Chapter 8: Random Pieces of Knowledge
Other gestures are much more arbitrary. One of the most notorious of these is making a circle with thumb and forefinger, which to to Americans and most Europeans means "OK." In Brazil, however, and some other places, it means something on the order of "screw you." (The actual term is more pungent, you understand.) Cecil learned this to his sorrow on a little jaunt he made to Sao Paulo some years ago. I seldom make the OK gesture at home, but once I got down south and learned its obscene significance I felt a sudden compulsion to make it 20 or 30 times a day, thus antagonizing Brazilians by the thousands. It was only with the most determined effort that I was able to stifle this low impulse and make the thumbs-up sign that, in Rio as in the U.S., signifies everything's copacetic.
Which reminds me. You probably think we make the thumbs-up gesture because that's what the Romans used to do when they wanted to spare a fallen gladiator, right? Wrong — that's a myth based on a succession of mis-translations. The truth is when the Romans were feeling merciful they hid their thumbs in their clenched fists (symbolically sheathing their swords, some historians believe). To have a guy offed they didn't turn thumbs down but rather extended their thumbs in a stabbing gesture. For whatever reason, though, thumbs-up today means OK just about everywhere — except in Sardinia or Greece, where it means "screw you." I'm told that for rookie travelers this makes hitchhiking in Athens a pretty lively experience. Caveat viator.
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The sign 'V' with 2 fingers can mean victory, peace, the number 2 or "up yours" in Britain:
Note: if you want to avoid insulting British just turn the hand the other way - with the palm side facing them.
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Play for a while! Intellectual play, creative play, and play that requires co-ordination all stimulate the brain. Stimulating the brain causes measurable changes in the brain as new connections are formed.
https://www.gamesforthebrain.com/game/whatwasthere/
http://www.lateralpuzzles.com/
http://wilk4.com/humor/books_thinking_puzzles.htm
Do aerobic exercise! Getting your heart pumping really does help. A study from the University of Illinois found that aerobic exercise literally increases brain volume.
Eat fractal vegetables! Broccoli, cauliflower and other vegetables from the cabbage family are great for memory.
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Meditate. It's good for you.
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If you're in East-Asia you may notice people smile in apology or embarrassment, as if to say "I'm sorry". In Japan they may even smile when angry or confused (what must be a very confusing display for westerners-people who live in the US).
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It's clear that English-speakers link social interaction with warmth, and loneliness and isolation with cold. Turns out, people feel it in their very bones. In research published in 2008, scientists induced loneliness or feelings of acceptance in volunteers by asking them to remember a time they'd been excluded or included. They then asked them to estimate the temperature in the room. Those induced to feel loneliness estimated the room to be 4 degrees Fahrenheit colder, on average, than those who were feeling accepted. In a follow-up study, researchers found that people excluded from a game were more drawn to warm foods like soup, presumably trying to warm their bodies in compensation for the chill of loneliness.
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