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Brain Quotes by Daniel Levitin

38 Brain quotes by Daniel Levitin

All Brain quotes Daniel Levitin’s page

Daniel Levitin explains how the brain releases dopamine when we encounter new information, turning learning into a reward. He notes that Western tonal music trains our ears to anticipate chord progressions, and that trying to read while listening splits the brain into separate tasks. His quotes also warn about information overload and how opinion bubbles can distort thinking, reminding us that glucose fuels neurons just like gasoline powers a car.

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Our bodies like rhythm and our brains like melody and harmony.

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Maybe instead of asking political candidates to submit tax returns, we really should be asking to see their brain scans.

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If you aren't taking regular breaks every couple of hours, your brain won't benefit from that extra cup of coffee.

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Information overload refers to the notion that we're trying to take in more than the brain can handle.

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I'm a simple country neuroscientist, not an expert on democracy, but I do know something about how the brain works and how…

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What it turns out is that we think we're multitasking, but we're not. The brain is sequential tasking: we flit from one…

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That daydreaming mode turns out to be restorative. It's like hitting the reset button in your brain. And you don't get in…

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Singing and dancing have been shown to modulate brain chemistry, specifically levels of dopamine, the 'feel good' neurotransmitter.

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The most fundamental principle of the organized mind, the one most critical to keeping us from forgetting or losing things, is to…

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Brain extenders are anything that get information out of our heads and into the physical world: calendars, key hooks by the front…

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Similarly, dance is not just a raging sea of unrelated bodily movements; the relationship of those movements to one another is what…

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Healthy breaks can hit the reset button in your brain, restoring some of the glucose and other metabolic nutrients used up with…

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We've learned that musical ability is actually not one ability but a set of abilities, a dozen or more. Through brain damage,…

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There's an ancient connection between movement and music. Most languages don't make a distinction between the words 'music' and 'dance.' And we…

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Because you've been exposed to Western tonal music, you know after a certain chord sequence what the next possibilities are. Your brain…

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If you're making a bunch of little decisions - like, do I read this email now or later? Do I file it?…

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Although I don't know Paul McCartney, a mutual friend told me that Paul was reading my book, This Is Your Brain on…

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The conscious mind can only pay attention to about four things at once. If you've got these nagging voices in your head…

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Ten thousand hours is equivalent to roughly three hours a day, or 20 hours a week, of practice over 10 years... No…

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As soon as you hear a proposition, the creative brain in humans assumes for the moment that it's true, and starts trying…

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The brain has an attentional mode called the "mind wandering mode" that was only recently identified. This is when thoughts move seamlessly…

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Decision-making is difficult because, by its nature, it involves uncertainty. If there was no uncertainty, decisions would be easy! The uncertainty exists…

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The most important, the longest lasting, the strongest emotional, and the most practiced memories are the ones that are embedded the deepest…

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The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated…

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Neurons are living cells with a metabolism. And they need glucose in order to function. Glucose is the fuel of the brain,…

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Music can be thought of as a type of perceptual illusion in which our brain imposes structure and order on a sequence…

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I think we've debunked the myth of talent. It doesn't appear that there's anything like a music gene or center in the…

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Our brains are very, very good at self-delusion. What happens is, it releases the stress hormone cortisol in the brain, which leads…

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The mammalian brain evolved exquisite place memory because that was essential for survival. This is why squirrels have such a good memory…

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Multitasking creates a dopamine-addiction feedback loop, effectively rewarding the brain for losing focus and for constantly searching for external stimulation.

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I think of the brain as a computational device: It has a bunch of little components that perform calculations on some small…

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The state-of-the-art techniques really allowed us to make maps of how Sting's brain organizes music. That's important because at the heart of…

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I became interested in structure when I was in graduate school. How is it that the brain perceives structure in a sometimes…

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The left brain is responsible for making order out of chaos, for making sense of things in the world that don't always…

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The human brain long ago evolved a mechanism for rewarding us when we encountered new information: a little shot of dopamine in…

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If you're studying from a book and trying to listen in on a conversation at the same time, those are two separate…

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Through studies of music and the brain, we've learned to map out specific areas involved in emotion, timing, and perception - and…

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Every status update you read on Facebook, every tweet or text message you get from a friend, is competing for resources in…

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More by Daniel Levitin

What music is better able to do than language is to represent the complexity of human emotional states.

Procrastination comes in two types. Some of us procrastinate in order to pursue restful activities - spending time in bed, watching TV - while…

In a country that was still racially segregated and prejudiced, music was among the first domains in which African-Americans thrived alongside whites.

Because our ancestors lived in social groups that changed slowly, because they encountered the same people throughout their lives, they could keep almost every…

Because you've been exposed to Western tonal music, you know after a certain chord sequence what the next possibilities are. Your brain has compiled…

People who organize their time in a way that allows them to focus are not only going to get more done, but they'll be…

I have never seen a proton or electron spinning around it. I have never actually seen a chromosome. I trust that they exist because…

If you're studying from a book and trying to listen in on a conversation at the same time, those are two separate projects, each…

President Trump, when challenged on facts, says that many people feel the way he does. But feelings should not take the place of reason…

Our species uses music and dance to express various feelings: love, joy, comfort, ceremony, knowledge, and friendship. And each one is distinct and widely…

The first forms of writing emerged not for art, literature, or love, not for spiritual or liturgical purposes, but for business--all literature could be…

When you're at work, be fully at work. And let your leisure time be what it's meant to be - restorative and fun.

The obvious rule of efficiency is you don't want to spend more time organizing than it's worth.

When it comes to snowing people, one effective technique is to get a whole bunch of verifiable facts right and then add one or…

The human brain long ago evolved a mechanism for rewarding us when we encountered new information: a little shot of dopamine in the brain…