Think about it . . .

Would you notice if a gorilla strolled onto a basketball court and thumped its chest? Amazingly, roughly half the subjects in a study of "selective attention," conducted by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, didn't. Read about it in The Invisible Gorilla And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us, or try it yourself by watching the video.

Did you know that your pupils expand when you think? Well, they do, according to Daniel Kahneman, author of the best-selling Thinking, Fast and Slow. In fact, research shows that not only do they expand, but they also dilate more with harder problems.

These are just a few things to think about during Brain Awareness Week (March 12 - 18).

Other intriguing books on the subject of human psychology, available at the Library, include: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer, Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century by Lauren Slater, and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

For extra mental fun/frustration take Mensa International's online "Mensa Workout."