The other night, I was playing pool and sunk a ball that I didn’t expect to sink – in fact, it was so surprising that I asked myself, “How did I do that?!”

But it’s even more obvious when I look at a website that I like. Sometimes, I’ve been known to look at the source code to try to figure out how they did that.

And the cool thing is that when you ask that question, you get smarter.

Maybe you’ll actually figure out an answer, maybe not. I still have no idea how I sunk that ball in the corner pocket at the other end. But the experience of being exposed to uncertainty – The Power of Ambiguity – helps you get smarter.

A recent study published in Psychological Science had people look at the surreal work of author Kafka and film director David Lynch, and found that afterwards, people were better at seeing subtle patterns. Read more about this in Science Daily or the NYTimes.

This is another great reason to visit the art gallery. Another good reason to watch art house movies. And a great excuse for me to continue staring at the complex building sites around here.

Experience the surreal. Have a look around. And when you see something strange, or someone does something unexpected, be grateful – it’s an opportunity to make you smarter.

And thanks Kellie for tipping me off to this

And that’s a bad thing.

Because being fat makes your brain shrink.

In a recent study, the brains of obese people looked 16 years older than their real age; the brains of overweight people looked “just” 8 years older. And that makes a big difference!

Especially when it seems that the areas of the brain where the tissue was most lost were the parts that do decision-making and memory work.

Recently I have been spending more time than usual in the gym. Lying down at the end of a pilates class last Monday, it occurred to me that we often try to decide between training our bodies and training our minds. As if the two are mutually exclusive.

So you might remember the “sporty types” and the “smart kids” at school didn’t tend to mix too well.

Yet, can we really train the body without training the mind? After so many years of karate training, I recognize some of the thought patterns that I access habitually from time to time. The way I breathe, the way I walk, the way I behave when I am out with friends. My physical training directly and substantively impacted the way I think.

My education likewise influences the way I exercise. Continually looking to understand the root causes and how to make things work better leaves me looking for more elegant and efficient ways of undertaking exercises. Even when I’m just “supposed” to be following along, I tend to find myself looking for better ways. And, I’m pleased to say, sometimes it helps!

Not all activities will give you the same benefits. But do consider the sort of mindset that you are being exposed to when you are exercising. Is it bringing you closer to your personal genius? Likewise, when you are exposing your mind to thoughts, ideas and strategies that seem professional or intellectual, be willing to ask yourself how it’s affecting your body.

Because training your mind trains your body… and when you train your body, you train your mind.