Neuroscience, free will and determinism: 'I'm just a machine' What does this mean in terms of free will? "We don't have free will, in the spiritual sense. What you're seeing is the last output stage of a machine. There are lots of things that happen before this stage – plans, goals, learning – and those are the reasons we do more interesting things than just waggle fingers. The conclusions are shocking: if we are part of the universe, and obey its laws, it's hard to see where free will comes into it. "If you see a light go green, it may mean press the accelerator; but there are lots of situations where it doesn't mean that: if the car in front hasn't moved, for example. Slowly, however, we are learning more about the details of that complexity. "What happens if someone commits a crime, and it turns out that there's a lesion in that brain area? This runs shockingly contrary to the sense of freedom that we feel in terms of controlling our actions, on which we base our whole sense of self and system of morality. Prof Haggard is dismissive.
The Brain Machine Brain Machine Kit You must be logged in to reply. Hi Mitch - Thanks for the quick reply. As recommended in the other post, I roughly cut your meditation sequence in half. //sleep sequence { 'b', 600000 }, { 'a', 100000 }, { 'b', 200000 }, { 'a', 150000 }, { 'b', 150000 }, { 'a', 200000 }, { 'b', 100000 }, { 'a', 300000 }, { 'b', 50000 }, { 'a', 600000 }, { 't', 100000 }, { 't', 200000 }, { 't', 300000 }, { 't', 600000 }, { 'd', 30000 }, { 'd', 100000 }, { 'd', 200000 }, { 'd', 300000 }, { 'a', 10000 }, { 't', 500000 }, { 'd', 800000 }, { '0', 0 } //last element to stop main_loop }; //end of table We usually drift off to sleep before the sequence ends. So hopefully, the Maker Store/Shed will begin stocking the Brain Machine Kits. For those not familiar with the Brain Machine Kit, it comes with all the parts: safety glasses, 30awg wire, resistors, MiniPOV kit, caps, headphones, instructions and even the crazy artwork. - garagemonkeysan
Neuroscientists reveal magicians' secrets - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience NEW YORK — There is a place for magic in science. Five years ago, on a trip to Las Vegas, neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde realized that a partnership was in order with a profession that has an older and more intuitive understanding of how the human brain works. Magicians, it seems, have an advantage over neuroscientists. "Scientists have only studied cognitive illusions for a few decades. She and Macknik, her husband, use illusions as a tool to study how the brain works. After their epiphany in Las Vegas, where they were preparing for a conference on consciousness, the duo, who both direct laboratories at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, teamed up with magicians to learn just how they harness the foibles of our brains. The psychological concepts behind illusions are generally better understood, but they treat the brain as something of a black box, without the insight into brain activity or anatomy that neuroscience can offer, they write.
Berkeley on Biphasic Sleep If you see a student dozing in the library or a co-worker catching 40 winks in her cubicle, don’t roll your eyes. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour’s nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter. Students who napped (green column) did markedly better in memorizing tests than their no-nap counterparts. Conversely, the more hours we spend awake, the more sluggish our minds become, according to the findings. “Sleep not only rights the wrong of prolonged wakefulness but, at a neurocognitive level, it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap,” said Matthew Walker, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the lead investigator of these studies. In the recent UC Berkeley sleep study, 39 healthy young adults were divided into two groups — nap and no-nap.
Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional medicine in China Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action.[1][2] Medicine in traditional China encompassed a range of sometimes competing health and healing practices, folk beliefs, literati theory and Confucian philosophy, herbal remedies, food, diet, exercise, medical specializations, and schools of thought.[3] In the early twentieth century, Chinese cultural and political modernizers worked to eliminate traditional practices as backward and unscientific. The demand for traditional medicines in China has been a major generator of illegal wildlife smuggling, linked to the killing and smuggling of endangered animals.[10] History[edit] The Compendium of Materia Medica is a pharmaceutical text written by Li Shizhen (1518–1593 CE) during the Ming dynasty of China. Shang dynasty[edit]
The lost art of total recall | Science | The Observer A few middle-aged couples are chatting at a dinner party when one husband, Harry, starts talking enthusiastically about a new restaurant he has just visited with his wife. What's its name, demands a friend. Harry looks blank. It's a vintage joke but it makes a telling point, one that forms the core of a newly published book on memory, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by American journalist Joshua Foer. As Foer points out, we no longer need to remember telephone numbers. As a result, we no longer remember long poems or folk stories by heart, feats of memory that were once the cornerstones of most people's lives. Hence Foer's book, which is published by Penguin this month. The trick, Foer says, is to adopt a process known as "elaborative encoding", which involves converting information, such as a shopping list, into a series of "engrossing visual images". In this way, all sorts of feats become possible.
Ayurveda Ayurveda (Sanskrit Āyurveda आयुर्वेद, "life-knowledge"; English pronunciation /ˌaɪ.ərˈveɪdə/[1]) or Ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to the Indian subcontinent and a form of alternative medicine. The oldest known Ayurvedic texts are the Suśrutha Saṃhitā and the Charaka Saṃhitā. These Classical Sanskrit texts are among the foundational and formally compiled works of Ayurveda. Charak By the medieval period, Ayurvedic practitioners developed a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for the treatment of various ailments.[2] Practices that are derived from Ayurvedic medicine are regarded as part of complementary and alternative medicine,[3] and along with Siddha Medicine and Traditional Chinese medicine, forms the basis for systems medicine.[4] Eight components of Ayurveda[edit] Principles and terminology[edit] Several philosophers in India combined religion and traditional medicine—notable examples being that of Hinduism and Ayurveda. History[edit]
Mobile phone use increases brain activity, study suggests | Science Radio waves from mobile phones appear to boost activity in parts of the brain that are closest to the devices' antennas, according to US government scientists. Researchers found that a 50-minute call led to a localised increase in brain activity of 7%, but they said there was no evidence to suggest the rise was harmful. To rule out the variation in brain activity that would be expected when someone listens to a call normally, changes in activity were monitored while the phone was taking a call but was muted. The team, led by Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Maryland, found that brain activity rose in line with the strength of the electromagnetic field to which the particular brain region was exposed. Mobile phones use radio waves to send and receive calls and these produce small electromagnetic fields that can be absorbed by the head and brain. In the new study, 47 volunteers were given two brain scans, each on different days.
