The Curio Blog

Surprising things. Worth understanding.

The mind, the world, and the questions that pull you in. One clear story at a time, with the research linked.

7 rabbit holes

Start with a surprise

  • Curiosity
  • Psychology
  • Technology & Society
  • Learning
  • Attention
  • Memory
PinnedCuriosity

Curious About Trivia, People Remembered Unrelated Faces Better

People wanted a trivia answer. Later, they remembered an unrelated face better too. Higher curiosity went with better memory beyond the thing they wanted to learn.

· 3 min read Psychology

A False Claim Can Feel More True the Next Time You See It

Seeing a false claim before can make it feel a little more believable. In one study, even knowing the right answer did not completely remove the effect.

· 3 min read Technology & Society

What a Curly Fries Like Could Give Away

In a Facebook study, liking Curly Fries was linked to higher reasoning-test scores. The strange part is what a model could predict without knowing why.

· 2 min read Learning

Rereading Won at First. Trying to Remember Won Days Later.

Rereading helped students on a quick test. Days later, recall practice won—even though more study had made students feel more confident about remembering.

· 3 min read Attention

Why Two Easy Tasks Can Make Your Brain Slow Down

Each task can be easy on its own. Put demands close together or keep changing the rule, and an extra delay appears. Multitasking adds more than another job.

· 3 min read Memory

Your Clearest Memory Can Change Without Feeling Less Certain

People's accounts of hearing about September 11 changed, but their confidence stayed high. A vivid mental picture was not a guarantee of stable details.

· 3 min read Learning

Reading on a Screen? Feeling Finished Can Be Misleading

When students chose when to stop studying, screen readers scored worse and judged their readiness less well. A fixed-time experiment found no clear score gap.

· 3 min read

Explore by question

One question leads to another.

Follow a connection, or look more closely at the research.

Curio Evidence Atlas See what the research actually supports.

Search every reviewed note by the finding, the test behind it, and what it does not prove.

Open the evidence map
Curiosity, recall, and confidence What makes an idea stick?

Why a question can help you remember, why rereading feels so good, and why vivid memories can still change.

 Familiar claims, divided attention, digital clues What happens without you noticing?

A pause, a click, or a Like can reveal a pattern without revealing the whole person behind it.