How Your Mind Works
Explore the fascinating mechanics of human behavior and thought. Learn why you make certain choices, how habits form, and how to better understand the people around you.
Like Duolingo, but for How Your Mind Works. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
17 levels across 3 sections, about 34 minutes end to end, roughly 7 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Basics of Thinking, Emotions and Social Ties, and The Brain's Hardware. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in How Your Mind Works
- Perception as an active interpretation
- Attention as a limited filter
- The brain uses patterns from past experiences to predict what comes next
- Visual cues like container color change the perceived flavor of coffee
- Perception as an active interpretation rather than a direct feed
- Missing or obscured information is 'filled in' to create a seamless experience
- Surrounding words or physical settings determine the meaning of ambiguous Spanish terms
- Attention as a limited filter in language learning
- How context changes the perception of meaning and flavor
- A cue is a sensory trigger like a smell or a notification
- The routine is the actual action you take
- The brain filling in missing information based on experience
- The reward is the psychological satisfaction that reinforces the loop
- Small wins reduce the psychological barrier to entry
- Completing a tiny task (like one flashcard) triggers a sense of accomplishment
- Momentum from easy tasks makes harder tasks feel less daunting
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives How Your Mind Works the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Why is it difficult to solve a complex math problem while also listening to a detailed story?
Get it right to open this lesson and 16 more in the app.
How to learn How Your Mind Works, step by step
Go in order. 17 short levels across 3 sections, about 34 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
The Basics of Thinking
- Seeing the World Clearly
- The Power of Habits
- 2
Emotions and Social Ties
- Understanding Your Emotions
- Social Influence and Connection
- 3
The Brain's Hardware
- Memory and Learning
- The Biological Engine
3 sections · 6 units · 17 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about How Your Mind Works
How do I learn How Your Mind Works?
Go in order: start with The Basics of Thinking, then Emotions and Social Ties, then The Brain's Hardware. On Tomo that's 17 short levels, about 34 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for How Your Mind Works?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. How Your Mind Works is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the How Your Mind Works course free?
Yes. How Your Mind Works is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn How Your Mind Works?
17 levels across 3 sections, about 34 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start How Your Mind Works?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
How Your Mind Works is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start How Your Mind Works today.
Download Tomo, search How Your Mind Works, and play your first lesson in under a minute.