Why Extroverts Could Cause Problems on a Mission to Mars As NASA focuses considerable effort on a mission to send humans to Mars in the coming decades, psychology researchers are looking at what types of personalities would work the best together on such a long trip. Now, a new study finds that on long-term space missions — such as missions to Mars, which could take as long as three years to complete a round trip — having an extrovert on board could have several disadvantages. For example, extroverts tend to be talkative, but their gregarious nature may make them seem intrusive or demanding of attention in confined and isolated environments over the long term, the researchers say. Mars Through Curiosity's Powerful MAHLI Camera: Photos "You're talking about a very tiny vehicle, where people are in very isolated, very confined spaces," said study researcher Suzanne Bell, an associate professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago. "Extroverts have a little bit of a tough time in that situation." Extroverts and teams
Stanford Professor puts his entire digital photography course online for free When it comes to the list of digital imaging pioneers, Marc Levoy is one of those names that belongs right near the top. His work has led to many of the technical advances that we see in use today with computer generated imagery. So, it’s no wonder that he jumped into digital photography. In 2016, he revised the course and taught it again at Google in Spring. There’s hours and hours of video covering Levoy’s lectures to Google over a 4 month period. It’s a whole hell of a lot of stuff to read and watch. You can find the entire course for free here. [via Reddit] Erasing (And Restoring) the Brain's Memories In recent years, researchers studying the brain have implanted false memories, caused patients to hallucinate while sleeping, and even tricked the brain into hearing sounds that don't exist. Now, a team of neuroscientists has manipulated brain cells to both erase and then restore a memory, a finding that could help with treatment of brain diseases like Alzheimer's or PTSD. "Technologically, it's a huge achievement," said Steve Ramirez, a graduate student in the department of brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not part of the study, but has published work on creating memories. "It renders that possibility (of manipulating memory) is no longer science fiction, but something you can tackle experimentally in the lab." Two Rats Communicate Brain To Brain The first step was to create a memory. Then the team weakened the connection between the brain cells, which had the effect of erasing that memory. Simulating The Human Brain
APSA-Sociology Pilot Lands a Plane with His Thoughts Why pilot a plane with your hands and feet when you can do it with your brain? Thought-controlled flight could be arriving soon, according to the EU-funded “BrainFlight” project. A team of scientists from the Institute for Flight System Dynamics and the Berlin Institute of Technology says it has translated brain impulses into control commands, enabling pilots in a plane simulator to achieve a range of remarkably precise maneuvers without touching the controls or pedals. Wearing a cap with lots of cables attached, pilots in the simulator were able to land a plane simply by looking at the screen and moving the control stick with their thoughts, correcting the plane’s position repeatedly until it landed. To achieve the breakthrough, the researchers connected electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes to a cap to measure the pilot’s brain waves. Once it’s perfected, brain-controlled flight could reduce pilot workload and increase safety.
Breaking Down Beyoncé's Lemonade Samples There are 3,105 words that constitute the credits for Beyoncé's surprise sixth album Lemonade, which debuted as an audio-visual film this past weekend accompanied by a Tidal-exclusive stream of the LP. As always, it took a village to build the pop juggernaut's latest, with songwriters, producers, and features including Diplo, James Blake, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Jack White, and MNEK patching in contributions to a project that very publicly excoriates her husband Jay Z for alleged infidelity, inevitably working through the water-log of contradictory emotions—rage, revenge, acceptance, and reconciliation—through its duration. It also dives deep into a bank of samples and mixed-media inspiration points that span the obscure to the highly relevant. Lemonade places poet Warsan Shire, Civil Rights activist Malcolm X, and Alan Lomax field recordings right next to quoted lyrics from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Animal Collective, and Soulja Boy, and a slew of classic '70s samples. Reverend R.C.
Velociraptor Inspires Fast Running Robot Researchers have long been interested in fast-running robots with powerful, agile legs. In particular, several groups have focused on bio-inspired designsbased on cheetahs. But when a team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) set out to create a new sprinting robot, they didn't look at big cats; instead, they found inspiration in a completely different kind of creature: a velociraptor. Innovations Inspired By Animals The robot, called Raptor, has two nimble legs and a mechanism that mimics a tail. That's faster than the fastest human, the Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, whose top speed has been estimated at 43.92 km/h. And it's almost as fast as the world's fastest legged robot, Cheetah, built by Boston Dynamics, which reached 47 km/h in a trial two years ago, also on a treadmill. And despite their similar speeds, the two robots are very different. Top 10 Flower Technologies Another difference is that Raptor has a tail.
Why is Nationalism Dangerous? - Sociological Images In his speech last week accepting the Republican nomination for President, Donald Trump said (my emphasis): …our plan will put America First. Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo. As long as we are led by politicians who will not put America First, then we can be assured that other nations will not treat America with respect. Donald Trump’s insistence that we put “America First” hardly sounds harmful or irrational on its face. To be proud and protective of one’s country sounds like something good, even inevitable. But nationalism — a passionate investment in one’s country over and above others — is neither good nor neutral. Nationalism is a form of in-group/out-group thinking. A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige… his thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs and humiliations. A leader with a nationalist mandate will feel entitled to breaking the laws of his or her own country.