Scientific Definition
Brain structure central to memory formation, spatial navigation, and learning.
Plain-English Definition
Brain structure central to memory formation, spatial navigation, and learning.
Feynman Explanation
Smaller when stressed. Larger in London cab drivers.
Core Principle
Brain structure central to memory formation, spatial navigation, and learning.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Brain structure central to memory formation, spatial navigation, and learning.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Learning system design has biological substrates worth respecting.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Smaller when stressed. Larger in London cab drivers.
Examples
- Damage produces dramatic memory deficits.
- Learning system design has biological substrates worth respecting.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Protect sleep, novelty, and exercise — all build hippocampal capacity.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Protect sleep, novelty, and exercise — all build hippocampal capacity.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Recalling something that did not happen or recalling it differently.
How will I feel about this in 10 minutes / 10 months / 10 years?
Basics first (health/finances), then depth (mastery/impact), then altruism (widening circle).
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.
Inattention or forgetfulness caused by low attention, hyperfocus, or distraction.
Deriving general rules from specific examples; the leap from instance to concept.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
We attribute our own actions to situations but others' actions to their character.
Your capacity to learn, unlearn, and relearn faster than the environment changes.
The brain evolved to reason adaptively, not always truthfully, to reduce the cost of errors.
A problem whose solution requires people to change their values, beliefs, or habits — not just apply expertise.
We solve problems by adding, even when subtracting would be better.