Monday, June 20, 2011

Neuroscientists Redesign the Microphone

I always like seeing knowledge of one area jump over to another. This is one of those things.

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/26666/?ref=rss

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Gender Dysphoria of Childhood

Personally, I think those moments when I dressed in/played with/pretended to be whatever I fancied without being slapped down by someone telling me it was wrong for someone of my gender to do so would be more accurately classified as "Gender Euphoria of Childhood". How many times did I hear, "It's not ladylike to..." followed by some fun activity the local boys were doing? Looks like Grandma is getting reincarnated in the next edition of the DSM. How exciting! I wasn't a tomboy; I was mentally ill. Oy.

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-isnt-golden/201106/psychiatric-diagnosis-arbiters-decide-how-boys-vs-girls-should-act-a

Synaesthesia May Not Be Crossed Senses

I'm fascinated by synaesthesia and have a touch of it myself. I suppose that's an unintended pun, since in my case, it manifests as my fingers feeling what I'm looking at. This article poses the possibility that it's not the senses crossing wires, but concepts. Interesting... I'll definitely have to look for that in my life.

Source: http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-colour-is-your-breast-stroke-or.html

Monday, June 13, 2011

Keys to Why TV Can Dumb Us Down?

This is an interesting finding. I'll be curious to see what other research springs from it.

"media can prime behavior that is in line with the primed traits or concepts (assimilation)"

Sooo... Watching shows about dumb people is like drinking? You should wait for the effects to wear off before driving?

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-stupidity-contagious

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Conventional Wisdom on Goals is Wrong

This is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I'm thrilled to not spend time focusing on all the horrible things that will happen if I don't reach my goal. (Why did anyone think that was a good thing to do on purpose anyway? If I didn't know I'd be better off having reached the goal, I wouldn't have made it in the first place. Duh!) And relying on willpower just makes me crabby, so glad to see that one go. On the other hand, it's fun to think about how much better things will be once I've reached the goal (though I can see how that tends to be mostly discouraging).

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-5-things-help-you-achieve-your-goals-wha