Let’s face it – your brain wasn’t built for spreadsheets, endless notifications, or meetings that could’ve been...
Oscar Forrester
Very Big Brain is written by Oscar Forrester, a researcher and writer with a long-standing fascination with how the brain works. Oscar spent several years working in hospital IT, including on infection control systems, and grew up in a household shaped by medicine — his father was a physician and his mother a registered nurse. He is not a clinician himself, and nothing on this site should be taken as medical advice. What he brings instead is a rigorous, source-first approach to research, honed over two decades of writing (he’s authored numerous published books, primarily on software development), and a genuine curiosity about the science of cognition. Mr. Forrester strives to present complex topics in a clear and engaging manner, making it easy for you to understand and apply the knowledge to your daily life.
Yes, learning to play chess can improve cognitive flexibility by training the brain to evaluate changing patterns,...
There are times when your brain just feels… cluttered. Not broken, not exhausted, just full of static...
Yes, exposure to nature increases mental focus by reducing cognitive fatigue, calming the nervous system, and restoring...
Yes, smiling can influence how your brain processes emotion. The act of smiling – even when you’re...
For most of my adult life, grocery shopping meant one of two scenarios: either I carried a...
Yes, writing fiction strengthens empathy and perspective-taking by activating brain regions involved in emotional awareness, social cognition,...
Let’s get something straight right from the start: therapy can be life-changing. For many people, it’s a...
Yes, rearranging your furniture can boost mental stimulation by introducing environmental novelty that activates spatial reasoning, disrupts...
For years, I prided myself on being a “fast reader.” I could get through a book in...