Braincat looks like a piece of software, but it’s actually a mental process. The software just makes the process easy to do. The Braincat process allows you to take a mass of unsorted stuff — ideas and information — and quickly organize it. Then you can think clearly, and take action.  What kind of information […]

In a 1974 paper, Herbert A Simon asks: “How big is a chunk?”  Simon was an extraordinary character: a political scientist who made important contributions to decision theory, cognitive science and artificial intelligence. He won the Nobel Prize for economics and the Turing Prize for his contributions to computer science. Simon’s paper is based on […]

Let’s compare two sentences with exactly the same words: I’m going to eat apple sauce with my grandmother. I’m going to eat my grandmother with apple sauce. Point taken? Sequence matters! It’s not just about words. Take any tune and swap the notes around—you’ve lost the tune. On a practical level, whether you’re planning a […]

Ever since I read Let Her Fly by Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, I’ve asked myself: How can I help advance the cause of girl’s education? As a parent myself, I noted the subtle disadvantages faced by girls at school, even in our affluent society. Far from our shores, the problems escalate […]

For Immediate Release Braincat launches Indiegogo Campaign that includes NFTs as perks Phil Ranta joins company as NFT advisor Contact: Scott Kelly, [email protected] 480-206-3435 _________________________________________________________________________ Tempe, Arizona May 2, 2022 – Braincat, which provides patent-pending software to organize and share ideas, is launching a crowdfunding campaign with IndieGoGo that will include NFTs as perks for […]

Hang Loose is the name I give to a skill that can help us manage — and make the most of — large volumes of information. Let’s say we have the task of selecting a charity for a company to donate to. From what we know about the company, there could be dozens of charities […]

At first glance, it’s hard to see how there could ever be too much information. The human brain contains about 80 billion neurons, interconnected by some 100 trillion synapses. Measured in terms computing power (a fool’s errand — but that’s a topic for another day) the brain is up there with those famous chess-master-beating, Jeopardy-winning […]

If you imagine your mind as a room that’s furnished with your own ideas, you’ll notice a rather obvious feature. Some of the pieces of furniture are larger than others. Now, the size of each mental objects seems to be obvious: it’s determined by the importance of the thought. That upcoming tax audit is elephant size, while […]

“I wish, therefore I am.” We human beings are creatures of desire. Thinking comes second (if at all!). Our desires shape our thoughts way more than our thoughts shape our desires. What we want from the world conditions, filters, and distorts how we perceive it. To put it bluntly, wishful thinking is the most powerful […]

Brainstorming is one of the most popular tools for coming up with new ideas. You get together a small group of people and you set a topic or question, like “How do we reduce congestion in our town?” Everyone is invited to share their thoughts. You’re probably familiar with the rules of brainstorming: there are […]

You’re a student sitting in class, a consultant in front of a client, an executive in a meeting, an employee at a 3-day seminar… And you take notes. But why? Because you always took notes? Because everyone else does? Because you believe note-taking will help you remember? Here’s an even better question. What are you […]