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["title"]=>
string(50) "Hack 48. Detect Sounds on the Margins of Certainty"
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string(31) "Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:10:09 +0000"
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string(349) "Can you sort the signal from the noise? Patterns and regularity are often deeply hidden, but we’re surprisingly adept at finding them.
Our perceptual abilities and sensory acumen differ from one individual to another, making our threshold for detecting faint or ambiguous stimuli vary considerably. The brain is particularly good at [...]"
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string(300) "Can you sort the signal from the noise? Patterns and regularity are often deeply hidden, but we’re surprisingly adept at finding them.
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string(26) "Hack 75. Grasp the Gestalt"
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string(346) "We group our visual perceptions together according to the gestalt grouping principles. Knowing these can help your visual information design to sit well with people’s expectations.
It’s a given that we see the world not as isolated parts, but as groups and single objects. Instead of seeing fingers and a palm, we see a hand. We [...]"
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string(1306) "We group our visual perceptions together according to the gestalt grouping principles. Knowing these can help your visual information design to sit well with people’s expectations.
It’s a given that we see the world not as isolated parts, but as groups and single objects. Instead of seeing fingers and a palm, we see a hand. We see a wall as a unit rather than seeing the individual bricks. We naturally group things together, trying to make a coherent picture out of all the individual parts. A few fundamental grouping principles can be used to do most of the work, and knowing them will help you design well-organized, visual information yourself.
8.2.1. In Action
Automatic grouping is such second nature that we really notice only its absence. When the arrangement of parts doesn’t sit well with the grouping principles the brain uses, cracks can be seen. Figure 8-1 shows some of these organizational rules coming into play.1
You don’t see 17 triangles. Instead, you see two groups of eight and one triangle in the middle. Your similarity drive has formed the arrangement into rows and columns of the shapes and put them into two groups: one group points to the bottom left, the other points off to the right.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(346) "We group our visual perceptions together according to the gestalt grouping principles. Knowing these can help your visual information design to sit well with people’s expectations.
It’s a given that we see the world not as isolated parts, but as groups and single objects. Instead of seeing fingers and a palm, we see a hand. We [...]"
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string(1306) "We group our visual perceptions together according to the gestalt grouping principles. Knowing these can help your visual information design to sit well with people’s expectations.
It’s a given that we see the world not as isolated parts, but as groups and single objects. Instead of seeing fingers and a palm, we see a hand. We see a wall as a unit rather than seeing the individual bricks. We naturally group things together, trying to make a coherent picture out of all the individual parts. A few fundamental grouping principles can be used to do most of the work, and knowing them will help you design well-organized, visual information yourself.
8.2.1. In Action
Automatic grouping is such second nature that we really notice only its absence. When the arrangement of parts doesn’t sit well with the grouping principles the brain uses, cracks can be seen. Figure 8-1 shows some of these organizational rules coming into play.1
You don’t see 17 triangles. Instead, you see two groups of eight and one triangle in the middle. Your similarity drive has formed the arrangement into rows and columns of the shapes and put them into two groups: one group points to the bottom left, the other points off to the right.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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["title"]=>
string(23) "Chapter 8. Togetherness"
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["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:33:23 +0000"
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string(311) "8.1. Hacks 75-80
What makes “this” a word, rather than being simply the adjacently written letters t, h, i, s? Or, to ask a similar question, why should we see a single dog running across a field rather than a collection of legs, ears, hair, and a wet nose flying over the grass? And why, when [...]"
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string(1753) "8.1. Hacks 75-80
What makes “this” a word, rather than being simply the adjacently written letters t, h, i, s? Or, to ask a similar question, why should we see a single dog running across a field rather than a collection of legs, ears, hair, and a wet nose flying over the grass? And why, when the dog knocks us over, do we know to blame the dog?
To put these questions another way: how do we group sensations into whole objects, and how do we decide that a certain set of perceptions constitutes cause and effect?
It’s not a terribly easy problem to solve. The nature of causality isn’t transmitted in an easy-to-sense form like color is in light. Rather than sense it directly, we have to gues. We have built-in heuristics to do just that, and these heuristics are based on various forms of togetherness. The word “this” hangs together well because the letters are in a straight line, for example, and they’re closer to one another than the letters in the surrounding words. Those are both principles by which the brain performs grouping. To take the second question, we see the parts of the dog as a single animal because they move together. That’s another heuristic.
This recognition acuity lets us see human forms from the tiniest of clues, but it alsoas we’ll see in [Hack #77] is not perfect and can be duped. We’ll see how we can perceive animacythe aliveness shown by living creatureswhere none exists and how we can ignore the cause in cause and effect. Sometimes that’s the best way to find out what our assumptions really are, to see when they don’t quite match what’s happening in the real world.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(311) "8.1. Hacks 75-80
What makes “this” a word, rather than being simply the adjacently written letters t, h, i, s? Or, to ask a similar question, why should we see a single dog running across a field rather than a collection of legs, ears, hair, and a wet nose flying over the grass? And why, when [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1753) "8.1. Hacks 75-80
What makes “this” a word, rather than being simply the adjacently written letters t, h, i, s? Or, to ask a similar question, why should we see a single dog running across a field rather than a collection of legs, ears, hair, and a wet nose flying over the grass? And why, when the dog knocks us over, do we know to blame the dog?
To put these questions another way: how do we group sensations into whole objects, and how do we decide that a certain set of perceptions constitutes cause and effect?
It’s not a terribly easy problem to solve. The nature of causality isn’t transmitted in an easy-to-sense form like color is in light. Rather than sense it directly, we have to gues. We have built-in heuristics to do just that, and these heuristics are based on various forms of togetherness. The word “this” hangs together well because the letters are in a straight line, for example, and they’re closer to one another than the letters in the surrounding words. Those are both principles by which the brain performs grouping. To take the second question, we see the parts of the dog as a single animal because they move together. That’s another heuristic.
This recognition acuity lets us see human forms from the tiniest of clues, but it alsoas we’ll see in [Hack #77] is not perfect and can be duped. We’ll see how we can perceive animacythe aliveness shown by living creatureswhere none exists and how we can ignore the cause in cause and effect. Sometimes that’s the best way to find out what our assumptions really are, to see when they don’t quite match what’s happening in the real world.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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["title"]=>
string(19) "7.6.3. In Real Life"
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string(31) "Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:29:26 +0000"
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string(304) "There’s a way to hack this habit bias, and it’s well-known to advertisers. If people generally stick with what they know, the most important thing you can do is get them to start off with your product in the first place (hence the value of kids as a target market). But you can make use [...]"
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string(1602) "There’s a way to hack this habit bias, and it’s well-known to advertisers. If people generally stick with what they know, the most important thing you can do is get them to start off with your product in the first place (hence the value of kids as a target market). But you can make use of the bias: people choose based on what they did before, so it is more effective to advertise to influence what they choose rather than how they feel about that choice. Even if there’s no good reason for someone using your product in the first place, the fact that they did once has established a strong bias for them doing so again. A computer user may prefer one browser, but if another one comes bundled with her new operating system, we can bet that’s what she’ll end up relying on. You may have no rational reason for choosing Brand A over Brand B when you buy jam, but if the manufacturers of Brand B can get you to try it (maybe by giving you a free sample or a special offer), they’ve overcome the major barrier that would have stopped you from buying it next time.
Status quo bias works for beliefs as well as behaviors. In many situations we are drawn to confirm what we already know, rather than test it in a way that might expose it to be false [Hack #72] .
It’s an experience I’ve had a lot when debugging code. I do lots of things that prove to me that it must be the bug I first think it is, but when I fix that bug, my code still doesn’t work.
It’s not just me, right?
T.S.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(304) "There’s a way to hack this habit bias, and it’s well-known to advertisers. If people generally stick with what they know, the most important thing you can do is get them to start off with your product in the first place (hence the value of kids as a target market). But you can make use [...]"
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string(1602) "There’s a way to hack this habit bias, and it’s well-known to advertisers. If people generally stick with what they know, the most important thing you can do is get them to start off with your product in the first place (hence the value of kids as a target market). But you can make use of the bias: people choose based on what they did before, so it is more effective to advertise to influence what they choose rather than how they feel about that choice. Even if there’s no good reason for someone using your product in the first place, the fact that they did once has established a strong bias for them doing so again. A computer user may prefer one browser, but if another one comes bundled with her new operating system, we can bet that’s what she’ll end up relying on. You may have no rational reason for choosing Brand A over Brand B when you buy jam, but if the manufacturers of Brand B can get you to try it (maybe by giving you a free sample or a special offer), they’ve overcome the major barrier that would have stopped you from buying it next time.
Status quo bias works for beliefs as well as behaviors. In many situations we are drawn to confirm what we already know, rather than test it in a way that might expose it to be false [Hack #72] .
It’s an experience I’ve had a lot when debugging code. I do lots of things that prove to me that it must be the bug I first think it is, but when I fix that bug, my code still doesn’t work.
It’s not just me, right?
T.S.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(19) "7.6.2. How It Works"
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string(31) "Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:28:17 +0000"
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string(311) "At least two things are going on here. The first is the effect of the way the choice is presentedthe framing effect. Anyone who has ever tried to persuade someone of something knows the importance of this. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it, that is important when presenting people with [...]"
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string(1741) "At least two things are going on here. The first is the effect of the way the choice is presentedthe framing effect. Anyone who has ever tried to persuade someone of something knows the importance of this. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it, that is important when presenting people with a choice or argument. The second thing is a bias we have against risking an already satisfactory situationwe’re much more willing to take risks when we’re in a losing position to begin with. In the examples, the first frame makes it look like you stand to gain without having to take a riskthe choice is between definitely saving 200 people versus an all-or-nothing gamble. The second frame makes it appear as though you start in a losing position (400 people down) and you can risk the all-or-nothing gamble to potentially improve your standing. In experimental studies of this dilemma, around 75% of people favor not gambling in the first frame, with the situation reversed in the second.4
So why do we gamble when we think we might lose out, but have a bias to avoid gambling on gains? I’m going to argue that this is part of a general bias we have toward the way things are. Let’s call it the “status quo bias.” This is probably built into our minds by evolutionnature’s way of saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
With habits, it is easy to see why the status quo bias is evolutionary adaptive. If you did it last time and it didn’t kill you, why do it differently? Sure, you could try things differently, but why waste the effort, especially if there’s any risk at all of things getting worse?
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(311) "At least two things are going on here. The first is the effect of the way the choice is presentedthe framing effect. Anyone who has ever tried to persuade someone of something knows the importance of this. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it, that is important when presenting people with [...]"
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string(1741) "At least two things are going on here. The first is the effect of the way the choice is presentedthe framing effect. Anyone who has ever tried to persuade someone of something knows the importance of this. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it, that is important when presenting people with a choice or argument. The second thing is a bias we have against risking an already satisfactory situationwe’re much more willing to take risks when we’re in a losing position to begin with. In the examples, the first frame makes it look like you stand to gain without having to take a riskthe choice is between definitely saving 200 people versus an all-or-nothing gamble. The second frame makes it appear as though you start in a losing position (400 people down) and you can risk the all-or-nothing gamble to potentially improve your standing. In experimental studies of this dilemma, around 75% of people favor not gambling in the first frame, with the situation reversed in the second.4
So why do we gamble when we think we might lose out, but have a bias to avoid gambling on gains? I’m going to argue that this is part of a general bias we have toward the way things are. Let’s call it the “status quo bias.” This is probably built into our minds by evolutionnature’s way of saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
With habits, it is easy to see why the status quo bias is evolutionary adaptive. If you did it last time and it didn’t kill you, why do it differently? Sure, you could try things differently, but why waste the effort, especially if there’s any risk at all of things getting worse?
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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["title"]=>
string(36) "Hack 74. Maintain the Status Quo (2)"
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string(336) "This bias is the result of a number of factors, not least the fact that people’s previous choice is often the best one or the one that best reflects their character. But also we have mental biases,3 like the mental biases we have about numbers [Hack #70], which produce consistent habits and an innate conservativism.
Biases [...]"
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string(1957) "This bias is the result of a number of factors, not least the fact that people’s previous choice is often the best one or the one that best reflects their character. But also we have mental biases,3 like the mental biases we have about numbers [Hack #70], which produce consistent habits and an innate conservativism.
Biases in reasoning are tendencies, not absolutes. They make up the mental forces that push your conclusions one way or the other. No single force ever rules completely, and in each case, several forces compete. We’re mostly trying to be rational so we keep a look out for things that might have biased us so we can discount them. Even if we know we can’t be rational, we mostly try to be at least consistent. This means that often you can’t give the same person the same problem twice if it’s designed to evoke different biases. They’ll spot the similarity between the two presentations and know their answers should be the same.
I’m carelessly using the word “rational” here, in the same way that logicians and people with a faith in pure reason might. But the study of heuristics and biases should make us question what a psychological meaning of “rational” could be. In some of the very arbitrary situations contrived by psychologists, people can appear to be irrational, but often their behavior would be completely reasonable in most situations, and even rational considering the kind of uncertainties that normally accompany most choices in the everyday world.
T.S.
But some biases are so strong that you can feel them tugging on your reason even when the rational part of your mind knows they are misleading. These “cognitive illusions” work even when you present two differently biased versions of the choice side by side. The example we’re going to see in action is one of these.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(336) "This bias is the result of a number of factors, not least the fact that people’s previous choice is often the best one or the one that best reflects their character. But also we have mental biases,3 like the mental biases we have about numbers [Hack #70], which produce consistent habits and an innate conservativism.
Biases [...]"
