You Can Have a Better Brain!

Problems would often weigh us down as we cope with them while trying to get through the day and deal with other matters on mind. We might even develop a headache and then decide to turn in early and sleep over the problems. 

Lo and behold, after a good night’s rest we find ourselves better able to cope and deal with the pressing problems on the following day. I think we can also recall how why taking a bath or a shower we were able to remember things which had earlier slipped our mind or come up with a solution to a problem.

Well, for Archimedes of Syracuse, it famously led him to a Eureka moment. As told in Wikipedia: “According to Vitruvius, a votive crown for a temple had been made for King Hiero II, who had supplied the pure gold to be used, and Archimedes was asked to determine whether some silver had been substituted by the dishonest goldsmith.

Archimedes had to solve the problem without damaging the crown, so he could not melt it down into a regularly shaped body in order to calculate its density. While taking a bath, he noticed that the level of the water in the tub rose as he got in, and realized that this effect could be used to determine the volume of the crown. 

For practical purposes water is incompressible, so the submerged crown would displace an amount of water equal to its own volume. By dividing the mass of the crown by the volume of water displaced, the density of the crown could be obtained. This density would be lower than that of gold if cheaper and less dense metals had been added. 

Archimedes then took to the streets naked, so excited by his discovery that he had forgotten to dress, crying "Eureka!" (Greek: "εὕρηκα!," meaning "I have found it!"). The test was conducted successfully, proving that silver had indeed been mixed in.”

In more recent times, we could also find ourselves drained out as we multi-task and stay afloat by dealing with a flood of messages screaming for our attention from media platforms such as e-mails, sms, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram,YouTube and Facebook. 

What are the scientific explanations for the aforesaid experiences? In his article “Hit the reset button in your brain”, Daniel J. Levitin explained that our brains have two dominant modes of attention: the task-positive and the task-negative networks of neurons (like electrical circuits within the brain).

The task-positive network is called the central executive and it is active when we are actively engaged in a task; focused and undistracted. This part of the brain has helped us, inter alia, to harness fire, build airplanes and discover penicillin.

But such discoveries and inventions would probably come from the task-negative network which is recognized as the daydreaming mode.

The switch between the daydreaming mode and the central executive mode is controlled by the part of the brain called the insula which is like a seesaw: when one mode is active, the other is not. If this switching happens frequently, we will feel tired and a bit dizzy.

Following from this, we can see how important it is to get some rest and recreation after tackling our tasks. For example, take a walk in the park, smell the roses, take naps, go for an unhurried holiday or listen to music.

Here are two suggestions from Daniel J. Levitin which you may fine to be useful for leading a more productive, creative and energized life:
1. Partition your day into project periods. Your social networking should be done during a designated time, not as constant interruptions to your day.
2. If we can train ourselves to take true vacations without work and set aside time for regular contemplations and naps, we will be in a stronger position to solve problems in our world. 


Yes, we can have a better brain if we understand better how to make the most of it. By the way, we are only using less than 10% or so of our brain. Imagine if we could use more or just go watch Lucy (2014 film).


Daniel J. Levitin is the director of the Laboratory for Music, Cognition and Expertise at McGill University and the author of “The Organised Mind: Thinking Straight In The Age Of Information.

The Resurrection and the Life

“Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live;” John 11:25 (Amp.)

Jesus Christ said the above verse way before He was crucified on a cross at Calvary and several days after a dear friend, Lazarus, had died. He proceeded to raise Lazarus from the dead, and He Himself was resurrected from the grave on the very first Easter Sunday by the power of the Holy Spirit upon Him.

He is also the One who proclaimed the oft-quoted verse in John 3:16 (Amp.), “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He (even) gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” This is the glorious hope for all mankind, to all who believe.

In knowing that even death had lost it sting to the Son of God, we are assured that we, too, who have the Holy Spirit can experience the same resurrection power as Jesus Christ. Even in the here and now, the deadness of certain situations in our life can be brought to life.

Thus, we can take courage and begin to restore our broken dreams, hope and aspirations by trusting in, clinging to and relying on Him. He will make a way (divine providence), if we will let Him. Let’s keep on keeping on by installing the word of God as the operating system of our life so as to experience our resurrection and live the Life --- God’s best for us.

3 Keys to Success

“Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened.” Matthew 7:7 (Amp.)


I was inspired recently by the above verse from the Holy Bible. The fresh revelation which came to me revolves around the three words: Ask; Seek; and Find. Simple and familiar enough, but very useful steps propounded by none other than Jesus Christ Himself.

When we face an unfamiliar situation or challenge we need to humble ourselves and ask for directions, advice or help. We start the ball rolling by asking. If we sit on the problem or difficulty, it would dog us and deplete our energy. Thinking (asking ourselves), praying (asking God), using a search engine (e.g. Google) and calling a friend are just some of the ways that we can ask.

Having asked and received one or more answers, we then need to narrow down our choices by seeking for more details. So, we explore more in-depth on the alternatives before us by researching publications, consulting the experts and learning from the practitioners.

Finally, when we are ready to make our decision on how to tackle the situation, we approach our chosen door and start knocking. Having done our homework, we are now prepared and focused enough to proceed with confidence to lay hold of the desired outcome beyond the door.

Now, as in NOW, is a good time for us to ask, seek and knock to overcome the challenges that we face every day. Hope this helps.

Don't Sit On a Problem

Sitting on a problem will not make it go away. It is like sweeping the problem under a carpet or locking up some skeletons in a closet.

Unlike worrying -- which by majority count is virtual or imaginary, problems are real. Once a problem is identified -- which in and by itself contributes half of the full solution, we can choose either a ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response.

Taking a screen-view from many a computer game -- where we keep getting up and fight, again and again, albeit with the help of the reset button, we ought to choose to fight a good fight of faith and not throw in the towel, so to speak.

If our mind is not thinking straight and we could sense an impending headache on account of the problem, then do ourselves a big favour by getting some sleep. More often than not, we will find that by the morrow our mind would have worked out something.

Another solution to our problem, if it concerns other interest parties, would be to convey the problem to them. Quite often by speaking out, our inner ear will hear what we have been thinking and gives an added dimension to our perception of the problem and brings us closer to a solution even if our ‘interested’ persons are switched off.

If it’s an e-mail, then just forward it to the relevant parties with due discretion without any adverse implication to our person. Like they say, a problem shared is a problem halved.

And, if we are fortunate enough to have some of these a-friend-who-loves-at-all-times, then wait no longer but get our problem to them via telephone, e-mail, et cetera. They will be pleased to assist us! It is one of their life purposes!!

So, while we may sleep over our problem, let’s not be caught sitting on it.

P/S: Btw, i've got just these two little problems: Does anyone has any idea on how we can recycle the short end of pencils as well as keys which are no longer in use?