JANE SAW THE PIRATE ON THE SHIP WITH THE TELESCOPE.
Wait, who had the telescope? Jane, or the pirate? Or was the telescope simply on the ship?
THE HORSE RACED PAST THE BARN FELL.
That doesn’t make any sense. But try reading “raced” as “ridden at a fast pace.” What a difference!
Are you laughing? Or just plain confused? For cognitive neuroscientists (experts who study how the brain works), brain teasers like these aren’t just funny phrases. They’re windows into how our brains operate and how reading happens. By studying patients’ brain activity using high-tech devices, these experts can glimpse what happens inside our brains as we try to puzzle out these challenging sentences.
Are you ready to do some “mind reading” yourself? Try deciphering these three surprising sentences.
Mind Reader #1: The person humming tunes pianos.
That make no sense, right? It sounds like words are missing. Now try thinking of “tunes” as an action—not a set of songs. Aha!
Denne historien er fra October 2020-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra October 2020-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.
