fan of the newsletter? Forward to a friend! 📩
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By Will Nitze - connect with me on LinkedIn!
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