Author

Frank

Frank Delano spent years in the philosophy departments of elite universities before deciding the ivory tower was overrated. Now he writes for ExpertUnderstanding, breaking down the science and philosophy of intelligence into plain language anyone can use. His no-nonsense approach has built him a following of readers who appreciate straight talk over academic jargon.

35 articles · Since 2026

brain exercisesChunking and Working Memory: What the Brain Might Trade to Stretch a Small WorkspaceA 2025 eLife model suggests the brain shares storage circuits across items, gaining capacity at the cost of precision. Here is a quick chunking test to try.
Frank · Oct 31, 2026
Brain TeasersThe Ten-Cent Trap: Why Your First Answer Is Often WrongThe bat and ball puzzle catches most people because a fast, plausible answer arrives before anyone checks it.
Frank · Oct 30, 2026
IQ ChallengesThe Flynn Effect: Why IQ Scores Need ResettingBecause test norms are relative, rising performance over decades forces publishers to renorm tests, and that change can shift who qualifies for services.
Frank · Oct 29, 2026
puzzlesMagic Squares for Beginners: Fill the 3x3 Grid So Every Line Sums to 15Learn why 15 is the target, why 5 must sit in the centre, and how to build a 3x3 magic square. Then try a challenge grid of your own.
Frank · Oct 28, 2026
mind trainingReading the Look-and-Say Sequence Instead of Calculating ItThe look-and-say sequence follows a rule about describing digits, not doing arithmetic, so confirming your starting term and sources will keep you from solving the wrong puzzle.
Frank · Oct 27, 2026
brain powerThe Card Puzzle That Trips Up Smart PeopleA 1966 logic task shows how easily we look for evidence that confirms a rule instead of evidence that could break it.
Frank · Oct 26, 2026
brain exercisesDoes Dual n-Back Make You Smarter? What the Evidence Actually ShowsA demanding memory game promised a bigger brain, and the strongest evidence suggests the gains owe more to study design than to training.
Frank · Oct 25, 2026
Brain TeasersThe Cube That Changes Its MindA plain line drawing flips between two 3-D readings, and that small switch raises big questions about what seeing actually is.
Frank · Oct 24, 2026
IQ ChallengesHow to Solve a 3x3 Matrix Puzzle Without GuessingA repeatable checklist, from listing attributes to eliminating distractors, turns a confusing grid into a short sequence of checks.
Frank · Oct 23, 2026
puzzlesThe Missing Dollar Riddle and the Double-Counting TrapThe riddle loses a dollar only because it adds the bellhop's tip to a total that already includes it. Track who holds each dollar and the full $30 comes back.
Frank · Oct 22, 2026
mind trainingWalk Through Your Own Front Hall to Remember MoreThe method of loci turns a familiar route into a memory filing system. A 2019 thesis hints at which kind of imagery helps most, though the evidence is thin.
Frank · Oct 21, 2026
memoryAsk Why: A Five-Second Study Habit That Actually SticksElaborative interrogation costs nothing and needs no training, just a pause to ask why a fact is true and how it connects to what you already know.
Frank · Oct 20, 2026
brain powerBoredom Isn't Always a LeakResearch suggests boredom may sharpen thinking when a task is easy enough to leave room for your mind to wander, but the evidence is narrow and far from settled.
Frank · Oct 19, 2026
brain exercisesBrain Games Are Being Sold on a Feeling. The Evidence Is Narrower Than That.Two pieces of research point toward fast, speed-based training, but both leave big gaps between what was measured and what gets promised.
Frank · Oct 18, 2026
Brain TeasersThe Gorilla You Didn't SeeAttention narrows what we notice, and the research on inattentional blindness suggests that even experts and our own introspection have blind spots.
Frank · Oct 17, 2026
IQ ChallengesThe Twelve-Coin Puzzle: Why Three Weighings Are EnoughA balance scale, twelve coins and three weighings. Here is the full answer, and why the rules you start with decide how far you can go.
Frank · Oct 16, 2026
