/oss/taxonomy/term/1835/all en /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/mozarts-music-doesnt-make-baby-geniuses <p>There is an alchemy to science. Sometimes, when the conditions are just right, the results of tiny, preliminary studies are transformed into truisms that spread the world over. For example, everyone knows that you’re either left-brained or right-brained… except that <a href="/oss/article/health/learning-stop-teaching-learning-myths">that is false</a>. What is true is that some brain functions tend to involve one half of the brain more than the other, but the idea that scientists are left-brained while artists are right-brained is nonsense. Yet, the belief endures.</p> Fri, 08 Mar 2024 13:53:21 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9857 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition-videos/right-chemistry-can-chocolate-make-you-smarter <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-zvlfe9t1j4e" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Can chocolate make you smarter?" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/zVlfE9T1J4E?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-zvlfe9t1j4e&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Can chocolate make you smarter?" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Can chocolate make you smarter?</iframe> </div> </p> Tue, 15 May 2018 17:04:49 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7093 at /oss /oss/article/videos-quackery/cracked-science-15-genetics-intelligence <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-2"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-wrxfad48bnc" width="640" height="390" title="The Genetics of Intelligence (CS15)" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/wRxFAd48BNc?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-wrxfad48bnc&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="The Genetics of Intelligence (CS15)" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of The Genetics of Intelligence (CS15)</iframe> </div> </p> Thu, 10 May 2018 19:48:03 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7081 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-diets-food-health-supplements-you-asked/you-asked-fish-really-brain-food <p>Is fish really brain food? P.G. Wodehouse certainly thought so. In his wonderful “Jeeves” stories, Bertie Wooster encourages his brainy butler to eat more fish whenever a particularly challenging problem arises. But to what extent does fiction mirror real life? One can make a theoretical case for fish consumption based on the fact that docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, the famous omega-3 fat in fish, is the main component of brain cell membranes, and that communication between brain cells is a function of the integrity of these membranes.</p> Sun, 31 Aug 2014 05:07:15 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2188 at /oss /oss/article/quackery-you-asked/what-craniosacral-therapy <p>"You should have your head examined!" We've all heard that expression at some time after expressing some thought that was perceived as being ridiculous. Of course this is not meant to be taken literally. Nobody believes that stupidity can be diagnosed by physically examining the head. But there are people who believe that various medical conditions can be diagnosed in this way; in fact, not only diagnosed but treated. We're talking about something called Craniosacral therapy.</p> Sun, 18 Nov 2012 23:26:20 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1801 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/pesticides-utero <p>Can the decline in rational thinking that we seem to be experiencing these days be due to pesticide exposure while we were in the womb? That may not be as harebrained as it sounds. </p> Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:41:50 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1680 at /oss