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string(1957) "This bias is the result of a number of factors, not least the fact that people’s previous choice is often the best one or the one that best reflects their character. But also we have mental biases,3 like the mental biases we have about numbers [Hack #70], which produce consistent habits and an innate conservativism.
Biases in reasoning are tendencies, not absolutes. They make up the mental forces that push your conclusions one way or the other. No single force ever rules completely, and in each case, several forces compete. We’re mostly trying to be rational so we keep a look out for things that might have biased us so we can discount them. Even if we know we can’t be rational, we mostly try to be at least consistent. This means that often you can’t give the same person the same problem twice if it’s designed to evoke different biases. They’ll spot the similarity between the two presentations and know their answers should be the same.
I’m carelessly using the word “rational” here, in the same way that logicians and people with a faith in pure reason might. But the study of heuristics and biases should make us question what a psychological meaning of “rational” could be. In some of the very arbitrary situations contrived by psychologists, people can appear to be irrational, but often their behavior would be completely reasonable in most situations, and even rational considering the kind of uncertainties that normally accompany most choices in the everyday world.
T.S.
But some biases are so strong that you can feel them tugging on your reason even when the rational part of your mind knows they are misleading. These “cognitive illusions” work even when you present two differently biased versions of the choice side by side. The example we’re going to see in action is one of these.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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["title"]=>
string(32) "Hack 74. Maintain the Status Quo"
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string(338) "People don’t like change. If you really want people to try something new, you should just coerce them into giving it a go and chuck the idea of persuading them straight off.
By default, people side with what already is and what happened last time. We’re curious, as animals go, but even humans are innately conservative. [...]"
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string(1982) "People don’t like change. If you really want people to try something new, you should just coerce them into giving it a go and chuck the idea of persuading them straight off.
By default, people side with what already is and what happened last time. We’re curious, as animals go, but even humans are innately conservative. Like the Dice Man, who delegates all decisions to chance in Luke Rhinehart’s classic 1970s novel of the same name, was told: “It’s the way a man chooses to limit himself that determines his character. A man without habits, consistency, redundancyand hence boredomis not human. He’s insane.”1
In this hack we’re going to look at our preference for the way things are and where this tendency comes from. I’m not claiming that people don’t changeobviously this happens all the time and is the most interesting part of lifebut, in general, people are consistent and tend toward consistency. Statistically, if you want to predict what people will do in a familiar situation, the most useful thing you can measure is what they did last time. Past action correlates more strongly with their behavior than every other variable psychologists have tried to measure.2 If you’re interested in predicting who people will vote for, what they will buy, what kind of person they will sleep with, anything at all really, finding out what tendencies they’ve exhibited or what habits they’ve formed before is the most useful information at your disposal. You’re not after what they say they will donot what party, brand, or sexual allegiance they tick on a formnor the choice they think they’re feeling pressured into making. Check out what they actually did last time and base your prediction on that. You won’t always be right, but you will be right more often by basing your guess upon habit than upon any other single variable.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(338) "People don’t like change. If you really want people to try something new, you should just coerce them into giving it a go and chuck the idea of persuading them straight off.
By default, people side with what already is and what happened last time. We’re curious, as animals go, but even humans are innately conservative. [...]"
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string(1982) "People don’t like change. If you really want people to try something new, you should just coerce them into giving it a go and chuck the idea of persuading them straight off.
By default, people side with what already is and what happened last time. We’re curious, as animals go, but even humans are innately conservative. Like the Dice Man, who delegates all decisions to chance in Luke Rhinehart’s classic 1970s novel of the same name, was told: “It’s the way a man chooses to limit himself that determines his character. A man without habits, consistency, redundancyand hence boredomis not human. He’s insane.”1
In this hack we’re going to look at our preference for the way things are and where this tendency comes from. I’m not claiming that people don’t changeobviously this happens all the time and is the most interesting part of lifebut, in general, people are consistent and tend toward consistency. Statistically, if you want to predict what people will do in a familiar situation, the most useful thing you can measure is what they did last time. Past action correlates more strongly with their behavior than every other variable psychologists have tried to measure.2 If you’re interested in predicting who people will vote for, what they will buy, what kind of person they will sleep with, anything at all really, finding out what tendencies they’ve exhibited or what habits they’ve formed before is the most useful information at your disposal. You’re not after what they say they will donot what party, brand, or sexual allegiance they tick on a formnor the choice they think they’re feeling pressured into making. Check out what they actually did last time and base your prediction on that. You won’t always be right, but you will be right more often by basing your guess upon habit than upon any other single variable.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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["title"]=>
string(46) "Hack 73. Fool Others into Feeling Better (3)"
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string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=451"
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string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=451#comments"
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string(370) "Studies have shown that for some people in some situations the placebo effect can be as strong as morphine. In one particularly striking study,1 patients who had undergone tooth extraction were treated with ultrasound to investigate whether this would reduce the postoperative pain. Unknown to both doctors and patients, however, the experimenters had fiddled with [...]"
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string(1757) "Studies have shown that for some people in some situations the placebo effect can be as strong as morphine. In one particularly striking study,1 patients who had undergone tooth extraction were treated with ultrasound to investigate whether this would reduce the postoperative pain. Unknown to both doctors and patients, however, the experimenters had fiddled with the machine, and half the patients never received the ultrasound. Since ultrasound consists of sound waves of very high frequencyso high, in fact, that they are inaudible to the human earthere was no way for either the doctors or the patients to tell whether the machine was emitting sound waves; the test was truly double-blind. After their jaws were massaged with the ultrasound applicator, the patients were asked to indicate their level of pain on a line with one end labeled “no pain” and the other “unbearable pain.”
Compared with a group of patients who were untreated, all those treated with the ultrasound machine reported a significant reduction in pain. Surprisingly, however, it didn’t seem to matter whether the machine had been switched on or not. Those who had been massaged with the machine while it was turned off showed the same level of pain reduction as those who had received the proper treatment. In fact, when the ultrasound machine was turned up high, it actually gave less pain relief than when it was switched off.
Other studies have shown that placebo medicines are more effective if delivered in person by doctors and that it helps more if the doctors are wearing white coats. Red pills give a bigger placebo effect than white pills, and placebo injections are more powerful still.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(370) "Studies have shown that for some people in some situations the placebo effect can be as strong as morphine. In one particularly striking study,1 patients who had undergone tooth extraction were treated with ultrasound to investigate whether this would reduce the postoperative pain. Unknown to both doctors and patients, however, the experimenters had fiddled with [...]"
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string(1757) "Studies have shown that for some people in some situations the placebo effect can be as strong as morphine. In one particularly striking study,1 patients who had undergone tooth extraction were treated with ultrasound to investigate whether this would reduce the postoperative pain. Unknown to both doctors and patients, however, the experimenters had fiddled with the machine, and half the patients never received the ultrasound. Since ultrasound consists of sound waves of very high frequencyso high, in fact, that they are inaudible to the human earthere was no way for either the doctors or the patients to tell whether the machine was emitting sound waves; the test was truly double-blind. After their jaws were massaged with the ultrasound applicator, the patients were asked to indicate their level of pain on a line with one end labeled “no pain” and the other “unbearable pain.”
Compared with a group of patients who were untreated, all those treated with the ultrasound machine reported a significant reduction in pain. Surprisingly, however, it didn’t seem to matter whether the machine had been switched on or not. Those who had been massaged with the machine while it was turned off showed the same level of pain reduction as those who had received the proper treatment. In fact, when the ultrasound machine was turned up high, it actually gave less pain relief than when it was switched off.
Other studies have shown that placebo medicines are more effective if delivered in person by doctors and that it helps more if the doctors are wearing white coats. Red pills give a bigger placebo effect than white pills, and placebo injections are more powerful still.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[7]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(46) "Hack 73. Fool Others into Feeling Better (2)"
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string(327) "Sometimes a placebo effect seems to be triggered despite the absence of other people and the absence of deception. If you have ever felt better after taking a homeopathic remedy, for example, or after applying dock leaves to the pain caused by a stinging nettle, that was almost certainly a placebo effect, because it has [...]"
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string(2149) "Sometimes a placebo effect seems to be triggered despite the absence of other people and the absence of deception. If you have ever felt better after taking a homeopathic remedy, for example, or after applying dock leaves to the pain caused by a stinging nettle, that was almost certainly a placebo effect, because it has been scientifically proven that such treatments are completely bogus. The essential factor, however, must still be presenta belief that this kind of treatment will help. Once you discover the truth about such bogus treatments, therefore, they cease to be capable of producing placebo effects.
Because it is hard (some might say impossible) to deceive yourself into believing something that you know to be false, deception is important for most placebo experiments. This plays a central role in many psychological experiments, and raises serious ethical problems. In universities and other research environments, an ethics committee must, quite rightly, approve experiments before they are allowed to proceed. It is therefore advisable to conduct the following experiment in the privacy of your own home, where ethics committees have no jurisdiction.
First, take an old medicine bottle and clean it thoroughly. Then fill it with a solution of tap water, sugar, and food coloring. The next time someone you know gets a headache or is stung by a stinging nettle, tell her that you have a special remedy that will help. If she asks what it is, tell her that it is a special solution of water and sugar and food coloring, and say that you have read somewhere (in this book) that this will help her feel better (that way, you won’t even be lying!). Give her the colored water and ask her to drink a teaspoonful (if she has a headache) or to rub a small amount onto the affected area (if she has been stung by a nettle). See if it helps her feel better.
It will, if she believes it willand if there’s nothing really wrong with her (be careful here; don’t delay medical treatment for someone who is hurt because you want to see if you can placebo-cure her).
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(327) "Sometimes a placebo effect seems to be triggered despite the absence of other people and the absence of deception. If you have ever felt better after taking a homeopathic remedy, for example, or after applying dock leaves to the pain caused by a stinging nettle, that was almost certainly a placebo effect, because it has [...]"
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string(2149) "Sometimes a placebo effect seems to be triggered despite the absence of other people and the absence of deception. If you have ever felt better after taking a homeopathic remedy, for example, or after applying dock leaves to the pain caused by a stinging nettle, that was almost certainly a placebo effect, because it has been scientifically proven that such treatments are completely bogus. The essential factor, however, must still be presenta belief that this kind of treatment will help. Once you discover the truth about such bogus treatments, therefore, they cease to be capable of producing placebo effects.
Because it is hard (some might say impossible) to deceive yourself into believing something that you know to be false, deception is important for most placebo experiments. This plays a central role in many psychological experiments, and raises serious ethical problems. In universities and other research environments, an ethics committee must, quite rightly, approve experiments before they are allowed to proceed. It is therefore advisable to conduct the following experiment in the privacy of your own home, where ethics committees have no jurisdiction.
First, take an old medicine bottle and clean it thoroughly. Then fill it with a solution of tap water, sugar, and food coloring. The next time someone you know gets a headache or is stung by a stinging nettle, tell her that you have a special remedy that will help. If she asks what it is, tell her that it is a special solution of water and sugar and food coloring, and say that you have read somewhere (in this book) that this will help her feel better (that way, you won’t even be lying!). Give her the colored water and ask her to drink a teaspoonful (if she has a headache) or to rub a small amount onto the affected area (if she has been stung by a nettle). See if it helps her feel better.
It will, if she believes it willand if there’s nothing really wrong with her (be careful here; don’t delay medical treatment for someone who is hurt because you want to see if you can placebo-cure her).
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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[8]=>
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["title"]=>
string(28) "Hack 72. Detect Cheaters (3)"
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string(377) "It’s been suggested by Cosmides,5 a leading light of evolutionary psychology (the study of how evolution may have shaped the way we think6), that the reason we seem to possess domain-specific logic is because it’s been selected for by evolution over countless generations. Cosmides argues that the really important parts of Cheng and Holyoak’s pragmatic [...]"
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string(377) "It’s been suggested by Cosmides,5 a leading light of evolutionary psychology (the study of how evolution may have shaped the way we think6), that the reason we seem to possess domain-specific logic is because it’s been selected for by evolution over countless generations. Cosmides argues that the really important parts of Cheng and Holyoak’s pragmatic [...]"
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string(818) "It’s been suggested by Cosmides,5 a leading light of evolutionary psychology (the study of how evolution may have shaped the way we think6), that the reason we seem to possess domain-specific logic is because it’s been selected for by evolution over countless generations. Cosmides argues that the really important parts of Cheng and Holyoak’s pragmatic reasoning schemas are those about people. In other words, we are all born with the mental logic required to understand the costs, benefits, and social contracts involved in dealing with other people. It’s a compelling argument, since the ability to make beneficial deals is a valuable survival trait. However, Cosmides’ theory can’t be the whole story, since we have no problem in solving many logic problems that have n
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["title"]=>
string(28) "Hack 72. Detect Cheaters (2)"
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["pubdate"]=>
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string(301) "Say there’s a rule that you must be over 21 to drink beer. Whose drinks and ages would you need to check to see if this bar is flouting the rules?
By simply swapping drinks and ages for cards A, K, 2, and 7, it’s obvious this time around that there’s no point checking what the [...]"
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string(1763) "Say there’s a rule that you must be over 21 to drink beer. Whose drinks and ages would you need to check to see if this bar is flouting the rules?
By simply swapping drinks and ages for cards A, K, 2, and 7, it’s obvious this time around that there’s no point checking what the 21 year old (think 2 card) is drinkingit wouldn’t make any difference to the rule if she were drinking cola or beer, whereas the 16 year old’s (think 7 card) drink is of much more interest.