puzzlesTen Questions, One Number: What an IQ Critique Asks You to CheckA 2020 APA essay argues that century-old intelligence tests need rethinking, and its checklist applies to the quick IQ quizzes you find online.
Frank · Oct 15, 2026
mind trainingWhy Feeling Sure Is Not the Same as Being RightThe Dunning-Kruger curve is popular, but a 2026 reanalysis says it may be a statistical artefact. A simple confidence log can still show whether your certainty tracks your answers.
Frank · Oct 14, 2026
memoryStop Rereading, Start RememberingRereading feels productive because the material looks familiar, but pulling answers out of memory with the notes closed is what makes them stick.
Frank · Oct 13, 2026
brain powerSay It Enough and a Word Goes Strange: What Researchers FoundRepeat a word for about a minute and it can sound like noise. From a 1907 report to a 2023 Ig Nobel study, here is what the research shows, plus a one-minute spoon test to try.
Frank · Oct 12, 2026
Brain TeasersThe Blue Eyes Puzzle: Thinking About What Others KnowA silent island of perfect logicians tests how well we reason about other minds, and a machine-checked proof backs up one solution.
Frank · Oct 11, 2026
mind trainingPortmanteau Puzzles: Smash Two Words Together and Solve the BlendBlends like brunch, jeggings and shareware make a quick, checkable puzzle. Try four items, then check the answers.
Frank · Oct 10, 2026
memoryWhy Spaced Review Beats CrammingForgetting is fastest right after you learn something, so a short schedule of widening review gaps can keep it from slipping away.
Frank · Oct 9, 2026
brain powerThe Buried Coin Logic Grid Puzzle and How to Solve ItA step-by-step look at why logic grid puzzles work and what makes the treasure-hunt format so effective at teaching deductive chaining.
Frank · Oct 8, 2026
Brain TeasersThis Sentence Is False Has Never Been FixedThe Liar Paradox has outlasted every proposed solution for 2,500 years because it exposes genuine limits in what language and logic can do.
Frank · Oct 7, 2026
IQ ChallengesThe Number Puzzle That Stumps People Who Are Good at MathA grid of ordinary-looking integers hides a positional cipher that exposes a surprising gap in how numerate adults actually read numbers.
Frank · Oct 6, 2026
mind trainingWhy IQ Scores Rose for a Century, and Why They're Falling AgainThe Flynn effect reveals that measured intelligence is shaped by environment, not fixed biology, and the recent reversal makes that point harder to ignore.
Frank · Oct 5, 2026
memoryThe Acrostic Method Turns Any List Into a Sentence Your Brain Won't DropOne composed sentence encodes the whole list, and building it yourself is most of why it works.
Frank · Oct 4, 2026
Brain TeasersThe Ship of Theseus Has Never Been SolvedA two-thousand-year-old thought experiment about a rotting boat keeps turning up in courtrooms, philosophy seminars, and the mirror.
Frank · Oct 3, 2026
IQ ChallengesCan You Climb All Four Rungs of This Analogy Puzzle?Each level demands a genuinely different cognitive operation, not just a harder version of the same one.
Frank · Oct 2, 2026
mind trainingThe Torch and Bridge Puzzle That Trips Up Smart PeopleA classic four-person river crossing riddle shows why the obvious strategy almost never beats the one that pairs up the slowest walkers.
Frank · Oct 1, 2026
memoryThe Memory Palace: How a Roman Trick for Public Speaking Ended Up Inside AI ResearchAn ancient technique built on spatial memory still shapes how memory athletes, students, and even AI researchers try to make information stick.
Frank · Sep 30, 2026
brain powerThe Snack Break That Accidentally Discovered Mirror NeuronsA hungry lab assistant reaching for food gave neuroscience one of its most cited discoveries, purely by accident.
Frank · Sep 29, 2026
brain exercisesWhy Daily Puzzle Games Have Become a Genuinely Durable HabitThe design behind five-minute daily games is smarter than it looks, and the reasons people keep coming back have little to do with addiction.
Frank · Sep 28, 2026
IQ ChallengesWhat a Rotating Cube Puzzle Reveals About Your Sense of DirectionMental rotation and navigation draw on the same cognitive machinery, and a simple cube problem can show you exactly where yours breaks down.
Frank · Sep 25, 2026