``'`' Mindshavings '`'``

Musicophilia

2009-01-29T19:06:00.000-05:00

Podcast available here with Dr. Oliver Sacks on "The People's Pharmacy" discussing his last book, "Musicophilia."

Blveiee It

2009-01-25T08:44:00.001-05:00

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid; aoccdrnig to arscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Amzanig huh? and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

David Chalmers Stuff

2009-01-23T18:00:00.001-05:00

Home page for philosophy Professor David Chalmers here (emphasis on mind/consciousness) with plenty of good links.

More From Tammet

2009-01-21T12:44:00.003-05:00

The mathematical capabilities of autistic savants are often among of the most difficult parts of their repertoire to understand or explain. These may include lightening-fast calculation or other feats of computation. And oftentimes, as in Daniel Tammet's case, their description of numbers as having color and texture or shape is likewise difficult to conceive. Tammet is famous for reciting pi accurately to 22,000 digits, a virtually inconceivable accomplishment, but aided by his of pi as not just a number, but a landscape so-to-speak.
Interestingly in his new book Tammet hypothesizes that his math prowess stems from "abnormal cross-communication" between areas of the brain that govern math skill and those that govern language, and specifically syntactic rules, which normally are separate. He points out that the two areas (left parietal lobe and and left frontal lobe) lay physically next to each other in the brain, and that his "numerical abilities are rapid, intuitive, and largely unconscious" very much like the way most people speak and process language. Also, he notes that along with his mathematical talents he has already learned a dozen languages, and very easily picks up new languages to a conversational level. His explanation is purely intuitive and speculative (so far as I know), but seems to make as much sense as anything else offered by others.

In a totally different section of the book (on logical thinking) Tammet throws out this simple, yet interesting old puzzle-example of Lewis Carroll's:

a) My saucepans are the only things I have that are made of tin.
b) I find all your presents very useful.
c) None of my saucepans are of the slightest use.

...and then asks, what is the 'ultimate' logical implication arising from these statements? (answer below)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
answer: your presents are not made of tin

Sleep and Learning

2009-01-19T07:12:00.000-05:00

A lot of research, as well as longstanding folk wisdom, contends that the number of hours of sleep one gets is very important for the well-being of an organism, specifically humans. This study on memory/learning further argues that it is not just the length of sleep, but 'quality' of sleep which is a major factor.

"Embracing The Wide Sky"

2009-01-17T17:12:00.002-05:00

WOW!! I snapped up autistic savant Daniel Tammet's latest book hot off the bookstore shelves the other day ("Embracing The Wide Sky" here and here), and am about 2/3 of the way through it, but can say I LUV it! Hits on a wide range of cognitive issues. And Tammet's perspective is of course utterly unique, as an articulate, thoughtful savant who can introspectively analyze how his own mind works. The book actually includes a lot of references to more standard journal literature as well, but Tammet never blindingly accepts the conclusions of academic researchers when his own intuitive understanding of how the brain works runs counter to the party line of academics. Plenty of outside-the-box thinking here on subjects where outside-the-box thinking is much needed, and sometimes difficult to come by.

Although he doesn't go into great depth in any given area, Tammet touches upon a shmorgasbord of cognitive subjects including brain plasticity and re-wiring, intelligence testing, memory, language acquisition and processing, number instinct, perception, and creativity. And interestingly, he believes many of the talents of savants are not as special as they appear, and in some cases are even accessible by non-savants.
A very interesting read for anyone interested in the workings of the brain.

Monty Hall Redux

2009-01-11T21:58:00.002-05:00

The "Monty Hall problem" (here and here) is one of the most widely-discussed and popularized math problems of all times, and it just keeps going and going. There will soon (well, June) be an entire book out devoted to it from Jason Rosenhouse: "The Monty Hall Problem: The Remarkable Story of Math's Most Contentious Brain Teaser." Should be a good read for mathematicians and lay folks alike.

Pinker On Personal Genomes and Behavioral Genetics

2009-01-10T13:45:00.002-05:00

Nice NY Times article by the always eloquent Steven Pinker on the pertinence of personal genomics (he has had his own genome sequenced and released, and here he tries to analyze what it all means as we approach a time when everyone will have routine access to their personal genomes).

How Mathematicians Think

2009-01-09T20:21:00.002-05:00

Large chunks of William Byers' wonderful book, "How Mathematicians Think," are available online here from Google books.

