10.3 LISTENING.10.6 INFOGRAPHIC CONVERSATION

10.3 LISTENING

How good would you say that your hand-eye coordination is? Good? Really good? Do you wish you could improve it? Many athletes believe that simply visualizing an action can improve their coordination. But does it work? Let’s find out.

Let’s run our experiment on the greatest sport ever invented. Set up a waste basket, crumple up some pieces of paper, and try to make some baskets. Sometimes you miss your shot. Sometimes you make it. Here’s our question: Can visualizing your throw before you take it improve your shooting?

This time, before shooting, try visualizing what it’ll feel like for your arm to take the shot, and also the path that the paper will take on its way to the basket. Get set up. Do you see it? OK, then take the shot.

If you’re playing along at home, try taking a bunch of shots. On half of them, try visualizing first. On the other half, just go ahead and shoot. Keep track of your performance. Does it really help to visualize?

There’s some evidence that mental practice of this sort can actually improve some types of athletic performance. Now some of these improvements might just be due to getting yourself into a relaxed and focused state of mind. But some of them might be because visualizing actions turns out to activate some of the same brain regions produced in making the motions themselves.

10.6 INFOGRAPHIC CONVERSATION
The brain is incredible, and scientists are learning more and more about it every day. Did you know, for example, that your brain is able to generate power? Experts believe that it can generate enough electricity to power a light bulb.

There are also some common myths about the brain. You may have heard that we only use 10% of our brains. Well, most scientists now agree that that’s not true. We use different parts of our brains for different purposes at different times. So the percentage is generally higher.

And do men have bigger brains than women? It appears so, although not by much. Men’s brains are on average about 10% larger than women’s. When you think about it, it makes sense. Men’s bodies are generally bigger than women’s.