7.4.2. How It Works
Why are logic problems so much easier when they’re expressed as real-life situations rather than in abstract terms? One early hypothesis called memory cuing proposed that we solve logic problems by drawing on personal experience, without using any deductive reasoning. We’ve all experienced the problems of drinking ages enough times that we don’t even have to think about who should be drinking what, unlike playing with letter and number cards.
Despite the substantial evidence behind memory cuing,2,3 many scientists believe that in practice we use more than just experiencethat there is in fact some thinking involved. Instead, researchers such as Cheng and Holyoak4 think that, while we might not be so good at pure logic, we’re excellent at the logic we need in real liferules, permissions, and obligations. This type of logicdeontic logicis what helps us solve everyday logic problems, by developing what they call “pragmatic reasoning schemas.” Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that our ability with logic is domain-specific, that is, limited to analyzing the complex web of permissions and obligations we encounter in life.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(301) "Say there’s a rule that you must be over 21 to drink beer. Whose drinks and ages would you need to check to see if this bar is flouting the rules?
By simply swapping drinks and ages for cards A, K, 2, and 7, it’s obvious this time around that there’s no point checking what the [...]"
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string(1763) "Say there’s a rule that you must be over 21 to drink beer. Whose drinks and ages would you need to check to see if this bar is flouting the rules?
By simply swapping drinks and ages for cards A, K, 2, and 7, it’s obvious this time around that there’s no point checking what the 21 year old (think 2 card) is drinkingit wouldn’t make any difference to the rule if she were drinking cola or beer, whereas the 16 year old’s (think 7 card) drink is of much more interest.
7.4.2. How It Works
Why are logic problems so much easier when they’re expressed as real-life situations rather than in abstract terms? One early hypothesis called memory cuing proposed that we solve logic problems by drawing on personal experience, without using any deductive reasoning. We’ve all experienced the problems of drinking ages enough times that we don’t even have to think about who should be drinking what, unlike playing with letter and number cards.
Despite the substantial evidence behind memory cuing,2,3 many scientists believe that in practice we use more than just experiencethat there is in fact some thinking involved. Instead, researchers such as Cheng and Holyoak4 think that, while we might not be so good at pure logic, we’re excellent at the logic we need in real liferules, permissions, and obligations. This type of logicdeontic logicis what helps us solve everyday logic problems, by developing what they call “pragmatic reasoning schemas.” Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that our ability with logic is domain-specific, that is, limited to analyzing the complex web of permissions and obligations we encounter in life.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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["title"]=>
string(19) "7.3.3. In Real Life"
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["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:37:52 +0000"
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string(354) "An example of an everyday choice that is affected by our problems with probabilities is thinking about weather forecasts. It can be simultaneously true that the weather forecasts are highly accurate and that you shouldn’t believe them. The following quote is from a great article by Neville Nicholls about errors and biases in our commonsense [...]"
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string(3753) "An example of an everyday choice that is affected by our problems with probabilities is thinking about weather forecasts. It can be simultaneously true that the weather forecasts are highly accurate and that you shouldn’t believe them. The following quote is from a great article by Neville Nicholls about errors and biases in our commonsense reasoning and how they affect the way we think about weather prediction:6
The accuracy of the United Kingdom 24-hour rain forecast is 83%. The climatological probability of rain on the hourly timescale appropriate for walks is 0.08 (this is the base rate). Given these values, the probability of rain, given a forecast of rain, is 0.30. The probability of no rain, given a forecast of rain, is 0.70. So, it is more likely that you would enjoy your walk without getting wet, even if the forecast was for rain tomorrow.
It’s a true statement but not easy to understand, because we don’t find probability calculations intuitive. The trick is to avoid them. Often probability statistics can be equally well-expressed using frequencies, and they will be better understood this way. We know the probabilities concerning base rates will be neglected, so you need to be extra careful if the message you are trying to convey relies on this information. It also helps to avoid conditional probabilitiesthings like “the probability of X given Y”and relative risks”your risk of X goes down by Y% if you do Z.” People just don’t find it easy to think about information given in this way.7
7.3.4. End Notes
Or at least it’s commonly attributed to Mark Twain. It’s one of those free-floating quotations.
vos Savant, M. (1997). The Power of Logical Thinking. New York: St Martin’s Press.
Paul Erdos published a colossal number of papers in his lifetime by collaborating with mathematicians around the world. If you published a paper with Erdos, your Erdos number is 1; if you published with someone who published with Erdos, it is 2. The mathematics of these indices of relationship can be quite interesting. See “The Erdos Number Project,” http://www.oakland.edu/enp.
Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1996). Are humans good intuitive statisticians after all? Rethinking some conclusions from the literature on judgment under uncertainty. Cognition, 58(1), 1-73.
Krauss, S., & Wang, X. T. (2003). The psychology of the Monty Hall problem: Discovering psychological mechanisms for solving a tenacious brain teaser. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132(1), 3-22.
Nicholls, N. (1999). Cognitive illusions, heuristics, and climate prediction. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 80(7), 1385-1397 (http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/i1520-0477-080-07-1385.pdf).
Gigerenzer, G., & Edwards, A. (2003). Simple tools for understanding risks: From innumeracy to insight. British Medical Journal, 327, 741-744 (http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/327/7417/741). This article is great on ways you can use frequency information as an alternative to help people understand probabilities.
7.3.5. See Also
A detailed discussion of the psychology of the Monty Hall dilemma, but one that doesn’t focus on the base-rate interpretation highlighted here is given by Burns, B. D., & Wieth, M. (in press). The collider principle in causal reasoning: Why the Monty Hall dilemma is so hard. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. More discussion of the Monty Hall dilemma and a simulation that lets you compare the success of the stick and switch strategies is at http://www.cut-the-knot.org/hall.shtml.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(354) "An example of an everyday choice that is affected by our problems with probabilities is thinking about weather forecasts. It can be simultaneously true that the weather forecasts are highly accurate and that you shouldn’t believe them. The following quote is from a great article by Neville Nicholls about errors and biases in our commonsense [...]"
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string(3753) "An example of an everyday choice that is affected by our problems with probabilities is thinking about weather forecasts. It can be simultaneously true that the weather forecasts are highly accurate and that you shouldn’t believe them. The following quote is from a great article by Neville Nicholls about errors and biases in our commonsense reasoning and how they affect the way we think about weather prediction:6
The accuracy of the United Kingdom 24-hour rain forecast is 83%. The climatological probability of rain on the hourly timescale appropriate for walks is 0.08 (this is the base rate). Given these values, the probability of rain, given a forecast of rain, is 0.30. The probability of no rain, given a forecast of rain, is 0.70. So, it is more likely that you would enjoy your walk without getting wet, even if the forecast was for rain tomorrow.
It’s a true statement but not easy to understand, because we don’t find probability calculations intuitive. The trick is to avoid them. Often probability statistics can be equally well-expressed using frequencies, and they will be better understood this way. We know the probabilities concerning base rates will be neglected, so you need to be extra careful if the message you are trying to convey relies on this information. It also helps to avoid conditional probabilitiesthings like “the probability of X given Y”and relative risks”your risk of X goes down by Y% if you do Z.” People just don’t find it easy to think about information given in this way.7
7.3.4. End Notes
Or at least it’s commonly attributed to Mark Twain. It’s one of those free-floating quotations.
vos Savant, M. (1997). The Power of Logical Thinking. New York: St Martin’s Press.
Paul Erdos published a colossal number of papers in his lifetime by collaborating with mathematicians around the world. If you published a paper with Erdos, your Erdos number is 1; if you published with someone who published with Erdos, it is 2. The mathematics of these indices of relationship can be quite interesting. See “The Erdos Number Project,” http://www.oakland.edu/enp.
Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1996). Are humans good intuitive statisticians after all? Rethinking some conclusions from the literature on judgment under uncertainty. Cognition, 58(1), 1-73.
Krauss, S., & Wang, X. T. (2003). The psychology of the Monty Hall problem: Discovering psychological mechanisms for solving a tenacious brain teaser. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132(1), 3-22.
Nicholls, N. (1999). Cognitive illusions, heuristics, and climate prediction. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 80(7), 1385-1397 (http://ams.allenpress.com/pdfserv/i1520-0477-080-07-1385.pdf).
Gigerenzer, G., & Edwards, A. (2003). Simple tools for understanding risks: From innumeracy to insight. British Medical Journal, 327, 741-744 (http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/327/7417/741). This article is great on ways you can use frequency information as an alternative to help people understand probabilities.
7.3.5. See Also
A detailed discussion of the psychology of the Monty Hall dilemma, but one that doesn’t focus on the base-rate interpretation highlighted here is given by Burns, B. D., & Wieth, M. (in press). The collider principle in causal reasoning: Why the Monty Hall dilemma is so hard. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. More discussion of the Monty Hall dilemma and a simulation that lets you compare the success of the stick and switch strategies is at http://www.cut-the-knot.org/hall.shtml.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(28) "The idea that we are evolved"
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string(360) "The idea that we are evolved to make frequency judgments, not probability calculations, is supported by evidence that we use frequencies as inputs and outputs for our likelihood estimates. We automatically notice and remember the frequency of events (input) and have subjective feelings of confidence that an event will or will not occur (output).
If you [...]"
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string(1321) "The idea that we are evolved to make frequency judgments, not probability calculations, is supported by evidence that we use frequencies as inputs and outputs for our likelihood estimates. We automatically notice and remember the frequency of events (input) and have subjective feelings of confidence that an event will or will not occur (output).
If you rephrase the Monty Hall problem in terms of frequencies, rather than in terms of a one-off decision, people are more likely to get it right.5 Here’s a short version of the same problem, but focusing explicitly on frequencies rather than one-off probabilities. Is it easier to grasp intuitively?
Take the same routine as beforethree doors, one prize, and two duds. But this time consider two different ways of playing the game, represented here by two players, Tom and Helen. Tom always chooses one door and sticks with it. Helen is assigned the other two doors. Monty always lets out a goat from behind one of these two doors, and Helen gets the prize if it is behind the remaining door. They play the game, say, 30 times. How often is it likely Tom will win the prize? How often is it likely Helen will win the prize? Given this, which is the better strategy, Tom’s (stick) or Helen’s (switch)?
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(360) "The idea that we are evolved to make frequency judgments, not probability calculations, is supported by evidence that we use frequencies as inputs and outputs for our likelihood estimates. We automatically notice and remember the frequency of events (input) and have subjective feelings of confidence that an event will or will not occur (output).
If you [...]"
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string(1321) "The idea that we are evolved to make frequency judgments, not probability calculations, is supported by evidence that we use frequencies as inputs and outputs for our likelihood estimates. We automatically notice and remember the frequency of events (input) and have subjective feelings of confidence that an event will or will not occur (output).
If you rephrase the Monty Hall problem in terms of frequencies, rather than in terms of a one-off decision, people are more likely to get it right.5 Here’s a short version of the same problem, but focusing explicitly on frequencies rather than one-off probabilities. Is it easier to grasp intuitively?
Take the same routine as beforethree doors, one prize, and two duds. But this time consider two different ways of playing the game, represented here by two players, Tom and Helen. Tom always chooses one door and sticks with it. Helen is assigned the other two doors. Monty always lets out a goat from behind one of these two doors, and Helen gets the prize if it is behind the remaining door. They play the game, say, 30 times. How often is it likely Tom will win the prize? How often is it likely Helen will win the prize? Given this, which is the better strategy, Tom’s (stick) or Helen’s (switch)?
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(30) "Most people get this wrongeven"
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string(339) "Most people get this wrongeven those with formal mathematics training. Many of the thousands who wrote to Marilyn vos Savant at Parade were university professors who were convinced that she had got it wrong and insisted she was misleading the nation. Even the famous Paul Erdos, years before the Parade magazine incident, had got the [...]"
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string(1867) "Most people get this wrongeven those with formal mathematics training. Many of the thousands who wrote to Marilyn vos Savant at Parade were university professors who were convinced that she had got it wrong and insisted she was misleading the nation. Even the famous Paul Erdos, years before the Parade magazine incident, had got the answer wrong and he was one of the most talented mathematicians of the century (and inspiration for Erdos numbers, which you may have heard of3).
The answer is that you should switchyou are twice as likely to win the prize if you switch doors than if you stick with your original door. Don’t worry if you can’t see why this is the right answer; the problem is famous precisely because it is so hard to get your head around. If you did get this right, try telling it to someone else and then explaining why switching is the right answer. You’ll soon see just how difficult the concepts are to get across.
7.3.2. How It Works
The chance you got it right on the first guess is 1 in 3. Since by the time it comes to sticking or switching, the big prize (often a car) must be behind one of the two remaining doors, there must be a 2 in 3 chance that the car is behind the other door (i.e., a 2 in 3 chance your first guess was wrong).
Our intuition seems compelled to ignore the prior probabilities and the effect that the game show host’s actions have. Instead, we look at the situation as it is when we come to make the choice. Two doors, one prize. 50-50 chance, right? Wrong. The host’s actions make switching a better bet. By throwing away one dud door from the two you didn’t choose initially, he’s essentially making it so that switching is like choosing between two doors and you win if the prize is behind either of them.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(339) "Most people get this wrongeven those with formal mathematics training. Many of the thousands who wrote to Marilyn vos Savant at Parade were university professors who were convinced that she had got it wrong and insisted she was misleading the nation. Even the famous Paul Erdos, years before the Parade magazine incident, had got the [...]"
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string(1867) "Most people get this wrongeven those with formal mathematics training. Many of the thousands who wrote to Marilyn vos Savant at Parade were university professors who were convinced that she had got it wrong and insisted she was misleading the nation. Even the famous Paul Erdos, years before the Parade magazine incident, had got the answer wrong and he was one of the most talented mathematicians of the century (and inspiration for Erdos numbers, which you may have heard of3).