Tammet Interviewed

2009-01-08T17:17:00.002-05:00

"New Scientist" interview with autistic savant Daniel Tammet here.
And "Scientific American" interview here.

Riemann Hypothesis Prediction

2009-01-05T10:51:00.000-05:00

John Brockman's "Edge" group was asked, as their yearly question this year, what scientific development do they expect to see "change everything" within their lifetime. Clifford Pickover's answer here, is that the Riemann Hypothesis, one of math's most enduring unsolved problems, will be proven.

(Worth reading many of the other Edge respondents as well...)

More Ambiguous Ambiguity

2009-01-04T15:36:00.002-05:00

Ambiguous headlines straight off the press: here.

(How we quickly and successfully disambiguate meanings in a rapid stream of speech, or even text, is one of the most perplexing questions in linguistics.)

Loop

2009-01-03T07:10:00.000-05:00

In the next sentence, the number of occurrences of 0 is 1,
of 1 is 7, of 2 is 4, of 3 is 1, of 4 is 1, of 5 is 1,of 6 is 1, of
7 is 1, of 8 is 2, and of 9 is 1.

In the previous sentence, the number of occurrences of 0 is 1,
of 1 is 8, of 2 is 2, of 3 is 1, of 4 is 2, of 5 is 1,of 6 is 1, of 7
is 2, of 8 is 1, and of 9 is 1.

Quote... Unquote

2009-01-03T06:03:00.000-05:00

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -- Arthur C. Clarke

The "McGurk Effect"

2009-01-02T08:20:00.000-05:00

Nice example here (interplay of sight and sound in language perception):

Gullibility... As Explained By the Gullible

2009-01-01T07:59:00.002-05:00

Interesting, ironic post at "Neuronarrative" about a new book, "Annals of Gullibility" authored by psychologist Stephen Greenspan, himself a victim of the massive recent Madoff Wall Street Ponzi scheme hoax.
With a follow-up article by Greenspan himself here.

More To Do With Language Processing

2008-12-31T10:48:00.000-05:00

In the area of language processing in the brain, here was a study headline I couldn't ignore.

Ambiguity

2008-12-30T19:01:00.003-05:00

Interesting YouTube video on language ambiguity with a youngster:

RadioLab Offering

2008-12-28T15:05:00.003-05:00

Old "RadioLab" webpage here with podcast and several good links related to music and the brain.

Gregory Chaitin

2008-12-28T06:09:00.000-05:00

A couple of university lecture segments from mathematician Gregory Chaitin available here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLz-Sk0y7Dg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39gQbNq7Bno&feature=related

and more Chaitin cuts are available over at YouTube.

The Math Factor etc.

2008-12-26T21:03:00.001-05:00

Just recently discovered a couple of fairly interesting podcasts: "The Math Factor" available here and the "Brain Science Podcast" here.

Brain Games

2008-12-25T16:21:00.002-05:00

"Cognitive Daily" ran a post on "brain games" Xmas Eve and also asked for further suggestions from readers. If you like number, word, or other mental puzzles it may be worth checking out for some online possibilities you weren't aware of. And of course many more links are possible.
(The actual focus of the post was on the notion that such mental exercise can help maintain sharper cognitive function as we age.)

Holiday Tidings...

2008-12-24T12:05:00.001-05:00

If you're not already familiar with Scott Kim's work get introduced, first here,

and then here:

http://www.scottkim.com/inversions/index.html

Everything Is Relative....

2008-12-23T04:50:00.001-05:00

A snail is mugged by two turtles. When the police asked him what happened, he said, "I don't know. It all happened so fast."

Pat: Mike, I'm calling you from the freeway on my new cell phone.
Mike: Be careful Pat. They just said on the radio that there is a nut driving the wrong way on the freeway.
Pat: One nut? Hell, there are hundreds of them!

(Taken from the wonderful little book, "Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar," by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein.)

Indeed!

2008-12-22T04:56:00.001-05:00

"Zaphod Beeblebrox's Brain and the Fifty-ninth Row of Pascal's Triangle"

According to Clifford Pickover the above is the "all-time strangest title" for a published serious paper in mathematics.
And for the non-math-phobes out there here is that paper.

When Failure Is Success

2008-12-22T04:19:00.000-05:00

If a man tries to fail, and succeeds... then which did he do?

