Welcome back to the (more) regularly scheduled programming! This week, we take a deeper dive than usual into what (at least partially) makes up an expert. What are the differences between the novices and experts on the cognitive scale? How do we best go about developing our skills to become experts in our passions? And how to tap into the coveted benefits of expertise like the flow state, creativity, and high productivity? This one was really fun to look into, and there is certainly a lot more to learn about this topic! With that said, I tried to present the most actionable items I could find in the literature to best enhance your learning and development. Thanks for listening and stay curious!

Following are the citations for this episode:

Chunking and Template Theory:

• Thought and Choice in Chess - Adriaan D. de Groot - Google Books
• Perception in chess - ScienceDirect
• Templates in Chess Memory: A Mechanism for Recalling Several Boards - ScienceDirect
• Expertise in complex decision making: the role of search in chess 70 years after de Groot - PubMed
• Chunks in expert memory: evidence for the magical number four ... or is it two? - PubMed
• Classics in the History of Psychology -- Miller (1956)
• Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve - PMC

Automaticity, Flow, and Creativity:

• Brain Scans of Jazz Musicians Reveal How to Reach a Creative ‘Flow State’ | Scientific American
• A Review on the Role of the Neuroscience of Flow States in the Modern World - PMC
• How Brain Efficiency Facilitates Flow State Experiences | Psychology Today
• Flow State Mastery: Minimizing Cognitive Friction - Liminary
• Frontiers | A Scoping Review of Flow Research
• Physiological assessment of the psychological flow state using wearable devices | Scientific Reports
• EEG-based functional connectivity patterns during boredom in an educational context | Scientific Reports
• Turning on Flow Means Turning Off Parts of the Brain
• (PDF) Neural Mechanisms and Benefits of Flow: A Meta Analysis

After a too-long hiatus, we are officially back! Uploads will be a little sporadic for a little bit, but I am hoping to get back to some semblance of a schedule in the new year. Today, we have the pleasure of listening to a conversation with the writer of The Future is Nuclear, Jonathan Iwasczyszyn! A classic dive into the joys and wonders of nuclear energy and its current hurdles that we have yet to overcome. If you found this episode interesting, make sure to subscribe to The Future is Nuclear at The Future is Nuclear | Jonathan Iwasczyszyn | Substack!

Welcome back, you curious folk! Was getting lots of requests to branch out to interviews outside of Virginia Tech (just kidding, I got none). Thus, backed by popular demand (technically the case), I present the first external to Virginia Tech interview!

Today, we get to listen in on a conversation with Dr. Eric Ravussin. A world-renowned metabolic researcher known for his contributions to our understanding of the human metabolism, diabetes, and calorie restriction. It would be a lengthy list if I were to enumerate all his accomplishments, but Dr. Ravussin has contributed to the development of the first human respiratory chamber in North America, utilized doubly labeled water to determine the total daily energy expenditure of humans, and has recently conducted profound investigations into the impacts of calorie restriction. That just catches the surface of his impactful work, much of which he elaborates on in the episode.

Thanks for listening and stay curious!