The answer is that you should switchyou are twice as likely to win the prize if you switch doors than if you stick with your original door. Don’t worry if you can’t see why this is the right answer; the problem is famous precisely because it is so hard to get your head around. If you did get this right, try telling it to someone else and then explaining why switching is the right answer. You’ll soon see just how difficult the concepts are to get across.
7.3.2. How It Works
The chance you got it right on the first guess is 1 in 3. Since by the time it comes to sticking or switching, the big prize (often a car) must be behind one of the two remaining doors, there must be a 2 in 3 chance that the car is behind the other door (i.e., a 2 in 3 chance your first guess was wrong).
Our intuition seems compelled to ignore the prior probabilities and the effect that the game show host’s actions have. Instead, we look at the situation as it is when we come to make the choice. Two doors, one prize. 50-50 chance, right? Wrong. The host’s actions make switching a better bet. By throwing away one dud door from the two you didn’t choose initially, he’s essentially making it so that switching is like choosing between two doors and you win if the prize is behind either of them.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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[13]=>
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["title"]=>
string(16) "7.3.1. In Action"
["link"]=>
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string(342) "This is a famous demonstration of how hard we find it to work out probabilities. When it was published in Parade magazine in 1990, the magazine got around 10,000 letters in response92% of which said that their columnist, Marilyn vos Savant, had reached the wrong conclusion.2 Despite the weight of correspondence, vos Savant had reached [...]"
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string(1410) "This is a famous demonstration of how hard we find it to work out probabilities. When it was published in Parade magazine in 1990, the magazine got around 10,000 letters in response92% of which said that their columnist, Marilyn vos Savant, had reached the wrong conclusion.2 Despite the weight of correspondence, vos Savant had reached the correct conclusion, and here’s the confusing problem she put forward, based roughly on the workings of the old quiz show Let’s Make a Deal presented by Monty Hall.
Imagine you’re a participant on a game show, hoping to win the big prize. The final hoop to jump through is to select the right door from a choice of three. Behind each door is either a prize (one of the three doors) or a booby prize (two of the doors). In this case, the booby prizes are goats.
You choose a door.
To raise the tension, the game-show host, Monty, looks behind the other doors and throws one open (not yours) to reveal a goat. He then gives you the choice of sticking with your choice or switching to the remaining unopened door.
Two doors are left. One must have a goat behind it, one must have a prize. Should you stick, or should you switch? Or doesn’t it matter?
This is not a trick question, like some lateral thinking puzzles. It’s the statistics that are tricky, not the wording.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(342) "This is a famous demonstration of how hard we find it to work out probabilities. When it was published in Parade magazine in 1990, the magazine got around 10,000 letters in response92% of which said that their columnist, Marilyn vos Savant, had reached the wrong conclusion.2 Despite the weight of correspondence, vos Savant had reached [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1410) "This is a famous demonstration of how hard we find it to work out probabilities. When it was published in Parade magazine in 1990, the magazine got around 10,000 letters in response92% of which said that their columnist, Marilyn vos Savant, had reached the wrong conclusion.2 Despite the weight of correspondence, vos Savant had reached the correct conclusion, and here’s the confusing problem she put forward, based roughly on the workings of the old quiz show Let’s Make a Deal presented by Monty Hall.
Imagine you’re a participant on a game show, hoping to win the big prize. The final hoop to jump through is to select the right door from a choice of three. Behind each door is either a prize (one of the three doors) or a booby prize (two of the doors). In this case, the booby prizes are goats.
You choose a door.
To raise the tension, the game-show host, Monty, looks behind the other doors and throws one open (not yours) to reveal a goat. He then gives you the choice of sticking with your choice or switching to the remaining unopened door.
Two doors are left. One must have a goat behind it, one must have a prize. Should you stick, or should you switch? Or doesn’t it matter?
This is not a trick question, like some lateral thinking puzzles. It’s the statistics that are tricky, not the wording.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1262424655)
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[14]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(19) "7.2.3. In Real Life"
["link"]=>
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["comments"]=>
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["pubdate"]=>
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["description"]=>
string(332) "You can see charities using this anchoring and adjustment hack when they send you their literature. Take a look at the “make a donation” section on the back of a typical leaflet. Usually this will ask you for something like “$50, $20, $10, $5, or an amount of your choice.” The reason they suggest $50, [...]"
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string(2623) "You can see charities using this anchoring and adjustment hack when they send you their literature. Take a look at the “make a donation” section on the back of a typical leaflet. Usually this will ask you for something like “$50, $20, $10, $5, or an amount of your choice.” The reason they suggest $50, $20, $10, then $5 rather than $5, $10, $20, then $50 is to create a higher anchor in your mind. Maybe there isn’t ever much chance you’ll give $50, but the “amount of your choice” will be higher because $50 is the first number they suggest.
Maybe anchoring explains why it is common to price things at a cent below a round number, such as at $9.99. Although it is only 1 cent different from $10, it feels (if you don’t think about it much) closer to $9 because that’s the anchor first established in your mind by the price tag.
Irrelevant anchoring and insufficient adjustment are just two examples of difficulties we have when thinking about numbers. ( [Hack #71] discusses extra difficulties we have when thinking about a particularly common kind of number: probabilities.)
The difficulty we have with numbers is one of the reasons people so often try to con you with them. I’m pretty sure in many debates many of us just listen to the numbers without thinking about them. Because numbers are hard, they lend an air of authority to an argument and can often be completely misleading or contradictory. For instance, “83% of statistics are completely fictitious” is a sentence that could sound convincing if you weren’t paying attentionso watch out! It shows just how unintuitive this kind of reasoning is, that we still experience such biases despite most of us having done a decade or so of math classes, which have, as a major goal, to teach us to think carefully about numbers.
The lesson for communicating is that you shouldn’t use numbers unless you have to. If you have to, then provide good illustrations, but beware that people’s first response will be to judge by appearance rather than by the numbers. Most people won’t have an automatic response to really think about the figures you give unless they are motivated, either by themselves or by you and the discussion you give of the figures.
7.2.4. End Notes
The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive: a History of Zero (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Zero.html).
Russo, J. E., and Schoemaker, P. J. H. (1989). Decision Traps. New York: Doubleday.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(332) "You can see charities using this anchoring and adjustment hack when they send you their literature. Take a look at the “make a donation” section on the back of a typical leaflet. Usually this will ask you for something like “$50, $20, $10, $5, or an amount of your choice.” The reason they suggest $50, [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2623) "You can see charities using this anchoring and adjustment hack when they send you their literature. Take a look at the “make a donation” section on the back of a typical leaflet. Usually this will ask you for something like “$50, $20, $10, $5, or an amount of your choice.” The reason they suggest $50, $20, $10, then $5 rather than $5, $10, $20, then $50 is to create a higher anchor in your mind. Maybe there isn’t ever much chance you’ll give $50, but the “amount of your choice” will be higher because $50 is the first number they suggest.
Maybe anchoring explains why it is common to price things at a cent below a round number, such as at $9.99. Although it is only 1 cent different from $10, it feels (if you don’t think about it much) closer to $9 because that’s the anchor first established in your mind by the price tag.
Irrelevant anchoring and insufficient adjustment are just two examples of difficulties we have when thinking about numbers. ( [Hack #71] discusses extra difficulties we have when thinking about a particularly common kind of number: probabilities.)
The difficulty we have with numbers is one of the reasons people so often try to con you with them. I’m pretty sure in many debates many of us just listen to the numbers without thinking about them. Because numbers are hard, they lend an air of authority to an argument and can often be completely misleading or contradictory. For instance, “83% of statistics are completely fictitious” is a sentence that could sound convincing if you weren’t paying attentionso watch out! It shows just how unintuitive this kind of reasoning is, that we still experience such biases despite most of us having done a decade or so of math classes, which have, as a major goal, to teach us to think carefully about numbers.
The lesson for communicating is that you shouldn’t use numbers unless you have to. If you have to, then provide good illustrations, but beware that people’s first response will be to judge by appearance rather than by the numbers. Most people won’t have an automatic response to really think about the figures you give unless they are motivated, either by themselves or by you and the discussion you give of the figures.
7.2.4. End Notes
The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive: a History of Zero (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Zero.html).
Russo, J. E., and Schoemaker, P. J. H. (1989). Decision Traps. New York: Doubleday.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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["title"]=>
string(19) "7.2.2. How It Works"
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string(321) "In the previous calculations, anchors people tend to use are higher or lower depending on the first digit of the multiplication (which we read left to right). The anchors then unduly influence the estimate people make of the answer to the calculation. We start with a higher anchor for the first series than for the [...]"
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string(2030) "In the previous calculations, anchors people tend to use are higher or lower depending on the first digit of the multiplication (which we read left to right). The anchors then unduly influence the estimate people make of the answer to the calculation. We start with a higher anchor for the first series than for the second. When psychologists carried out an experimental test of these two questions, the average estimate for the first series was 4200, compared to only 500 for the second.
Both estimates are well below the correct answer. Because the series as a whole is made up of small numbers, the anchor in both cases is relatively low, which biases the estimate most people make to far below the true answer.
In fact, you can give people an anchor that has nothing to do with the task you’ve set for them, and it still biases their reasoning. Try this experiment, which is discussed in Edward Russo and Paul Schoemaker’s book Decision Traps.2
Find someonepreferably not a history majorand ask her for the last three digits of her phone number. Add 400 to this number then ask “Do you think Attila the Hun was defeated in Europe before or after X,” where X is the year you got by the addition of 400 to the telephone number. Don’t say whether she got it right (the correct answer is A.D. 451) and then ask “In what year would you guess Attila the Hun was defeated?” The answers you get will vary depending on the initial figure you gave, even though it is based on something completely irrelevant to the questionher own phone number!
When Russo and Schoemaker performed this experiment on a group of 500 Cornell University MBA students, they found that the number derived from the phone digits acted as a strong anchor, biasing the placing of the year of Attila the Hun’s defeat. The difference between the highest and lowest anchors corresponded to a difference in the average estimate of more than 300 years.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(321) "In the previous calculations, anchors people tend to use are higher or lower depending on the first digit of the multiplication (which we read left to right). The anchors then unduly influence the estimate people make of the answer to the calculation. We start with a higher anchor for the first series than for the [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2030) "In the previous calculations, anchors people tend to use are higher or lower depending on the first digit of the multiplication (which we read left to right). The anchors then unduly influence the estimate people make of the answer to the calculation. We start with a higher anchor for the first series than for the second. When psychologists carried out an experimental test of these two questions, the average estimate for the first series was 4200, compared to only 500 for the second.
Both estimates are well below the correct answer. Because the series as a whole is made up of small numbers, the anchor in both cases is relatively low, which biases the estimate most people make to far below the true answer.
In fact, you can give people an anchor that has nothing to do with the task you’ve set for them, and it still biases their reasoning. Try this experiment, which is discussed in Edward Russo and Paul Schoemaker’s book Decision Traps.2
Find someonepreferably not a history majorand ask her for the last three digits of her phone number. Add 400 to this number then ask “Do you think Attila the Hun was defeated in Europe before or after X,” where X is the year you got by the addition of 400 to the telephone number. Don’t say whether she got it right (the correct answer is A.D. 451) and then ask “In what year would you guess Attila the Hun was defeated?” The answers you get will vary depending on the initial figure you gave, even though it is based on something completely irrelevant to the questionher own phone number!
When Russo and Schoemaker performed this experiment on a group of 500 Cornell University MBA students, they found that the number derived from the phone digits acted as a strong anchor, biasing the placing of the year of Attila the Hun’s defeat. The difference between the highest and lowest anchors corresponded to a difference in the average estimate of more than 300 years.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1261877089)
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[16]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(21) "This hack shows where"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=423"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=423#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:23:11 +0000"
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["category"]=>
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["guid"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=423"
["description"]=>
string(328) "This hack shows where some specific difficulties with numbers come from and gives you some tests you can try on yourself or your friends to demonstrate them.
The biases discussed here and, in some of the other hacks in this chapter, don’t affect everyone all the time. Think of them as forces, like gravity or tides. [...]"
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string(1871) "This hack shows where some specific difficulties with numbers come from and gives you some tests you can try on yourself or your friends to demonstrate them.
The biases discussed here and, in some of the other hacks in this chapter, don’t affect everyone all the time. Think of them as forces, like gravity or tides. All things being equal, they will tend to push and pull your judgments, especially if you aren’t giving your full attention to what you are thinking about.
7.2.1. In Action
How big is:
9 x 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1
How about:
1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9
Since you’ve got both in front of you, you can easily see that they are equivalent and so must therefore equal the same number. But try this: ask someone the first version. Tell her to estimate, not to calculatehave her give her answer within 5 seconds. Now find another person and ask him to estimate the answer for the second version. Even if he sees the pattern and thinks to himself “ah, 9 factorial,” unless he has the answer stored in his head, he will be influenced by the way the sum is presented.
Probably the second person you asked gave a smaller answer, and both people gave figures well below the real answer (which is a surprisingly large 362,880).
7.2.2. How It Works
When estimating numbers, most people start with a number that comes easily to mindan “anchor”and adjust up or down from that initial base. The initial number that comes to mind is really just your first guess, and there are two problems. First, people often fail to adjust sufficiently away from the first guess. Second, the guess can be easily influenced by circumstances. And the initial circumstance, in this case, is the number at the beginning of the sum.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(328) "This hack shows where some specific difficulties with numbers come from and gives you some tests you can try on yourself or your friends to demonstrate them.
