The WORST episodes of Brain Games
Every episode of Brain Games ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Brain Games!
National Geographic Channel's Emmy-nominated series Brain Games returns this summer with 10 new mind-blowing episodes! Host Jason Silva gets inside your head and shows you what's really going on in there with an intricate series of interactive experiments designed to mess with your mind and reveal the inner-workings of your brain. Hailed by critics as "tremendous fun" that "makes science entertaining," Brain Games turns your mind's eye inwards for a fascinating journey into the three and a half pounds of tissue that makes you... you.
#1 - Memory
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/16/2015
In this episode about memory, we're going to show you what memory is, why you even have one, and why you keep forgetting where you put those darn keys! And if you play along you'll see why forgetting can actually be a good thing! It's going to be a night to remember...on Brain Games.
#2 - Positive Thinking
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/28/2015
Do you sometimes hear a little voice in your head, an inner critic that keeps you from performing at your best? What if we told you there’s a way to change what that voice is telling you that will improve your performance in just about anything you try? It might come as a surprise, but research shows thinking positively is more than just a warm and fuzzy idea. And in this episode about positive thinking, we’re going to show you how thinking positively can change your thoughts, your reality and even your life! We’re going to mess with your mood to show you what really makes that glass seem half empty or half full; why people who stand tall, stand happy; and how to turn that frown upside down.
#3 - Imagination
Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/29/2015
This is a show about your brain and its imagination. We often associate imagination with creativity and the arts, but we don't always think about how important it is to our daily lives. If you play along you'll see how you can use your imagination to solve daily problems, you'll learn how to tap into the imaginative process, and that, with a little help, you can keep the good ideas flowing.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#4 - Sleep
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/28/2015
The average adult spends more than 220,000 hours - or roughly 25 years - in bed sleeping. That's one third of your life spent in slumber!1 But what exactly is sleep - and why do we spend so much time doing it? In what could be our most ambitious Brain Games experiment ever, we keep 3 volunteers awake for 36 hours in order to answer just that.
#5 - Perspective
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/28/2015
In this episode of Brain Games, you'll see how your brain gets tripped up by odd angles, how light and shadows play a crucial role in your perception of the world, how you can radically shift the way you see reality, and how your brain isn't always as honest with you as you think. Through a series of games and experiments, you'll discover why you shouldn't always believe what you see.
#6 - Faces
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/16/2015
Your face is pretty remarkable. Whether you've got a baby face, a poker face, or a face only a mother could love... your identity is deeply rooted in your own unique face. And with over 40 muscles twisting and contorting, your face allows you to express a near infinite number of emotions and feelings. But not only are you capable of making faces -- your brain is also highly adept at recognizing what other peoples' faces are saying to you. In this episode about faces, we're going to mess with your mind and show you that there's more to a face than meets the eye.
#7 - Logic
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/9/2015
In this episode of Brain Games, we put your problem-solving skills to the test as we lead you through a labyrinth of logic games. Every day, you use logic to get things done, from dressing for the weather, choosing the best route to work, to deciding what to eat for dinner. Through a series of interactive games and experiments, you'll learn about the power and the limitations of your logical abilities. Studies have found that logic is something you develop and hone with practice, so play along as we present puzzles and illusions that will help strengthen your brain.
#8 - Peer Pressure
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/2/2015
If you think you have full control of your thoughts and actions — think again. The clothes you wear, the food you eat and even the way you walk has less to do with you and more to do with everyone else. In this episode, we'll explore whether your brain is hardwired to want to fit in. Through a series of games and experiments, we'll prove that the decisions that you think make you unique also make you a part of the crowd. Some of what we're about to point out might make you look like a fool, but your brain's tendency to conform evolved to protect you and might even help you succeed.
#9 - Misconceptions
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/23/2015
This is a show about your brain and the widely held myths you believe to be true. Through a series of fun and interactive games and experiments, you'll discover whether or not you only use 10% of your brain, if size really does matter and whether listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#10 - Animal vs. Human
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/29/2015
On this beastly episode, it's going to be heads vs. tails as we pit humans against animals in series of unique competitions. And if you play along, you'll discover how a bird can eat like a horse, a dog can be jealous like a baby, and how a chimp can make you look like a chump. Who will win this interspecies showdown? Don't bet on the wrong horse.