Tammet Talks About New Book

2008-12-21T05:46:00.001-05:00

Autistic savant, Daniel Tammet, gives a preview of his upcoming book, "Embracing the Wide Sky" below:

Armchair Thinking

2008-12-20T15:22:00.003-05:00

Recently came across a nice Wikipedia entry on 'thought experiments' which includes a good list of such thought puzzles divided into various categories (physics, math, philosophy, etc.) toward the end. If you like sitting in a chair and exercising your mind, worth a look:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_experiment

Sometimes a Bird's Gotta Dance

2008-12-20T11:18:00.001-05:00

Many of you have probably viewed one of the several YouTube videos of "Snowball" the Dancing Cockatoo by now. Well, so has a California neuroscientist who has watched the parrot's rhythmic movements and found them worthy of study, as it relates to the neural processing of music. His study/conclusions here:

http://tinyurl.com/8jr334

Not For the Squeamish

2008-12-18T15:18:00.002-05:00

This is the sort of story that is probably already zooming around the Internet (sounds like the National Enquirer, except that, it's TRUE!): a teratoma brain tumor, including fragments of whole body parts, was excised from the brain of a 3-day old baby in Colorado (the child is doing well following surgery, though the tumor could return). ...Not for all readers.

Linear Evolution... NOT!

2008-12-17T08:49:00.002-05:00

Interesting "Scientific American" article on the evolution of cognitive abilities in non-human animals here, with emphasis on diverse and complex independent lineages of cognitive evolution rather than simple linear development of intelligence.

More Fun With Infinity

2008-12-17T07:03:00.003-05:00

I've adapted this from the always quirky 'FutilityCloset':

Suppose that S = 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32.... ...Obviously S is POSITIVE.

Now multiply each side by 2:

2S = 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32....

Notice, the right side is exactly the same as S minus the 1

Thus, 2S = S - 1

Now, subtracting S from both sides,

S = -1

S is NEGATIVE... go figure!

The Power of Suggestion...?

2008-12-15T06:17:00.002-05:00

Whatever you do today, when you see your boss or neighbor, PLEEEASE DO NOT under any circumstances, picture in your mind a grinning, grunting, bouncing chimpanzee....

(...Got it!)

Chet Raymo on Memory

2008-12-15T04:27:00.001-05:00

Astronomer/scientist/writer Chet Raymo muses a bit on memory in this blog post.

For Math Fans and Math Phobes

2008-12-14T06:11:00.000-05:00

A newspaper article directed me to this YouTube site which seems to get good reviews for tutoring folks on a variety of basic math topics. If you're a young person struggling with math, or just someone interested in math who never fully got it when Mr. Farhquar tried teaching you in high school or college, might be worth checking out.

Nassim Taleb on Charlie Rose

2008-12-13T08:17:00.000-05:00

A bit farther afield from my usual topics, but still possibly of interest to some, Charlie Rose interview with Nassim Taleb, author of "The Black Swan" here.

A "Unified Theory" of the Brain

2008-12-12T05:29:00.002-05:00

Article here.

The Brain in "Default Mode"

2008-12-11T05:21:00.000-05:00

"New Scientist" article here on the activity of the brain.

Science Commons

2008-12-10T05:10:00.003-05:00

New video here promoting open access or 'commons' approach to scientific information distribution:

Infinity

2008-12-09T04:59:00.009-05:00

This won't be everyone's cup-a-tea, but for lay folks with an interest in math, a decent introduction to some of Cantor's notions of 'levels' of infinity here (quite bizarre if you've never encountered them), including his "diagonal" argument/proof:

Part 2 is here.

There are actually a lot of internet videos dealing with infinity --- I'd be interested to hear other people recommend Web-based videos (YouTube or otherwise) that do a particularly good job of explaining these concepts for the lay public.
Further I'd be interested in Web video suggestions for presenting Godel's incompleteness theorem to lay folks, as well (...a more difficult task!).

What

2008-12-09T03:37:00.000-05:00

What is the title of this blog post?

Or, should I simply say: what is the title of this blog post.

Or should I rather ask, who's on first???. . . .

Intuition...

