You know what’s fun? Letting an entire television network guess how old you are! But, before we get to that, watch this promo (and, better, the behind-the-scenes explanation for how they did some of it as well as another promo at the bottom of the page) for “Brain Games,” which returns for its second season next month (Mon. Jan. 13 at 9:00 p.m. on Nat Geo). Here’s an exclusive look. Oh, and give yourself 15 seconds to make as many words as you can from the letters in “pay attention” so Nat Geo can guess your age range. You have your homework! Go, go!
The second season of “Brain Games” explores a new array of topics on how we see, process and think about the world around us – with episodes devoted to attraction, trust, competition, colors, stress and more. The new season will also premiere internationally in 170 countries and 48 languages in February.
Compiling the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, Brain Games delves deeper inside your mind with a carefully crafted slate of mind-bending experiments that will keep you guessing, including black-and-white photographs that appear in color; levitating a random volunteer; and perfectly predicting not only your age, but what characteristics you find attractive.
Idea DJ and “wonder junkie” Jason Silva returns as host, guiding viewers through the twists and turns of our gray matter with a series of “man on the street” experiments designed to surprise and excite. “‘Brain Games’ is the ABCs of perception. It”s the ABCs of how your brain works,” said Silva. “With brand new puzzles, brain hacks, illusions and mind-games, we”re going to awaken your incredible senses and uncover the mysteries of the most complex object in the known universe, and how seeing isn”t always believing.”
New series “Duck Quacks Don”t Echo” – with cohosts Michael Ian Black, Tom Papa, and Seth Herzog plus has a truly awful title, sorry – puts a spin on assessing the validity of weird, unusual and over-the-top hypotheses through a series of interactive scientific tests. Yay, science!
And now… the answer to the BRAIN GAME…
6 words or less – Under 30 years old
7-10 words – 30-40 years old
11 words or more – 40+ years old
Wondering how that worked? Our brains process language and acquired knowledge in a way that makes them particularly resilient to decay, so as we age, our vocabulary increases, making us better at these types of word puzzles. And by the way, you can make over 200 other words from the words “pay attention.”
Below, watch how the “Brain Games” promos were created: