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We are fortunate as software developers to spend our lives learning. Our careers require us to keep pace with an industry that innovates like few others and we adapt ourselves to constant change. Given the amount of time we dedicate to learning it is surprising that we don't make a greater effort to improve our cognitive ability itself. Cognitive function can be improved with some simple techniques that apply broadly in our profession, and it only makes sense that we should expend at least as much effort improving our ability to learn as we do actually learning.

This presentation will offer you some immediately actionable steps to improve your cognitive ability and be more efficient with your programming studies. You'll learn techniques mnemonists use to memorize random pages of binary digits, how your brain physically changes as you learn something new and how simple changes in your daily routine can have a deep impact on your work.

We spend hours refactoring our code and preparing for roflscale, why not spend some time optimizing our brains?

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In the presentation titled "Hacking Cognition," Jonan Scheffler discusses how software developers can improve their cognitive abilities to enhance their programming skills. The focus is on practical and actionable steps that can lead to a one percent improvement in cognitive performance, which compounds across all coding tasks.

Key points in the presentation include: 
- **Sleep**: Scheffler emphasizes the critical need for adequate sleep (around eight hours) for cognitive recovery and memory reinforcement. Studies show that sleep deprivation can drastically impair cognitive function, even leading high-achieving students to perform at levels comparable to their sleep-deprived peers. 
- **Exercise**: Six minutes of exercise post-learning can significantly enhance cognitive function. It amplifies the primacy effect, whereby individuals remember the beginning of a sequence better. Moderate exercise is recommended over excessive preparation. 
- **Nutrition**: Consumption of low glycemic foods is advised to maintain cognitive function, as spikes in blood sugar can adversely affect brain health, particularly in the dentate gyrus area essential for memory creation. 
- **Neuroscience Basics**: Scheffler touches on the functioning of the brain structures involved in cognition, the importance of neuroplasticity, and how learning occurs across multiple areas in the brain. He shares insights about the thalamus, hippocampus, and olfactory connections to memory. 
- **Spaced Repetition and Memory Techniques**: Strategies like spaced repetition and use of memory techniques such as the Person-Action-Object (PAO) system and memory palaces are discussed as methods to enhance memory retention. 
- **Experimental Methods**: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is briefly mentioned as a method to stimulate cognitive performance, though it comes with cautionary advice due to potential risks.

Scheffler concludes by reinforcing the importance of integrating simple, effective changes in daily habits—adequate sleep, exercise, and proper nutrition—to optimize cognitive function and, by extension, programming capabilities. He encourages the audience to recognize and harness their ability to learn and improve.

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