2008-12-08T05:26:00.002-05:00

A list of some books (in no particular order) that touch upon the subject of human intuition (...I'm not directly familiar with all of these, so am not necessarily endorsing their content):

"Body of Health: The New Science of Intuition Medicine for Energy and Balance" by Francesca McCartney and C. Norman Shealy

"Intuition: Its Powers and Perils" by David G. Myers

"The Intuitive Way" by Penney Peirce

"The Intuition Toolbox" by Paul Winter

"Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious" by Gerd Gigerenzer

"Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

"Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind " by Elizabeth Mayer

Bruce Lipton Talk

2008-12-07T08:29:00.003-05:00

Hour-long talk here on "the new biology" (related to epigenetics) by controversial cell-biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton, possibly of interest to some readers.
And here, a quite-good BBC program ("The Ghost in Your Genes") on the topic of epigenetics.

Quote... Unquote

2008-12-07T05:52:00.000-05:00

"It is a mathematical fact that fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class." ~Anonymous

Cell Phones, Attention, and Driving

2008-12-06T05:16:00.000-05:00

The link between cell phones and cancer is still a rather open and hotly debated question, but the deleterious effect of cell phone use on driving attention/awareness is a bit more clearcut, even when using hands-free gear. Here.

A Motion Illusion Explained

2008-12-05T06:14:00.000-05:00

Microsaccades, tiny unconscious eye movements, apparently account for some common illusions of motion according to this finding.

How Timely...

2008-12-04T22:01:00.000-05:00

Turns out "Cognitive Daily" was also posting on synesthesia today, a very rare form of word-taste synesthesia.

Another Good Piece On Synesthesia

2008-12-04T05:21:00.000-05:00

Here. With a couple of further interesting links at bottom. Synesthesia, the blending of different senses, is experienced by many people on rare occasions, and by a small percentage of people a great deal of the time (in some form), and offers a window into the brain's workings, but is yet little understood.

Pretty Dang Big

2008-12-04T03:54:00.000-05:00

The largest known prime number discovered, here (...until the next largest one is discovered).

Connections Between Music and Math

2008-12-03T06:06:00.000-05:00

Here.

Diana Deutsch Webpage

2008-12-02T05:41:00.001-05:00

Webpage for psychology professor Diana Deutsch who studies aspects of music and speech in human brain processing. Several further interesting links therein.

Joke For Math Buffs

2008-12-01T17:03:00.000-05:00

...And now for a little mathematics humor:

An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second one orders half a beer. The third, a quarter of a beer. The fourth, a sixteenth of a beer. The bartender has seen enough, says "sheeeesh," pours 'em out two beers, and writes up their tab accordingly.

Feelin' Kinda Small...

2008-12-01T05:01:00.003-05:00

courtesy of the Hubble Telescope:

Fractal Beauty

2008-11-30T08:22:00.000-05:00

The Mandelbrot Fractal zoomed. Beautiful!!

Cool Illusion

2008-11-30T07:30:00.001-05:00

Here. Known as the Munker-White illusion.

Trivia

2008-11-30T05:03:00.001-05:00

If one spells out numbers as full words in numerical order, one must count to the number "one thousand" before coming across the letter "A"!

Memory, Prediction, Brainworkings

2008-11-29T04:56:00.001-05:00

Here a TED talk from Jeff Hawkins, inventor of the Palm PDA and author of "On Intelligence," discussing, in a novel way, how the brain works.

IgNobel Awards ;-)

2008-11-28T16:39:00.000-05:00

The winners of the IgNobel Awards for 2008 were announced at a ceremony this week at Harvard. In the category of Cognitive Science the winners were:

"Toshiyuki Nakagaki of Hokkaido University, Japan, Hiroyasu Yamada of Nagoya, Japan, Ryo Kobayashi of Hiroshima University, Atsushi Tero of Presto JST, Akio Ishiguro of Tohoku University, and Ágotá Tóth of the University of Szeged, Hungary, for discovering that slime molds can solve puzzles."

Quote... Unquote

2008-11-28T07:43:00.000-05:00

“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” -- Einstein

"Patternicity"

2008-11-27T04:19:00.000-05:00

Scientific American article on the brain's tendency, indeed need, to perceive patterns in incoming stimuli (whether real or unreal).

Hmmmmm...

2008-11-26T05:41:00.000-05:00

Interesting thought experiment ("experimental philosophy") here.

Directed Awareness

2008-11-25T05:27:00.001-05:00

Fun, quick YouTube video:

Math and the Brain

2008-11-24T01:28:00.000-05:00

Learning math causes reorganization in brain here.