The biases discussed here and, in some of the other hacks in this chapter, don’t affect everyone all the time. Think of them as forces, like gravity or tides. [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1871) "This hack shows where some specific difficulties with numbers come from and gives you some tests you can try on yourself or your friends to demonstrate them.
The biases discussed here and, in some of the other hacks in this chapter, don’t affect everyone all the time. Think of them as forces, like gravity or tides. All things being equal, they will tend to push and pull your judgments, especially if you aren’t giving your full attention to what you are thinking about.
7.2.1. In Action
How big is:
9 x 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1
How about:
1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9
Since you’ve got both in front of you, you can easily see that they are equivalent and so must therefore equal the same number. But try this: ask someone the first version. Tell her to estimate, not to calculatehave her give her answer within 5 seconds. Now find another person and ask him to estimate the answer for the second version. Even if he sees the pattern and thinks to himself “ah, 9 factorial,” unless he has the answer stored in his head, he will be influenced by the way the sum is presented.
Probably the second person you asked gave a smaller answer, and both people gave figures well below the real answer (which is a surprisingly large 362,880).
7.2.2. How It Works
When estimating numbers, most people start with a number that comes easily to mindan “anchor”and adjust up or down from that initial base. The initial number that comes to mind is really just your first guess, and there are two problems. First, people often fail to adjust sufficiently away from the first guess. Second, the guess can be easily influenced by circumstances. And the initial circumstance, in this case, is the number at the beginning of the sum.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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[17]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(23) "5.9.2. How It Works (2)"
["link"]=>
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["pubdate"]=>
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string(303) "Yes, right, but also no. Strictly speaking, both audio streams do still come from the same place, but remember that we’re not very good at telling where sounds come from. We’re so poor at it, we prefer to use what we see to figure out the origin of sounds instead [Hack #53] . When you [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
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string(1474) "Yes, right, but also no. Strictly speaking, both audio streams do still come from the same place, but remember that we’re not very good at telling where sounds come from. We’re so poor at it, we prefer to use what we see to figure out the origin of sounds instead [Hack #53] . When you look at the screen, the lip movements of the talking head are so synchronized with one of the audio streams that your brain convinces itself that the audio stream must be coming from the position of the screen too.
It’s whether the video is in the same place as the amplifier that counts in this experiment. When the screen is in a different place from the amplifier, your brain makes a mistake and mislocates one of the audio streams, so the audio streams are divided and you can tune in one and out the other.
Never mind that the reason the conversations can be tuned into separately is because of a localization mistake; it still works. It doesn’t matter that this localization was an illusionthe illusion could still be used by the brain to separate the information before processing it. All our impressions are a construction, so an objectively wrong construction can have as much validity in the brain as an objectively correct construction.
5.9.3. End Note
Driver, J. (1996). Enhancement of selective listening by illusory mislocation of speech sounds due to lip-reading. Nature, 381, 66-68.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(303) "Yes, right, but also no. Strictly speaking, both audio streams do still come from the same place, but remember that we’re not very good at telling where sounds come from. We’re so poor at it, we prefer to use what we see to figure out the origin of sounds instead [Hack #53] . When you [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1474) "Yes, right, but also no. Strictly speaking, both audio streams do still come from the same place, but remember that we’re not very good at telling where sounds come from. We’re so poor at it, we prefer to use what we see to figure out the origin of sounds instead [Hack #53] . When you look at the screen, the lip movements of the talking head are so synchronized with one of the audio streams that your brain convinces itself that the audio stream must be coming from the position of the screen too.
It’s whether the video is in the same place as the amplifier that counts in this experiment. When the screen is in a different place from the amplifier, your brain makes a mistake and mislocates one of the audio streams, so the audio streams are divided and you can tune in one and out the other.
Never mind that the reason the conversations can be tuned into separately is because of a localization mistake; it still works. It doesn’t matter that this localization was an illusionthe illusion could still be used by the brain to separate the information before processing it. All our impressions are a construction, so an objectively wrong construction can have as much validity in the brain as an objectively correct construction.
5.9.3. End Note
Driver, J. (1996). Enhancement of selective listening by illusory mislocation of speech sounds due to lip-reading. Nature, 381, 66-68.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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[18]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(20) "Chapter 7. Reasoning"
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["pubdate"]=>
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["description"]=>
string(328) "7.1. Hacks 70-74
We consider ourselves pretty rational animals, and we can indeed be pretty logical when we put our minds to it. But you only have to scratch the surface to find out how easily we’re misled by numbers [Hack #70], and it’s well-known that statistics are really hard to understand [Hack #71] . So [...]"
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string(2066) "7.1. Hacks 70-74
We consider ourselves pretty rational animals, and we can indeed be pretty logical when we put our minds to it. But you only have to scratch the surface to find out how easily we’re misled by numbers [Hack #70], and it’s well-known that statistics are really hard to understand [Hack #71] . So how good are we at being rational? It depends: our logic skills aren’t too hot, for instance, until we need to catch people who might be cheating on us [Hack #72] instead of just logically solving sums. And that’s the point. We have a very pragmatic kind of rationality, solving complex problems as long as they’re real-life situations.
Pure rationality is overrated anyway. Figuring out logic is slow going when we can have gut feelings instead, and that’s a strategy that works. Well, the placebo effect [Hack #73] works at leastbelief is indeed a powerful thing. And we have a strong bias toward keeping the status quo [Hack #74] too. It’s not rational, that’s for sure, but don’t worry; the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” policy is a pragmatic one, at least.
Hack 70. Use Numbers Carefully
Our brains haven’t evolved to think about numbers. Funny things happen to them as they go into our heads.
Although we can instantly appreciate how many items comprise small groups (small meaning four or fewer [Hack #35] ), reasoning about bigger numbers requires counting, and counting requires training. Some cultures get by with no specific numbers higher than 3, and even numerate cultures took a while to invent something as fundamental as zero.1
So we don’t have a natural faculty to deal with numbers explicitly; that’s a cultural invention that’s hitched onto natural faculties we do have. The difficulty we have when thinking about numbers is most apparent when you ask people to deal with very large numbers, with very small numbers, or with probabilities [Hack #71] .
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(328) "7.1. Hacks 70-74
We consider ourselves pretty rational animals, and we can indeed be pretty logical when we put our minds to it. But you only have to scratch the surface to find out how easily we’re misled by numbers [Hack #70], and it’s well-known that statistics are really hard to understand [Hack #71] . So [...]"
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string(2066) "7.1. Hacks 70-74
We consider ourselves pretty rational animals, and we can indeed be pretty logical when we put our minds to it. But you only have to scratch the surface to find out how easily we’re misled by numbers [Hack #70], and it’s well-known that statistics are really hard to understand [Hack #71] . So how good are we at being rational? It depends: our logic skills aren’t too hot, for instance, until we need to catch people who might be cheating on us [Hack #72] instead of just logically solving sums. And that’s the point. We have a very pragmatic kind of rationality, solving complex problems as long as they’re real-life situations.
Pure rationality is overrated anyway. Figuring out logic is slow going when we can have gut feelings instead, and that’s a strategy that works. Well, the placebo effect [Hack #73] works at leastbelief is indeed a powerful thing. And we have a strong bias toward keeping the status quo [Hack #74] too. It’s not rational, that’s for sure, but don’t worry; the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” policy is a pragmatic one, at least.
Hack 70. Use Numbers Carefully
Our brains haven’t evolved to think about numbers. Funny things happen to them as they go into our heads.
Although we can instantly appreciate how many items comprise small groups (small meaning four or fewer [Hack #35] ), reasoning about bigger numbers requires counting, and counting requires training. Some cultures get by with no specific numbers higher than 3, and even numerate cultures took a while to invent something as fundamental as zero.1
So we don’t have a natural faculty to deal with numbers explicitly; that’s a cultural invention that’s hitched onto natural faculties we do have. The difficulty we have when thinking about numbers is most apparent when you ask people to deal with very large numbers, with very small numbers, or with probabilities [Hack #71] .
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[19]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(23) "Various Car Accessories"
["link"]=>
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["comments"]=>
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string(317) "Auto accessories of various styles can be found out in the internet today. As auto technology is increasing from time to time, previous models of car need to be adapted. Thus, some specialists have created some car accessories to make outdated car look trendier. There a lot of choices when you want to modify a [...]"
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string(1285) "Auto accessories of various styles can be found out in the internet today. As auto technology is increasing from time to time, previous models of car need to be adapted. Thus, some specialists have created some car accessories to make outdated car look trendier. There a lot of choices when you want to modify a car as each part of car can be modified.
Carid.Com specializes in providing modern car accessory of any kind. There are some dash kits, chrome accessories and many more. Some brands are available for various accessories of this web so that choose your favorite model. If you are a beginner in car modification, you may communicate what accessories you want to have for your beloved car. You may also give this web a call for more information. Please use a search form to check out the whole products available in here. For better overview, you would better see the whole picture of the product.
What are you waiting for? There are lots of selections of auto accessory to make distinctive identity for your car. Make sure that you get true information of each product in this web. You will be pleased to know that you have amazing car. What else? Please log onto this web for detailed information.
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string(317) "Auto accessories of various styles can be found out in the internet today. As auto technology is increasing from time to time, previous models of car need to be adapted. Thus, some specialists have created some car accessories to make outdated car look trendier. There a lot of choices when you want to modify a [...]"
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string(1285) "Auto accessories of various styles can be found out in the internet today. As auto technology is increasing from time to time, previous models of car need to be adapted. Thus, some specialists have created some car accessories to make outdated car look trendier. There a lot of choices when you want to modify a car as each part of car can be modified.
Carid.Com specializes in providing modern car accessory of any kind. There are some dash kits, chrome accessories and many more. Some brands are available for various accessories of this web so that choose your favorite model. If you are a beginner in car modification, you may communicate what accessories you want to have for your beloved car. You may also give this web a call for more information. Please use a search form to check out the whole products available in here. For better overview, you would better see the whole picture of the product.
What are you waiting for? There are lots of selections of auto accessory to make distinctive identity for your car. Make sure that you get true information of each product in this web. You will be pleased to know that you have amazing car. What else? Please log onto this web for detailed information.
"
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[20]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(12) "EYE MOVEMENT"
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string(303) "Always remember that you are taking one small step at a time to reach your reading goal. The first step is the development of the first small skill. As you learn the first skill, it is easier to learn the second skill. Many times the learning of one skill will automatically teach most of
the next [...]"
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string(2966) "Always remember that you are taking one small step at a time to reach your reading goal. The first step is the development of the first small skill. As you learn the first skill, it is easier to learn the second skill. Many times the learning of one skill will automatically teach most of
the next skill to be learned. The first step, or skill, to take and learn, is eye movement - learning to move the eyes across the print. You must push your eyes faster than you can normally see. In other words, you will not see the individual words as you learn this movement. You will be
moving faster than your eyes are taught to see. If words keep stopping the smooth flow of your eyes across the print, turn the page upside down. It doesn’t matter what you are looking at, only the movement counts. If you can get a book written in a language you don’t understand, you might consider using it. Your eyes must learn to flow smoothly across the page and line per line, down the page. As you master the eye movement, the print will become recognizable at the
faster movement, then the understanding will come.
The first bad reading habit you will break as you begin learning eye movement, is the habit of fixation and convergence, or seeing one word at a time. The top figure (Illust. 2) illustrates what happens when you read normally. The bottom figure illustrates what begins to happen
to your eye direction as you develop the movement skill. When you develop “far vision:’ you don’t have to move your eyes as far and still you see more. As you begin to develop these skills, you cannot simply “tell” yourself to do these things. Your subconscious will begin to do these things automatically, in response to your command to see faster, and after a great deal of practice.
FIXATION occurs when your eyes converge and then focus themselves, without movement, even briefly. This will disrupt the flow and make it impossible for the eyes to move fluently over the print. Fixation is part of all “average” or “normal” reader’s habits. It is not an easy habit to break. While reading, any word that is not easily understood, or one with a special meaning or interest, causes fixation. The only way to break the fixation habit is to learn proper eye movement. At first, this may cause some tension and strain because the rapid eye movement is not a normal or natural part of your present reading habit. Concentrate on the eye movement. Look at the print as you go across the page effortlessly and move your eyes easily. Take one small step at a time in learning the skills.
The new eye movement is not entirely new to you. You already move your eyes across the page, but more slowly and with fixation. You will learn to move faster and without fixation.
Taken From: THE ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
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string(303) "Always remember that you are taking one small step at a time to reach your reading goal. The first step is the development of the first small skill. As you learn the first skill, it is easier to learn the second skill. Many times the learning of one skill will automatically teach most of
the next [...]"
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the next skill to be learned. The first step, or skill, to take and learn, is eye movement - learning to move the eyes across the print. You must push your eyes faster than you can normally see. In other words, you will not see the individual words as you learn this movement. You will be
moving faster than your eyes are taught to see. If words keep stopping the smooth flow of your eyes across the print, turn the page upside down. It doesn’t matter what you are looking at, only the movement counts. If you can get a book written in a language you don’t understand, you might consider using it. Your eyes must learn to flow smoothly across the page and line per line, down the page. As you master the eye movement, the print will become recognizable at the
faster movement, then the understanding will come.
