From Moonwalking with Einstein, I learned about using memory palaces as a mnemonic to help memorize long lists of things. Now some researchers have tested and validated the technique by having people use unfamiliar virtual environments as memory palaces.

In a NYTimes op-ed, David Agus asks "when does regulating a person's habits in the name of good health become our moral and social duty?" He has one suggestion, and that is to make it public policy to encourage middle-aged people to use aspirin.

The most tweeted movie of the year? Think LIke a Man.

This link is a bit math-heavy and abstruse, but less so than you'd think from scanning it. Stein's Paradox in Statistics (PDF) by Bradley Efron and Carl Morris is a famous and fascinating article in which the future batting averages of 18 major league baseball players after their first 45 at bats in 1970. It is a useful introduction to the James-Stein Estimator and concepts like regression to the mean and how to quantify it. In the tech business world, managers tend to be rated on many qualities, but rarely on the quality of their forecasts. Given the value of forecasting in such a fast-paced industry, it's interesting how much people in tech rely on gut instinct.