How do we make decisions about a situation we have not encountered before? New work shows that we can solve abstract problems in the same way that we can find a novel route between two known locations ...

Mental math shortcuts suggest future STEM performance—and gender is a significant predictor What is 29 + 14?

As the saying goes, if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem will look like a nail. The same logic applies when you're approaching more abstract problems. A "mental model" is a way of ...

What does it take to solve hard problems: There are 3 things essential to problem solving. The right paradigm Pattern recognition Insight The right paradigm: This is the most important part about ...

How do we make decisions about a situation we have not encountered before? New work from the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, shows that we can solve abstract problems ...