The first bad reading habit you will break as you begin learning eye movement, is the habit of fixation and convergence, or seeing one word at a time. The top figure (Illust. 2) illustrates what happens when you read normally. The bottom figure illustrates what begins to happen
to your eye direction as you develop the movement skill. When you develop “far vision:’ you don’t have to move your eyes as far and still you see more. As you begin to develop these skills, you cannot simply “tell” yourself to do these things. Your subconscious will begin to do these things automatically, in response to your command to see faster, and after a great deal of practice.
FIXATION occurs when your eyes converge and then focus themselves, without movement, even briefly. This will disrupt the flow and make it impossible for the eyes to move fluently over the print. Fixation is part of all “average” or “normal” reader’s habits. It is not an easy habit to break. While reading, any word that is not easily understood, or one with a special meaning or interest, causes fixation. The only way to break the fixation habit is to learn proper eye movement. At first, this may cause some tension and strain because the rapid eye movement is not a normal or natural part of your present reading habit. Concentrate on the eye movement. Look at the print as you go across the page effortlessly and move your eyes easily. Take one small step at a time in learning the skills.
The new eye movement is not entirely new to you. You already move your eyes across the page, but more slowly and with fixation. You will learn to move faster and without fixation.
Taken From: THE ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
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[21]=>
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["title"]=>
string(51) "Hack 69. Use Your Right Brainand Your Left, Too (4)"
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string(398) "Like perceiving gender and moods, musical appreciation also appears to mostly involve right-brain-dominant processes (although, as we’ve seen, for keeping complex rhythms, the left brain is dominant).
Brain imaging studies have suggested that these kind of results can be understood by thinking of the hemispheres as specialized for different kinds of processing, not as specialized for [...]"
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string(4028) "Like perceiving gender and moods, musical appreciation also appears to mostly involve right-brain-dominant processes (although, as we’ve seen, for keeping complex rhythms, the left brain is dominant).
Brain imaging studies have suggested that these kind of results can be understood by thinking of the hemispheres as specialized for different kinds of processing, not as specialized for processing different kinds of things. One study6 involved showing subjects letters made up of lots of little letters (e.g., the letter A made of up lots of little Ss). The left brain responded to the detail (the small letters) and the right brain to the global picture (the large letter constructed out of small letters). Subsequent work has shown that the story isn’t as clear as this study suggests. It seems you can get the left-detail/right-global pattern to reverse with the correct kinds of stimulus-task combinationbut it has confirmed that the hemispheric dominance is due to the demands of the task, not due to the nature of the information being processed.7 This gives some tentative legitimacy to the idea that there are left-brain and right-brain styles of processing.
But the important thing is how the two hemispheres combine, not how they perform in artificial situations like those of the split-brain patients. Brain imaging studies of normal people are based on the average results across many brains, and this tends to play down the large variation between different individuals in how the functions are distributed across the brain. Ultimately, however people’s brains are wired, they will be using both sides to deal with situations they encounterso it isn’t too helpful to become preoccupied with which half does what and whether they are processing with their left or their right.
6.9.3. End Notes
It was even claimed the two hemispheres of a patient’s split brain were conscious in different ways (http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/Split_Brain/Split_Brain_Consciousness.html).
Gazzaniga, M. S. (1998). The split brain revisited. Scientific American, 279(1), 50-55. (reprinted and updated 2002).
This demo is from the book The Lopsided Ape by Michael C. Corballis (Oxford University Press, paperback, 1991), p.267. Many thanks to Michael Parker (http://www.michaelparker.com) for bringing it to our attention.
At least we judge holistic features of faces (like gender or mood) by their left side, using our right hemisphere. Neuroimaging research shows left hemisphere involvement in analyzing the parts of faces. Rossion, B. et al. (2000). Hemispheric asymmetries for whole-based and part-based face processing in the human fusiform gyrus. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 12, 793-802.
© Michael Burt, Perception Lab, http://perception.st-and.ac.uk.
Fink, G. R., Halligan, P. W., Marshall, J. C., et al. (1996). Where in the brain does visual attention select the forest and the trees? Nature 382 (6592), 626-628. There is a great discussion of this article by John McCrone in New Scientist (13 July 1999), reprinted online (http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.btinternet.com/~neuronaut/webtwo_features_leftbrain.html).
Stephan, K. E., Marshall, J. C., Friston, K. J., Rowe, J. B., Ritzl, A., Zilles, K., et al. (2003). Lateralized cognitive processes and lateralized task control in the human brain. Science, 301(5631), 384-386.
6.9.4. See Also
Other good starting points for reading about the neuroscience between the right and left brain story are ABC’s “All in the Mind” (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/stories/s1137394.htm), “Hemispheres” at Neuroscience for Kids (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/split.html), and “New Theories of Expression Focus on Brain’s Two Sides,” article by Sandra Blakeslee (http://members.aol.com/sakrug/dualbrain.html; reprinted from the New York Times).
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(398) "Like perceiving gender and moods, musical appreciation also appears to mostly involve right-brain-dominant processes (although, as we’ve seen, for keeping complex rhythms, the left brain is dominant).
Brain imaging studies have suggested that these kind of results can be understood by thinking of the hemispheres as specialized for different kinds of processing, not as specialized for [...]"
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string(4028) "Like perceiving gender and moods, musical appreciation also appears to mostly involve right-brain-dominant processes (although, as we’ve seen, for keeping complex rhythms, the left brain is dominant).
Brain imaging studies have suggested that these kind of results can be understood by thinking of the hemispheres as specialized for different kinds of processing, not as specialized for processing different kinds of things. One study6 involved showing subjects letters made up of lots of little letters (e.g., the letter A made of up lots of little Ss). The left brain responded to the detail (the small letters) and the right brain to the global picture (the large letter constructed out of small letters). Subsequent work has shown that the story isn’t as clear as this study suggests. It seems you can get the left-detail/right-global pattern to reverse with the correct kinds of stimulus-task combinationbut it has confirmed that the hemispheric dominance is due to the demands of the task, not due to the nature of the information being processed.7 This gives some tentative legitimacy to the idea that there are left-brain and right-brain styles of processing.
But the important thing is how the two hemispheres combine, not how they perform in artificial situations like those of the split-brain patients. Brain imaging studies of normal people are based on the average results across many brains, and this tends to play down the large variation between different individuals in how the functions are distributed across the brain. Ultimately, however people’s brains are wired, they will be using both sides to deal with situations they encounterso it isn’t too helpful to become preoccupied with which half does what and whether they are processing with their left or their right.
6.9.3. End Notes
It was even claimed the two hemispheres of a patient’s split brain were conscious in different ways (http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/Split_Brain/Split_Brain_Consciousness.html).
Gazzaniga, M. S. (1998). The split brain revisited. Scientific American, 279(1), 50-55. (reprinted and updated 2002).
This demo is from the book The Lopsided Ape by Michael C. Corballis (Oxford University Press, paperback, 1991), p.267. Many thanks to Michael Parker (http://www.michaelparker.com) for bringing it to our attention.
At least we judge holistic features of faces (like gender or mood) by their left side, using our right hemisphere. Neuroimaging research shows left hemisphere involvement in analyzing the parts of faces. Rossion, B. et al. (2000). Hemispheric asymmetries for whole-based and part-based face processing in the human fusiform gyrus. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 12, 793-802.
© Michael Burt, Perception Lab, http://perception.st-and.ac.uk.
Fink, G. R., Halligan, P. W., Marshall, J. C., et al. (1996). Where in the brain does visual attention select the forest and the trees? Nature 382 (6592), 626-628. There is a great discussion of this article by John McCrone in New Scientist (13 July 1999), reprinted online (http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.btinternet.com/~neuronaut/webtwo_features_leftbrain.html).
Stephan, K. E., Marshall, J. C., Friston, K. J., Rowe, J. B., Ritzl, A., Zilles, K., et al. (2003). Lateralized cognitive processes and lateralized task control in the human brain. Science, 301(5631), 384-386.
6.9.4. See Also
Other good starting points for reading about the neuroscience between the right and left brain story are ABC’s “All in the Mind” (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/stories/s1137394.htm), “Hemispheres” at Neuroscience for Kids (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/split.html), and “New Theories of Expression Focus on Brain’s Two Sides,” article by Sandra Blakeslee (http://members.aol.com/sakrug/dualbrain.html; reprinted from the New York Times).
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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[22]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(16) "SEE - UNDERSTAND"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=586"
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string(292) "In order to strengthen a skill, it is necessary to push yourself to your limits. EXAMPLE: If you can do 50 pushups and want to increase your ability until you can do 100 pushups, you don’t do 25 then quit. If you are interested in increasing your ability, you must do 50, and then add [...]"
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string(2444) "In order to strengthen a skill, it is necessary to push yourself to your limits. EXAMPLE: If you can do 50 pushups and want to increase your ability until you can do 100 pushups, you don’t do 25 then quit. If you are interested in increasing your ability, you must do 50, and then add as many more as you can force yourself to do. You may start doing only 51, then 53, 65 etc. Only by pushing to the very limits and then beyond, little by little, can the dimensions of ability be stretched. Never forget that reading is a skill. It is governed by all the natural rules that govern skills. As you begin to push yourself, you will lose understanding. When you practice, you are not reading! You must accept this. Do not worry about anything when you are practicing, except the single skill you are told to develop. In the beginning, the skill you learn first is the skill of eye movement. Don’t be concerned with anything else, until directed to do so. As the ability to move your eyes grows stronger, your understanding begins to come back to you, better than ever.
Many people who read and write a great deal, and even many who read and write as an occupation, have described their efforts to read faster than they normally read. They explained that as they push themselves to go faster than they normally read, they become frustrated because
of a great reduction in understanding and the greater occurrence of regression in the attempt to increase their understanding. Regardless of how they tried, they were not able to read any more in a given period of time than they normally did. In nearly every case, the attempt to read faster resulted in skimming.
Now, you are going to begin learning the new reading skill. This is a new skill, to you, and it may not be easily learned. It will not be learned at all, IF YOU DO NOT PRACTICE. It may not be difficult for you to learn, IF YOU DO PRACTICE.
You must learn to look at the print on the page correctly. Forget about understanding the text and concentrate on eye movement. If you don’t do these things, you are just going to become a better skimmer, not a better reader. The better you learn to see the print, the better your
understanding will be. Movement first. Seeing second. Understanding third.
Taken From: THE ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
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string(292) "In order to strengthen a skill, it is necessary to push yourself to your limits. EXAMPLE: If you can do 50 pushups and want to increase your ability until you can do 100 pushups, you don’t do 25 then quit. If you are interested in increasing your ability, you must do 50, and then add [...]"
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string(2444) "In order to strengthen a skill, it is necessary to push yourself to your limits. EXAMPLE: If you can do 50 pushups and want to increase your ability until you can do 100 pushups, you don’t do 25 then quit. If you are interested in increasing your ability, you must do 50, and then add as many more as you can force yourself to do. You may start doing only 51, then 53, 65 etc. Only by pushing to the very limits and then beyond, little by little, can the dimensions of ability be stretched. Never forget that reading is a skill. It is governed by all the natural rules that govern skills. As you begin to push yourself, you will lose understanding. When you practice, you are not reading! You must accept this. Do not worry about anything when you are practicing, except the single skill you are told to develop. In the beginning, the skill you learn first is the skill of eye movement. Don’t be concerned with anything else, until directed to do so. As the ability to move your eyes grows stronger, your understanding begins to come back to you, better than ever.
Many people who read and write a great deal, and even many who read and write as an occupation, have described their efforts to read faster than they normally read. They explained that as they push themselves to go faster than they normally read, they become frustrated because
of a great reduction in understanding and the greater occurrence of regression in the attempt to increase their understanding. Regardless of how they tried, they were not able to read any more in a given period of time than they normally did. In nearly every case, the attempt to read faster resulted in skimming.
Now, you are going to begin learning the new reading skill. This is a new skill, to you, and it may not be easily learned. It will not be learned at all, IF YOU DO NOT PRACTICE. It may not be difficult for you to learn, IF YOU DO PRACTICE.
You must learn to look at the print on the page correctly. Forget about understanding the text and concentrate on eye movement. If you don’t do these things, you are just going to become a better skimmer, not a better reader. The better you learn to see the print, the better your
understanding will be. Movement first. Seeing second. Understanding third.
Taken From: THE ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
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string(51) "Hack 69. Use Your Right Brainand Your Left, Too (3)"
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string(313) "To show this in action, start tapping a regular beat with your left hand (1-2-3-4- etc.) and then start tapping a fancy beat at the same time with the right hand (jazzy, syncopated, like a melody line to accompany the regular beat). Now, try starting with the regular beat on the right hand (1-2-3-4- etc.), [...]"
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string(3219) "To show this in action, start tapping a regular beat with your left hand (1-2-3-4- etc.) and then start tapping a fancy beat at the same time with the right hand (jazzy, syncopated, like a melody line to accompany the regular beat). Now, try starting with the regular beat on the right hand (1-2-3-4- etc.), and after a measure or two, start the fancy beat on the left. See what happens. You should find it easier the first way round, with your left hemisphere controlling the more difficult rhythm (your right hand).
Many left-handers actually get the same result as right-handers on this test, so it is not just to do with mere handedness. It probably isn’t a coincidence that a piano keyboard is organized with the lower notes, which are used for simpler rhythms, on the left side where they can be delegated to the right hemisphere.
6.9.2. How It Works
By comparing the performance of normal people on tasks that give information to different hemispheres and by comparing responses controlled by different hemispheres, cognitive neuroscientists have uncovered a number of functions that are done differently by the different hemispheres, and some patterns are beginning to appear in the data.