Oh Those Gossipy Girls

2008-11-22T12:09:00.002-05:00

Research on macaques finds gender differences in vocal communication that may help explain the development of language via its primate bonding functions.

An Alchemy of Mind

2008-11-22T08:15:00.000-05:00

Much of Diane Ackerman's wonderful paean to the brain, "An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain," is available at Google's book site, here.

Language Controversy ;-)

2008-11-21T16:28:00.002-05:00

This Borowitz Report is making the rounds...

Twitter-ites

2008-11-21T04:29:00.000-05:00

Carl Zimmer is using "twitter" here:

http://twitter.com/carlzimmer

and Clifford Pickover here:

http://twitter.com/pickover

The Line Between Speech and Song

2008-11-20T07:08:00.000-05:00

Peculiar illusion which turns repeated spoken words into 'song' reported here.

Quote... Unquote

2008-11-19T06:35:00.000-05:00

"Impossible as it sounds, we have more brain cell connections than there are stars in the universe... Linger with that thought a moment, picturing the infinities of space --- a carbon-paper night struck through with countless stars. Then picture the microscopic hubbub in one brain. A typical brain contains about 100 billion neurons, consumes a quarter of the body's oxygen, and spends most of the body's calories, though it only weighs about three pounds... In a dot of brain no larger than a single grain of sand, 100,000 neurons go about their work at a billion synapses. In the cerebral cortex alone, 30 billion neurons meet at 60 trillion synapses a billionth of an inch wide. Only a tiny lightning-bolt-like apostrophe, and a space essential as the gap between neurons, stands between impossible and I'm possible."

-- Diane Ackerman, "An Alchemy of Mind"

New Book From Savant Tammet

2008-11-17T06:39:00.001-05:00

British autistic savant Daniel Tammet has a new upcoming (Jan. 2009) book, "Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind." Amazon link here. (His first book, "Born On A Blue Day," was an international bestseller.)

Confronting Darwin?

2008-11-16T03:10:00.003-05:00

Princeton researchers confront 'randomness' aspects of Darwinian evolution theory here and here with molecular biology, in what is likely to be a source of inquiry, discussion, and... contentiousness, for years to come.

Sight Restored Following Blindness

2008-11-15T10:37:00.000-05:00

This post from Cognitive Daily looks at the question of whether a person blind from birth can see things normally in the rare event of having their sight restored.

...Just one of several interesting posts linked to from here.

Gladwell Article

2008-11-13T13:37:00.000-05:00

Here a New York Times feature article on Malcolm Gladwell, popular author of previous best-selling books, "Blink" and "The Tipping Point," and the upcoming, "Outliers."

Babbling, It's Not Just For Humans

2008-11-09T07:34:00.000-05:00

Article reports that baby birds go through a babbling stage in the course of learning their adult birdsong, possibly indicating certain general principles for 'language acquisition' that run across species.

Quote... Unquote

2008-11-06T03:25:00.000-05:00

"The trouble with integers is that we have examined only the very small ones. Maybe all the exciting stuff happens at really big numbers, ones we can't even begin to think about in any very definite way. Our brains have evolved to get us out of the rain, find where the berries are, and keep us from getting killed. Our brains did not evolve to help us grasp really large numbers or to look at things in a hundred thousand dimensions."
-- Ronald L. Graham

OBAMA VICTORIOUS!!... You BETCHA!!!

2008-11-05T01:01:00.001-05:00

The torch is passed...

It's a NEW day in America!!

Movement After Death

2008-11-03T04:59:00.000-05:00

This entry from 'Mind Hacks' was posted, appropriately enough, just prior to Halloween.

"Alex and Me"

2008-11-02T05:43:00.004-05:00

Dr. Irene Pepperberg's poignant memoir of her life with Alex the African Grey Parrot of cognitive research fame, is now available in bookstores: Alex and Me.

Brief review of it here.

Book excerpt and video clip here.

And lastly, here one of the several "YouTube" tributes to Alex posted upon his sudden unexpected death last year.

Quote... Unquote

2008-11-01T03:21:00.000-04:00

"The enormous usefulness of mathematics in natural sciences is something bordering on the mysterious, and there is no rational explanation for it. It is not at all natural that "laws of nature" exist, much less that man is able to discover them. The miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve."
-- Eugene P. Wigner

Unifying Physics

2008-10-31T06:20:00.001-04:00

Continuing with a physics theme today, below a talk (21 mins.) by unconventional physicist Garrett Lisi on his E8 "theory of everything" or grand unified theory. I don't pretend to understand much of this, but that doesn't prevent me from finding it (particularly the geometry involved) fascinating and beautiful.