The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana: Part I: Introductory: Chapter I. Preface Sacred Texts Sacred Sexuality Index Previous Next Buy this Book at Amazon.com Buy this Book on Kindle The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, tr. by Richard Burton, [1883], at sacred-texts.com Salutation to Dharma, Artha and Kama IN the beginning, the Lord of Beings created men and women, and in the form of commandments in one hundred thousand chapters laid down rules for regulating their existence with regard to Dharma, 1 Artha, 2 and Kama. 3 Some of these commandments, namely those which treated of Dharma, were separately written by Swayambhu Manu; those that related to Artha were compiled by Brihaspati; and those that referred to Kama were expounded by Nandi, the follower of Mahadeva, in one thousand chapters. Sadharana (general topics) Samprayogika (embraces, etc.)
Kinesthetic learning Kinesthetic learning (also known as Tactile learning) is a learning style in which learning takes place by the student carrying out a physical activity, rather than listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration. People with a preference for kinesthetic learning are also commonly known as "do-ers". Tactile-kinesthetic learners make up about five percent of the population.[1] The Fleming VAK/VARK model (one of the most common and widely used categorizations of the various types of learning styles)[2] categorized learning styles as follows: History[edit] Kinesthetic intelligence was originally coupled with tactile abilities, and was defined and discussed in Howard Gardner's Frames Of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Margaret H'Doubler wrote and spoke about kinesthetic learning during the 1940s, defining kinesthetic learning as the human body's ability to express itself through movement and dance. Characteristics[edit] Classification[edit] Lack of evidence[edit] References[edit]
Silk Road (anonymous marketplace) For the historical trade routes, see Silk Road. In 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shut down the website[12] and arrested Ross William Ulbricht under charges of being the site's pseudonymous founder "Dread Pirate Roberts".[4] On 6 November 2013, Silk Road 2.0 came online, run by former administrators of Silk Road.[13] It too was shut down and the alleged operator was arrested on 6 November 2014 as part of the so-called "Operation Onymous”. Ulbricht was convicted of all seven charges in U.S. Federal Court in Manhattan relating to Silk Road and was sentenced to life in prison.[14] Further charges alleging murder-for-hire remain pending in Maryland.[2][15][16] Silk Road was founded in February 2011.[17] The name "Silk Road" comes from a historical network of trade routes, started during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), between Europe, India, China, and many other countries on the Afro-Eurasian landmass. Impact of the seizure on the USD/Bitcoin exchange rate
Neuroplasticity Contrary to conventional thought as expressed in this diagram, brain functions are not confined to certain fixed locations. Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity, is an umbrella term that encompasses both synaptic plasticity and non-synaptic plasticity—it refers to changes in neural pathways and synapses which are due to changes in behavior, environment and neural processes, as well as changes resulting from bodily injury.[1] Neuroplasticity has replaced the formerly-held position that the brain is a physiologically static organ, and explores how - and in which ways - the brain changes throughout life.[2] Neuroplasticity occurs on a variety of levels, ranging from cellular changes due to learning, to large-scale changes involved in cortical remapping in response to injury. The role of neuroplasticity is widely recognized in healthy development, learning, memory, and recovery from brain damage. Neurobiology[edit] Cortical maps[edit] Applications and example[edit] Vision[edit]
feel a map, free mental compass See with your tongue. Navigate with your skin. Fly by the seat of your pants (literally). How researchers can tap the plasticity of the brain to hack our 5 senses — and build a few new ones. By Sunny BainsPage 1 of 3 next » For six weird weeks in the fall of 2004, Udo Wächter had an unerring sense of direction. Story Tools Story Images Click thumbnails for full-size image: ESSAY Unlocking the rebel genius of Einstein.ATLAS Where in the world can I buy a heart? PLAYLIST Modest Mouse keeps its indie cred.GAMES Push your PS3 with MotorStorm.HOME Rotterdam's Succulent Skyscraper.TEST Ultralight laptops, plus a Dyson handheld vac that really sucks.More » Posts ENTREPRENEURS The Ivory Coast's penny video arcade.TOURISM Visit America's largest collection of nuclear waste.TELEVISION 30 Rock tackles the fine print of hi-def.More » "It was slightly strange at first," Wächter says, "though on the bike, it was great." Direction isn't something humans can detect innately. We humans get just the five.
How To Boost Brain Power and Memory Until just a few years ago, doctors believed that the brain stopped making new neural connections - meaning that the memory began to get irreversibly worse - when the body stopped developing, usually in the early 20s. And doctors knew that, like any other part of the body, neurons weaken as people age. Loss of brain function due to neural breakdown was assumed to be a normal, unavoidable part of aging. In the past few years, it has become clear that you can, in fact, make new neurons starting in your 20s and continuing well into old age. There are lots of things you can do right now to preserve, protect and enhance your gray matter. 1Physical exercise A healthy body really does mean a healthy mind. Physical exercise may even help prevent Alzheimer's disease. 2Lifelong learning - your brain is a learning machine For most of us, after we graduate from high school or college, our pursuit of new knowledge bottoms out over time. How can you challenge yourself? 3Mental stimulation 5Sleep & Nap