The most obvious specialized function is language. Speech is controlled by the left brain, and understanding the literal meaning of words and sentence grammar is supported by the left brain in most people (but not all). But that doesn’t mean that the right brain has no role in language processing. Studies of people with right-brain damage, along with other evidence, have suggested that the right brain may support analyzing global features of language such as mood and implication. If I say, “Can you close the window?” I’m not asking if you are able, I’m asking if you will. A step more complex is to say, “It’s cold in here,” which is the same request, but more oblique (but maybe not as oblique as “Why are you so selfish?”). It is this kind of pragmatic reasoning in language that some researchers think is supported by the right brain.
The left-brain specialization for language carries over to an advantage in sequential ordering and symbolic, logical reasoning.
The right brain seems specialized for visual and spatial processing, such as mental rotation or remembering maps and faces, dealing with the appearance of things, and with understanding the overall pattern. We have a bias whereby we judge faces by their left side.4 You can see a demonstration of this at http://perception.st-and.ac.uk/hemispheric/explanation.html. The web site shows two faces, one looking more female than the other (see Figure 6-8). In fact, the faces are both equally male and female, but the one that looks female has the more female half on the left side (right-hemisphere processing) and the male half on the right side, where it doesn’t affect your judgment of gender. Test this now by covering the left sides of the faces in Figure 6-8 and looking again; you can now see that the face you first judged as female is half-male and the face you judged as male is half-female.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(313) "To show this in action, start tapping a regular beat with your left hand (1-2-3-4- etc.) and then start tapping a fancy beat at the same time with the right hand (jazzy, syncopated, like a melody line to accompany the regular beat). Now, try starting with the regular beat on the right hand (1-2-3-4- etc.), [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(3219) "To show this in action, start tapping a regular beat with your left hand (1-2-3-4- etc.) and then start tapping a fancy beat at the same time with the right hand (jazzy, syncopated, like a melody line to accompany the regular beat). Now, try starting with the regular beat on the right hand (1-2-3-4- etc.), and after a measure or two, start the fancy beat on the left. See what happens. You should find it easier the first way round, with your left hemisphere controlling the more difficult rhythm (your right hand).
Many left-handers actually get the same result as right-handers on this test, so it is not just to do with mere handedness. It probably isn’t a coincidence that a piano keyboard is organized with the lower notes, which are used for simpler rhythms, on the left side where they can be delegated to the right hemisphere.
6.9.2. How It Works
By comparing the performance of normal people on tasks that give information to different hemispheres and by comparing responses controlled by different hemispheres, cognitive neuroscientists have uncovered a number of functions that are done differently by the different hemispheres, and some patterns are beginning to appear in the data.
The most obvious specialized function is language. Speech is controlled by the left brain, and understanding the literal meaning of words and sentence grammar is supported by the left brain in most people (but not all). But that doesn’t mean that the right brain has no role in language processing. Studies of people with right-brain damage, along with other evidence, have suggested that the right brain may support analyzing global features of language such as mood and implication. If I say, “Can you close the window?” I’m not asking if you are able, I’m asking if you will. A step more complex is to say, “It’s cold in here,” which is the same request, but more oblique (but maybe not as oblique as “Why are you so selfish?”). It is this kind of pragmatic reasoning in language that some researchers think is supported by the right brain.
The left-brain specialization for language carries over to an advantage in sequential ordering and symbolic, logical reasoning.
The right brain seems specialized for visual and spatial processing, such as mental rotation or remembering maps and faces, dealing with the appearance of things, and with understanding the overall pattern. We have a bias whereby we judge faces by their left side.4 You can see a demonstration of this at http://perception.st-and.ac.uk/hemispheric/explanation.html. The web site shows two faces, one looking more female than the other (see Figure 6-8). In fact, the faces are both equally male and female, but the one that looks female has the more female half on the left side (right-hemisphere processing) and the male half on the right side, where it doesn’t affect your judgment of gender. Test this now by covering the left sides of the faces in Figure 6-8 and looking again; you can now see that the face you first judged as female is half-male and the face you judged as male is half-female.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1260083905)
}
[24]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(44) "CHAPTER 21 Your Comprehensive Memory Program"
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string(299) "One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises one makes.
— F. W. NIETZSCHE
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ALL ASPECTS of the Memory Program before you decide which of these components you wish to employ in your own life. If you have reached this far in the book, you know that the Memory [...]"
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string(3335) "One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises one makes.
— F. W. NIETZSCHE
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ALL ASPECTS of the Memory Program before you decide which of these components you wish to employ in your own life. If you have reached this far in the book, you know that the Memory Program must be tailored to the individual.
Much of the material in this chapter follows directly from what I covered in earlier chapters. To reiterate, there is no magic memory pill, no silver bullet. To help preserve and even improve your memory, a comprehensive, multifaceted program is the right solution.
The Memory Program is intended to help two categories of people:
1. Those who currently have a normal memory and wish to preserve their memory during the aging process. If you’re in your forties or fifties, you probably fall into this category.
2. Those with mild memory loss who would like to reverse the process or at least prevent further decline. If you’re in your sixties to eighties, you may fall into this category. However, you can develop mild memory loss in your forties or fifties, especially if you have a specific, usually reversible, cause of memory loss such as depression, alcohol abuse, medication toxicity, or hypothyroidism.
If You’ve Developed Mild Memory Loss, What Does It Mean?
If you are in your forties to fifties, you are likely to have an identifiable, reversible cause of memory loss.
If you are in your sixties to eighties, memory loss due to either the aging process or dementia is much more common.
If there is a relatively rapid onset (weeks to months) of symptoms, a potentially reversible cause of memory loss is likely.
A fluctuating course of symptoms, with periods of clear memory and cognition intervening between episodes of confusion or memory loss, is more likely to be due to an identifiable, reversible cause.
A gradual dwindling in memory over many years, even decades, is typical of memory loss due to the aging process.
A steady decline, with mild symptoms progressing to severe symptoms of memory loss within a few years, suggests Alzheimer’s disease.
Early benign signs of memory loss due to the aging process include forgetting names, forgetting a few items on a shopping list, misplacing keys, or not recognizing someone you met a long time ago. Signs of severe memory loss include getting lost in a familiar place, losing your way when driving a familiar route, forgetting important appointments repeatedly, forgetting to turn off the stove on many occasions, repeating the same questions over and over again, coworkers’ pointing out that mistakes are increasing, and not knowing the date or time on several occasions.
If you have signs of severe memory loss, you need to see a doctor (neurologist or psychiatrist or primary care physician, preferably with a neuropsychologist’s input). For those of you with mild memory loss, or if you have a sound memory but wish to prevent future memory loss, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of the Memory Program.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(299) "One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises one makes.
— F. W. NIETZSCHE
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ALL ASPECTS of the Memory Program before you decide which of these components you wish to employ in your own life. If you have reached this far in the book, you know that the Memory [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(3335) "One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises one makes.
— F. W. NIETZSCHE
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ALL ASPECTS of the Memory Program before you decide which of these components you wish to employ in your own life. If you have reached this far in the book, you know that the Memory Program must be tailored to the individual.
Much of the material in this chapter follows directly from what I covered in earlier chapters. To reiterate, there is no magic memory pill, no silver bullet. To help preserve and even improve your memory, a comprehensive, multifaceted program is the right solution.
The Memory Program is intended to help two categories of people:
1. Those who currently have a normal memory and wish to preserve their memory during the aging process. If you’re in your forties or fifties, you probably fall into this category.
2. Those with mild memory loss who would like to reverse the process or at least prevent further decline. If you’re in your sixties to eighties, you may fall into this category. However, you can develop mild memory loss in your forties or fifties, especially if you have a specific, usually reversible, cause of memory loss such as depression, alcohol abuse, medication toxicity, or hypothyroidism.
If You’ve Developed Mild Memory Loss, What Does It Mean?
If you are in your forties to fifties, you are likely to have an identifiable, reversible cause of memory loss.
If you are in your sixties to eighties, memory loss due to either the aging process or dementia is much more common.
If there is a relatively rapid onset (weeks to months) of symptoms, a potentially reversible cause of memory loss is likely.
A fluctuating course of symptoms, with periods of clear memory and cognition intervening between episodes of confusion or memory loss, is more likely to be due to an identifiable, reversible cause.
A gradual dwindling in memory over many years, even decades, is typical of memory loss due to the aging process.
A steady decline, with mild symptoms progressing to severe symptoms of memory loss within a few years, suggests Alzheimer’s disease.
Early benign signs of memory loss due to the aging process include forgetting names, forgetting a few items on a shopping list, misplacing keys, or not recognizing someone you met a long time ago. Signs of severe memory loss include getting lost in a familiar place, losing your way when driving a familiar route, forgetting important appointments repeatedly, forgetting to turn off the stove on many occasions, repeating the same questions over and over again, coworkers’ pointing out that mistakes are increasing, and not knowing the date or time on several occasions.
If you have signs of severe memory loss, you need to see a doctor (neurologist or psychiatrist or primary care physician, preferably with a neuropsychologist’s input). For those of you with mild memory loss, or if you have a sound memory but wish to prevent future memory loss, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of the Memory Program.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1259824050)
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[25]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(51) "Hack 69. Use Your Right Brainand Your Left, Too (2)"
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string(321) "A simple distinction between a left brain specialized for language and cold logic and an oppressed right brain that specializes in intuition grew into the myth we know today. Similar to the 10% myth [Hack #6], this led to the further conclusion that most of us use only half of our brains. Although this distinction [...]"
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string(2489) "A simple distinction between a left brain specialized for language and cold logic and an oppressed right brain that specializes in intuition grew into the myth we know today. Similar to the 10% myth [Hack #6], this led to the further conclusion that most of us use only half of our brains. Although this distinction may or may not be a useful metaphor in talking about styles of thinking, it is certainly not a useful metaphor for conducting research nor for giving insight into the true differences between the hemispheres.
Any real difference between the hemispheres may be the opposite of what people raised on the left brain bad, right brain good myth would expect. Michael Gazzaniga, who was part of the team that did the original split-brain experiments and is now a very senior cognitive neuroscientist, recently wrote in Scientific American of an “inventive and interpreting” left brain, a hemisphere for structure and meaning, and a “truthful, literal” right brain, limited by a preoccupation with general surface features.2 In his research, he found that the right hemisphere contained modules specializing for computationally analyzing perceptions, in a very straightforward way, not looking for any deeper meaning. It’s not good at smart search strategies, for example. The left hemisphere is better at high-level associations and problem solving, including language, looking for meaning, and patterns.
6.9.1. In Action
Many of the original demonstrations of hemispheric specialization involve showing an image to just one hemifield of the eyes. Information from both eyes is processed by both hemispheres of the brain, but in both eyes, the information to the left of the focal point is processed by the right hemisphere and vice versa. By making sure someone is looking straight ahead, you can control which hemisphere processes an image by presenting it to the left or the right of his focal pointone hemifield. You have to do it very quickly; as soon as an image appears before them, people will move their eyes to look at it and thus feed the information to both hemispheres. Since this is difficult to do with vision, here’s a nonvisual demo you can try at home.3
The left hemisphere is better at processing rapidly occurring sounds and seems better at keeping rhythm; it can hold fancier rhythms and keep them synchronized with a beat better than the right hemisphere.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(321) "A simple distinction between a left brain specialized for language and cold logic and an oppressed right brain that specializes in intuition grew into the myth we know today. Similar to the 10% myth [Hack #6], this led to the further conclusion that most of us use only half of our brains. Although this distinction [...]"
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string(2489) "A simple distinction between a left brain specialized for language and cold logic and an oppressed right brain that specializes in intuition grew into the myth we know today. Similar to the 10% myth [Hack #6], this led to the further conclusion that most of us use only half of our brains. Although this distinction may or may not be a useful metaphor in talking about styles of thinking, it is certainly not a useful metaphor for conducting research nor for giving insight into the true differences between the hemispheres.
Any real difference between the hemispheres may be the opposite of what people raised on the left brain bad, right brain good myth would expect. Michael Gazzaniga, who was part of the team that did the original split-brain experiments and is now a very senior cognitive neuroscientist, recently wrote in Scientific American of an “inventive and interpreting” left brain, a hemisphere for structure and meaning, and a “truthful, literal” right brain, limited by a preoccupation with general surface features.2 In his research, he found that the right hemisphere contained modules specializing for computationally analyzing perceptions, in a very straightforward way, not looking for any deeper meaning. It’s not good at smart search strategies, for example. The left hemisphere is better at high-level associations and problem solving, including language, looking for meaning, and patterns.
6.9.1. In Action
Many of the original demonstrations of hemispheric specialization involve showing an image to just one hemifield of the eyes. Information from both eyes is processed by both hemispheres of the brain, but in both eyes, the information to the left of the focal point is processed by the right hemisphere and vice versa. By making sure someone is looking straight ahead, you can control which hemisphere processes an image by presenting it to the left or the right of his focal pointone hemifield. You have to do it very quickly; as soon as an image appears before them, people will move their eyes to look at it and thus feed the information to both hemispheres. Since this is difficult to do with vision, here’s a nonvisual demo you can try at home.3
The left hemisphere is better at processing rapidly occurring sounds and seems better at keeping rhythm; it can hold fancier rhythms and keep them synchronized with a beat better than the right hemisphere.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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[26]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(21) "As you have been told"
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string(333) "As you have been told, the learning or development of any skill is done only by practice. You normally don’t relax as you just did. You should go through this exercise at least twice a day, especially at first. As you were instructed, you can practice without the tape. Visualization is
very important. Practicing without the [...]"