The Wikipedia entry for Lisi's theory here (and, no, I don't understand much of this explication either!). :-(

Fine Man

2008-10-30T02:39:00.002-04:00

Vintage (1981) video of physicist Richard Feynman (previously shown both on BBC and PBS' Nova). 50 minutes of science eloquence:

What's the Angle?

2008-10-29T14:35:00.000-04:00

Another good offering (simple, but clever, math puzzle) from "futility closet" here.
And the answer given here.

Quote... Unquote

2008-10-28T01:31:00.000-04:00

"I believe that scientific knowledge has fractal properties, that no matter how much we learn, whatever is left, however small it may seem, is just as infinitely complex, as the whole was to start with. That, I think, is the secret of the Universe."
-- Isaac Asimov

Huhhh, Can You...?

2008-10-27T04:26:00.002-04:00

By any chance, can you think of a question that, for seemingly no apparent reason whatsoever, contains the word "aardvark" ?

The Mutant Spiders

2008-10-26T05:12:00.000-04:00

From Clifford Pickover's "Wonders of Numbers":

"Three spiders named Mr. Eight, Mr. Nine, and Mr. Ten are crawling on a Peruvian jungle floor. One spider has 8 legs; one spider has 9 legs; one spider has 10 legs. All of them are usually quite happy and enjoy the diversity of animals with whom they share the jungle. Today, however, the hot weather is giving them bad tempers.
"I think it is interesting," says Mr. Ten, "that none of us have the same number of legs that our names would suggest."
"Who the heck cares?" replies the spider with 9 legs.
How many legs does Mr. Nine have? Amazingly, it is possible to determine the answer, despite the little information given."

...and the answer (and only correct answer) is:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Mr. Nine has 10 legs

Are African Grey Parrots Telepathic?!

2008-10-25T04:43:00.002-04:00

...Commence the 'Twilight Zone' music perhaps. . .

African Grey Parrots are well-known for their speaking ability and general intelligence (Dr. Irene Pepperberg's "Alex" being the most famous in this category). In this journal article (pdf) from controversial researcher Rupert Sheldrake, another African Grey, "N'kisi," is studied for his possible telepathic communication with his owner.

Further background info available here:

http://www.sheldrake.org/nkisi/

Shoppers Swayed By Numbers

2008-10-24T05:50:00.002-04:00

Study indicates that people are unduly moved by large numbers in advertising (meaningful or not) when it comes to making their buying decisions. Oh what saps we are...

Quote... Unquote

2008-10-23T15:15:00.003-04:00

"The brain's dynamo runs millions of jobs, by mixing chemicals, oscillations, synchronized rhythms, and who knows what else... Study the whole and the parts disappear; study the parts and the whole disappears... I believe consciousness is brazenly physical, a raucous mirage the brain creates to help us survive. But I also sense the universe is magical, greater than the sum of its parts, which I don't attribute to a governing god, but simply to the surprising, ecstatic, frightening, everyday reality we all know. Ultimately, I find consciousness a fascinating predicament for matter to get into."
--- Diane Ackerman, from "An Alchemy of Mind"

The Smartypants Waitress

2008-10-22T02:17:00.003-04:00

Another old paradox/riddle (that baffles some and others easily see through):

Six friends make reservations for dinner at their favorite restaurant, but on the way there they run into another old friend, who then joins them. When they arrive at the restaurant the waitress says she only has a table for six available, per the reservation, but then thinks for a moment, and says 'don't worry I'll work it all out.'
She then proceeds to seat person #1 in the first chair and asks the second person (person #1's girlfriend) to sit on the first person's lap for the time being. Then the waitress proceeds to seat person #3 in the second chair, person #4 in the third chair, person #5 in the fourth chair, and person #6 in the fifth chair. At that point, looking very self-satisfied, the waitress tells the lap-sitting girlfriend to go ahead and take the empty 6th chair, and WAA-LAAAH she has successfully seated the whole party! ...or, NOT!!??