#11 - Paranormal
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/9/2015
Whether you're a skeptic or a believer in the supernatural, you have to admit there are things out there your brain just can't quite explain. Get ready for a series of games and experiments designed to test your brain's sixth sense. If you play along, you'll discover that your brain actually knows more about the unknown than you might think.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#12 - Money
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/2/2015
This is a show about your brain and money. It's present in every corner of our lives-we earn it, spend it, manage it and often obsess over it, but how well do we really understand it? If you play along you'll understand why your brain gets excited when you think you're getting a deal, why there's no such thing as a free lunch, and you'll learn how to stop paying more for less.
#13 - Morality
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/26/2015
Have you ever wondered where your morality comes from? Is it ingrained in your brain, set by religion, or does society dictate what you deem as right or wrong? Through a series of interactive games and experiments, we'll test the strength of your moral fiber. Play along and discover how your brain makes countless moral decisions every single day. We're going to mess with your mind as we show you how outside influences like clothing, attitude, and your own evolutionary survival may sway your brain...and your morals.
#14 - Left vs. Right
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/19/2015
Whether you're a left-handed artist or a right-handed accountant, we all use both sides of our brains. But is there any science behind the notion that the left half or our brain is the creative side while the right half is more logical? In this episode about your left and right brain, we're going to put you through a series of games and experiments designed to find out how the two sides operate, what they really control, and whether or not one side of your brain dominates the other.
#15 - Common Sense
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/19/2015
From knowing when to cross the street to avoiding hot stoves, your brain is constantly making judgments that you likely take for granted. We chalk it up to common sense - but just how common is it? Through interactive games and mind-bending challenges, unravel your mental shortcuts and learn how to harness the power of collective thinking. Play along to understand how your common sense can either lead you astray or keep you on the right track.
#16 - Intuition
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 8/25/2014
The power of intuition--when you know something to be true without knowing why--is one of the mind's greatest mysteries. Test your intuition and learn how your brain makes decisions without you having to think about it.
#17 - Patterns
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 8/18/2014
Have you ever noticed that life is a series of routines, done in the same order, day after day? Whether you realize it or not, your daily routine is really a pattern. Learn how, when processing the world, your brain is always filling in the blanks.
#18 - Anger
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/11/2014
What if getting angry had less to do with what's going on around you, and more to do with what's going on inside your brain? Explore why your brain gets angry and what you can do about it.
#19 - Scams
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/28/2015
Interactive games and experiments show how the brain is deceived; how scammers and con artists use the brains flaws to their advantage.
#20 - Meet the Brain
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/14/2016
A tour through the labyrinthine city of London; a metaphor for your brain and its numerous regions and intricate pathways.
#21 - The God Brain
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/21/2016
Jason Silva travels to Israel to explore “The God Brain.” New research has uncovered that believing in God may be hardwired in our brains.
#22 - Brains Behaving Badly
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/28/2016
Host Jason Silva visits New Orleans, Louisiana, to explore the brain and bad behavior. A series of games and experiments demonstrate how the brain has an evolutionary predilection toward doing the wrong thing.
#23 - Super Senses
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/13/2016
There's no better place than New York City to mess with your mind. Host Jason Silva leads viewers through a series of games and experiments designed to show that the brain has far more than just five senses, and how each of these work together to influence interactions with the world.
#24 - Life of the Brain
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/6/2016
Everyone's brain changes throughout life, expanding and contracting, shifting points of views, adjusting perspectives - you wake up every day with a brand new brain. Host Jason Silva heads to the New Jersey Shore to show how the mind's point of view shifts over a lifetime.
#25 - The Survivor Brain
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/20/2016
Jason Silva meets several people in Colorado Springs, Colorado, who personify the word "survivor," and puts their brains to the test in a battery of challenges engineered to demonstrate what it takes to be a super survivor.