Walking is better for thinking than thinking

Great news! There is an

easy-to-achieve, scientifically proven way to make yourself smarter. Go for a walk or a swim. For more than a decade, neuroscientists and physiologists have been gathering evidence of the beneficial relationship between exercise and brainpower. But the newest findings make it clear that this isn’t just a relationship; it is the relationship. Using sophisticated technologies to examine the workings of individual neurons — and the makeup of brain matter itself — scientists in just the past few months have discovered that exercise appears to build a brain that resists physical shrinkage and enhance cognitive flexibility. Exercise, the latest neuroscience suggests, does more to bolster thinking than thinking does. NYT, continues

So, that urge I almost always feel while sitting in a stuffy lecture room on a nice day (on  just about any kind of day, in fact)  to get up, walk out, and lay tracks on the other side of the glass? That's healthy, instinctive, and nothing to feel too guilty about.

Glad I stayed for Lysaker's talk yesterday, though.

And if you're reading this, students: it doesn't apply to you, when I'm the lecturer.