The Impossible Lamp

2008-10-21T03:22:00.002-04:00

"Thomson's Lamp" is an example of a "supertask," a category of paradox that involves an infinitely-divisible task. One form of the paradox runs as follows: You have a lamp that can be turned on and off using a toggle switch. At the start the lamp is turned on for exactly one minute, at which point it is turned off for .5 mins., and then turned on for .25 mins., and then off for .125 mins.... and so on. The question is, at the two-minute mark is the lamp off or on? Also, does the answer change if the lamp begins in the off position for the first minute rather than on? Common-sensically and practically it would seem there should be a simple, or at least a mathematically-calculable solution, to these questions --- afterall, at the two minute mark the lamp MUST be either on or off! But in fact, we are dealing with an infinite sequence (1 + 1/2 + 1/4 +1/8 +1/16 +....), and as such there is no one single right answer --- different arguments/solutions can be logically made, and even semantically the problem is unsettled. In part the answer depends on how fast one assumes the (undetailed) turning on and turning off action itself takes --- is it 'instantaneous' (eating up no amount of time), or does it take some finite amount of time (say perhaps, with the speed of light as a limiting factor)? In short, Thomson's Lamp is a fun thought exercise that oddly evades a proven solution.

Text Analysis

2008-10-20T06:44:00.003-04:00

University of Texas Psychologist James Pennybaker studies the specific word content, especially the "junk words," of various communications to adjudge the mental states of those employing the words -- here (from NY Times). Part of his personal webpage here describing his work. He's even been analyzing the word patterns of the candidates in this year's Presidential election, here.

"Extraordinary Knowing"

2008-10-19T06:40:00.001-04:00

Below, a presentation from the late Elizabeth Mayer, author of "Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind," a book I haven't read but hope to get around to from reviews I've seen (and with a preface written by Freeman Dyson):

Number Magic

2008-10-18T08:09:00.002-04:00

Taken verbatim from an old post at "futilitycloset":

Choose four distinct digits and arrange them into the largest and smallest numbers possible (e.g., 9751 and 1579). Subtract the smaller from the larger to produce a new number (9751 - 1579 = 8172) and repeat the operation.

Within seven iterations you'll always arrive at 6174. With three-digit numbers you'll always arrive at 495.

Benford's Law

2008-10-17T17:29:00.001-04:00

A mathematical excursion, here.

Awwww Right, Good News

2008-10-16T03:21:00.000-04:00

Web-surfing NOT a waste of time: A UCLA study (reported by BBC) finds that surfing the Web stimulates certain brain centers, helping to counteract potential effects of aging. (hat tip to 'Blog Around the Clock' for this one)

Syntactics and Semantics

2008-10-15T02:41:00.000-04:00

Recent article here relating two kinds of memory to two components of language, by looking at memory for grammatically similar vs. semantically similar sentences in amnesiacs and control subjects.

Euler's Formula

2008-10-14T02:02:00.001-04:00

Leonhard Euler is regarded as one of the very greatest and most productive mathematicians of all time, despite dying over 2 centuries ago. Many believe his so-called “Euler’s Identity” to be the “most beautiful” or simply “greatest” mathematical formula of all time:

e^πi + 1 = 0

It combines 5 of the most basic, yet diverse (...and seemingly unrelated) elements within the field of math: the numbers 0 and 1, the value pi (3.141....), the value e (2.718....), and the basic imaginary number i (square root of -1), into a single simple true equation (the proof of which is beyond this blog, but easily findable on the Web).

Paul Nahin has written a recent book devoted to explication of this wonderful formula:

"Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula: Cures Many Mathematical Ills"

Modeling The Human Brain

2008-10-13T09:01:00.000-04:00

Talk (15 mins.) below from Henry Markram on "Designing the Human Mind." Very good. (hat tip to 'Mind Hacks' for this):

Looking Squarely Ahead...

2008-10-12T04:57:00.000-04:00

A perceptual puzzle here from author/thinker/mathematician/puzzlemeister Clifford Pickover.

Spinning Lady

2008-10-10T16:01:00.003-04:00

This fascinating illusion has been traversing the Web lately, so I may as well pass it along as well --- deals with a spinning silhouette that can be perceived spinning either clockwise or counter-clockwise (reminiscent of a Necker Cube, but far more interesting). Took me a loooong time to see the counter-clockwise motion, though once seen, it was easier to repeat; still, the clockwise motion is more apparent for most people. Haven't yet seen a really good or thorough elucidation of the illusion yet, though it may well be out there somewhere. "Cognitive Daily" has also written it up recently.
Gotta go now; gettin' a little dizzy...