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(Less) Food For Thought : The Beautiful Brain
thinking about certain foods acually makes you consume less of that food, contrary to conventional wisdom.
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The strange case of a woman who felt no fear
So, how often did she feel fear? Zero percent of the time. At no point during those three months did she even feel the slightest twinge of fright. All her other emotional responses were normal.
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Mass Migration: Chemists Revise Atomic Weights of 10 Elements: Scientific American
An international governing body has adopted a new definition of atomic mass (aka atomic weight) changing from specific values to intervals of masses to resolve 15 years of debate on one of the most fundamental of scientific concepts.
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New research shows fighter pilots have super-brains
The pilots showed superior cognitive control and greater accuracy, despite being more sensitive to distracting minutiae. The MRI showed the structure of their brains differed from the control, with relevant areas of the right side of the brain being larger, and connections between key areas in the brain laid out differently.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Brain Hammerings 12/17/2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
My review of Cohen's Mind Games
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| The THE |
Excerpt:
This book advertises itself as a self-directed course to explore mind, brain and consciousness in a way that involves not just reading, but engaging in various activities that allow diligent students to bypass the authorities and secure knowledge for themselves. At least, that's what's advertised.
What is delivered is something else: a jumble of anecdotes and factoids gleaned largely from cognitive psychology (but also from mathematics, rock music, world politics, computer science, physics and philosophy). Sprinkled in with the anecdotes are suggested activities, many of which one cannot seriously expect the lay reader to conduct in 31 days.
[...]
Day 14 involves obtaining, reading and summarising an entire book on self-help. Day 15 involves wearing upside-down goggles for several weeks. The goggles, which you build yourself using cardboard and mirrors, make everything look upside-down. Aside from the difficulty in fitting a multi-week task into a single day, one must wonder how the activities for days 15 through to 31 can possibly be pulled off while leaving the goggles on.
Day 19 involves going on a 10km walk on a coastal path while measuring it in metres, and then retracing the route while this time measuring it in centimetres. And that's just the morning. In the evening the conscientious student will be busy building and lying on a bed of nails.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Brain Hammerings 12/10/2010
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"Impossible" Colors: See Hues That Can't Exist: Scientific American
People can be made to see reddish green and yellowish blue—colors forbidden by theories of color perception.
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Train yourself to see impossible colors
Here's a simple guide to seeing impossible and imaginary colors.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
My Erdős Number = 6
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| Paul Erdos |
- Pete Mandik coauthored with Rick Grush
- Rick Grush coauthored with Patricia Churchland
- Patricia Churchland coauthored with Terrence J. Sejnowski
- Terrence J. Sejnowski coauthored with Boris S. Gutkin
- Boris S. Gutkin coauthored with Eugene Gutkin
- Eugene Gutkin coauthored with Mark Kac
- Mark Kac coauthored with Paul Erdős
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