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string(2544) "As you have been told, the learning or development of any skill is done only by practice. You normally don’t relax as you just did. You should go through this exercise at least twice a day, especially at first. As you were instructed, you can practice without the tape. Visualization is
very important. Practicing without the tape, just start at one end of the body, either end, and work to the other end. Do exactly as the program instructs, within each area you work.
ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
A BASIC COURSE FOR EVERYONE
PART THREE
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed,
and some few to be chewed and digested.”
Francis Bacon
PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS
Most people have an erroneous conception of Rapid Reading and reading at high speeds in general. You will learn that in this program, as you are taught Rapid Reading, you are also increasing your understanding of what you are reading; you will develop the ability to better remember
what you read; and because of the nature of the way you are taught and the way you learn, you will become a better learner, in all areas. This is what Rapid Reading and learning means.
The misconception many people have is that it is impossible to read any faster than they can speak, that anything faster is skimming and/or “spot” reading. This conception would be true if there were no other reading skill available to learn. You are at this point now. You are restricted, at this time, to reading only as fast as you can pronounce the words as you see them. If you try to read faster than you can speak, or sound the words, you will begin skimming, or spot reading, and lose a great deal of the meaning of what you are reading.
Another misconception about reading is that in order to better understand and generally enjoy what is being read, reading must be slow and methodical. This, of course, is not true. As reading speed is increased, concentration on what is being read must be increased. This increased concentration, alone, will increase understanding, and with better understanding will come greater enjoyment. Developing an increase in understanding is a skill development process. Some will
develop this skill faster than others, just as some will develop the total skill of Rapid Reading more quickly than others.
Taken From: THE ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
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string(333) "As you have been told, the learning or development of any skill is done only by practice. You normally don’t relax as you just did. You should go through this exercise at least twice a day, especially at first. As you were instructed, you can practice without the tape. Visualization is
very important. Practicing without the [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2544) "As you have been told, the learning or development of any skill is done only by practice. You normally don’t relax as you just did. You should go through this exercise at least twice a day, especially at first. As you were instructed, you can practice without the tape. Visualization is
very important. Practicing without the tape, just start at one end of the body, either end, and work to the other end. Do exactly as the program instructs, within each area you work.
ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
A BASIC COURSE FOR EVERYONE
PART THREE
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed,
and some few to be chewed and digested.”
Francis Bacon
PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS
Most people have an erroneous conception of Rapid Reading and reading at high speeds in general. You will learn that in this program, as you are taught Rapid Reading, you are also increasing your understanding of what you are reading; you will develop the ability to better remember
what you read; and because of the nature of the way you are taught and the way you learn, you will become a better learner, in all areas. This is what Rapid Reading and learning means.
The misconception many people have is that it is impossible to read any faster than they can speak, that anything faster is skimming and/or “spot” reading. This conception would be true if there were no other reading skill available to learn. You are at this point now. You are restricted, at this time, to reading only as fast as you can pronounce the words as you see them. If you try to read faster than you can speak, or sound the words, you will begin skimming, or spot reading, and lose a great deal of the meaning of what you are reading.
Another misconception about reading is that in order to better understand and generally enjoy what is being read, reading must be slow and methodical. This, of course, is not true. As reading speed is increased, concentration on what is being read must be increased. This increased concentration, alone, will increase understanding, and with better understanding will come greater enjoyment. Developing an increase in understanding is a skill development process. Some will
develop this skill faster than others, just as some will develop the total skill of Rapid Reading more quickly than others.
Taken From: THE ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1259290849)
}
[27]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(32) "As you did with the head muscles"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=580"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=580#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
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string(314) "As you did with the head muscles, you should actually tighten the muscle groups to create tension, and then relax them to feel the tension leave.
You will be instructed to pay special attention to the feelings you get when the tension comes into the area and then how good it feels when that tension leaves. [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
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string(1731) "As you did with the head muscles, you should actually tighten the muscle groups to create tension, and then relax them to feel the tension leave.
You will be instructed to pay special attention to the feelings you get when the tension comes into the area and then how good it feels when that tension leaves. Follow directions carefully. Pay attention to the tension, notice it. Pay attention to the relaxed, free, feeling. The object is i to recognize when tension begins, in any part of your body, so you can quickly respond and eliminate it through relaxation and visualization.
At the command, get your relaxation tape and prepare to go through it. You should check your time schedule at this time. It takes 15 minutes to go through the Relaxation Exercise Tape. If you do not have a full 15 minutes at this time, do not proceed. Wait until you have a full 15
minutes and then come back to this point. It is necessary that this exercise be completed as soon as you can, but only if you can go through it completely. It is just as important that you go back through the exercise tape as often and as soon as you can. It will take only a few times using the tape, for you to be able to do the exercises without it. The more you repeat this exercise, the more quickly you will be able to learn and use all the skill exercises you must learn to become an effective and rapid reader. Remember to practice, practice, practice.
Put the Relaxation Exercise Tape in your recorder and begin the exercise. At the end of the exercise, return to this point. DO IT NOW!
Taken From: THE ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
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string(314) "As you did with the head muscles, you should actually tighten the muscle groups to create tension, and then relax them to feel the tension leave.
You will be instructed to pay special attention to the feelings you get when the tension comes into the area and then how good it feels when that tension leaves. [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1731) "As you did with the head muscles, you should actually tighten the muscle groups to create tension, and then relax them to feel the tension leave.
You will be instructed to pay special attention to the feelings you get when the tension comes into the area and then how good it feels when that tension leaves. Follow directions carefully. Pay attention to the tension, notice it. Pay attention to the relaxed, free, feeling. The object is i to recognize when tension begins, in any part of your body, so you can quickly respond and eliminate it through relaxation and visualization.
At the command, get your relaxation tape and prepare to go through it. You should check your time schedule at this time. It takes 15 minutes to go through the Relaxation Exercise Tape. If you do not have a full 15 minutes at this time, do not proceed. Wait until you have a full 15
minutes and then come back to this point. It is necessary that this exercise be completed as soon as you can, but only if you can go through it completely. It is just as important that you go back through the exercise tape as often and as soon as you can. It will take only a few times using the tape, for you to be able to do the exercises without it. The more you repeat this exercise, the more quickly you will be able to learn and use all the skill exercises you must learn to become an effective and rapid reader. Remember to practice, practice, practice.
Put the Relaxation Exercise Tape in your recorder and begin the exercise. At the end of the exercise, return to this point. DO IT NOW!
Taken From: THE ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1259028568)
}
[28]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(47) "Hack 69. Use Your Right Brainand Your Left, Too"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=413"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=413#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:22 +0000"
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string(331) "The logical left brain and intuitive right brain metaphor is popular, but the real story of the difference between the two halves of your brain is more complex and more interesting.
There’s a grain of truth in all the best myths, and this is true for the left-brain/right-brain myth. Our cortex is divided into left and [...]"
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string(2052) "The logical left brain and intuitive right brain metaphor is popular, but the real story of the difference between the two halves of your brain is more complex and more interesting.
There’s a grain of truth in all the best myths, and this is true for the left-brain/right-brain myth. Our cortex is divided into left and right hemispheres, and they do seem to process information differently, but exactly how they do this isn’t like the story normally told by management gurus and the self-help literature. As with many scientific myths, the real story is less intuitive but more interesting.
Our brains follow the general pattern of the rest of our bodies: two of everything down the sides and one of everything down the middle. With the brain, the two halves are joined directly in the subcortex, but in the cortex the two halves, called hemispheres, have a gap between them. They are connected by a tight bunch of some 250 million nerve fibers, called the corpus callosum, which runs between the two hemispheres (it’s not the only way for information to cross the hemispheres, but it’s the most important).
Each hemisphere is wired up to sense and act on the opposite side of the body. So information from your right goes to the left side of the visual cortex, and signals from your left motor cortex control your right hand. For higher functions, in which information from both senses is combined, the two hemispheres seem to have different strengths and weaknesses, so that for certain tasks one hemisphere or the other will be dominant.
The origins of the popular myth were studies of patients who had their corpus callosum severed as part of a radical surgical intervention for epilepsy. These “split-brain” patients could function seemingly normally on many tasks, but displayed some quirks when asked to respond to the same material with different hands or when speaking (left brain) rather than pointing with their left hand (right brain).1
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(331) "The logical left brain and intuitive right brain metaphor is popular, but the real story of the difference between the two halves of your brain is more complex and more interesting.
There’s a grain of truth in all the best myths, and this is true for the left-brain/right-brain myth. Our cortex is divided into left and [...]"
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string(2052) "The logical left brain and intuitive right brain metaphor is popular, but the real story of the difference between the two halves of your brain is more complex and more interesting.
There’s a grain of truth in all the best myths, and this is true for the left-brain/right-brain myth. Our cortex is divided into left and right hemispheres, and they do seem to process information differently, but exactly how they do this isn’t like the story normally told by management gurus and the self-help literature. As with many scientific myths, the real story is less intuitive but more interesting.
Our brains follow the general pattern of the rest of our bodies: two of everything down the sides and one of everything down the middle. With the brain, the two halves are joined directly in the subcortex, but in the cortex the two halves, called hemispheres, have a gap between them. They are connected by a tight bunch of some 250 million nerve fibers, called the corpus callosum, which runs between the two hemispheres (it’s not the only way for information to cross the hemispheres, but it’s the most important).
Each hemisphere is wired up to sense and act on the opposite side of the body. So information from your right goes to the left side of the visual cortex, and signals from your left motor cortex control your right hand. For higher functions, in which information from both senses is combined, the two hemispheres seem to have different strengths and weaknesses, so that for certain tasks one hemisphere or the other will be dominant.
The origins of the popular myth were studies of patients who had their corpus callosum severed as part of a radical surgical intervention for epilepsy. These “split-brain” patients could function seemingly normally on many tasks, but displayed some quirks when asked to respond to the same material with different hands or when speaking (left brain) rather than pointing with their left hand (right brain).1
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(23) "6.8.2. How It Works (3)"
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string(322) "It is plausible that only the one hand (the right) was used for a more efficient and simple way of communicating. This would explain why language and hand dominance are on the same side (remember, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, so left-language dominance and right-hand dominance are [...]"
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string(3196) "It is plausible that only the one hand (the right) was used for a more efficient and simple way of communicating. This would explain why language and hand dominance are on the same side (remember, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, so left-language dominance and right-hand dominance are both due to the left side of the brain).
If this were the norm during evolution, it may help to explain why most left-handers still have speech areas in the left hemisphere. However, this still doesn’t answer the question of why the right hand was dominant in the beginning. At present, this can be only speculation; the important point is that right- and left-handedness are distributed differentlythey are not mirror images of each other, which has implications for the genetics of handedness and the laterality of other functions.
It has been argued that the original hand preferences evolved from a postural position preference of the right hand and consequently a left preference for reaching in arboreal (tree-living) species.8 So, with postural demands becoming less pronounced in ground-dwelling species, the left hand remained the dominant one for highly stereotyped tasks like simple reaching, whereas the right became the preferred one for more manipulative tasks or tasks requiring some skill. In other words, we would hang on with the left hand and pick fruit with the right.
Although this is an interesting theory for why the majority of the population is right-handed, it does not give any indication as to why some people are left-handed. Are left-handed people highly skilled in reaching? Are left-handed people as skilled in manipulative tasks as their right-handed counterparts? Regretfully, these questions have to wait for further research.
6.8.3. End Notes
Salive, M. E., Guralink, J. M., & Glynn, R. J. (1993). Left-handedness and mortality. American Journal of Public Health, 83, 265-267.
Annet, M. (1972). The distribution of manual asymmetry. The British Journal of Psychology, 63, 343-358.
Hartlage, L. C., & Gage, R. (1997). Unimanual performance as a measure of laterality. Neuropsyhological Review, 7(3), 143-156.
Bakan, P. (1971). Handedness and birth order. Nature, 229, 195.
Davidson, R. J., & Hugdahl, K (eds.) (1995). Brain Asymmetry. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rasmussen, T., & Milner, B. (1977). The role of early left-brain injury in determining lateralization of cerebral speech functions. Annuls of the New York Academy of Sciences, 299, 355-369.
Rizzolatti, G., & Arbib, A. (1998). Language within our grasp. Trends in Neurosciences, 21, 188-194.
MacNeilage, P. E. (1990). The “Postural Origins” theory of primate neurobiological asymmetries. In N. A. Krasneger et al. (eds.), Biological and Behavioural Determinants of Language Development, 165-168, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
6.8.4. See Also
Laska, M. (1996). Manual laterality in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) solving visually and tactually guided food-reaching tasks. Cortex, 32(4), 717-726.
Karen Bunday
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(322) "It is plausible that only the one hand (the right) was used for a more efficient and simple way of communicating. This would explain why language and hand dominance are on the same side (remember, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, so left-language dominance and right-hand dominance are [...]"
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string(3196) "It is plausible that only the one hand (the right) was used for a more efficient and simple way of communicating. This would explain why language and hand dominance are on the same side (remember, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, so left-language dominance and right-hand dominance are both due to the left side of the brain).
If this were the norm during evolution, it may help to explain why most left-handers still have speech areas in the left hemisphere. However, this still doesn’t answer the question of why the right hand was dominant in the beginning. At present, this can be only speculation; the important point is that right- and left-handedness are distributed differentlythey are not mirror images of each other, which has implications for the genetics of handedness and the laterality of other functions.
It has been argued that the original hand preferences evolved from a postural position preference of the right hand and consequently a left preference for reaching in arboreal (tree-living) species.8 So, with postural demands becoming less pronounced in ground-dwelling species, the left hand remained the dominant one for highly stereotyped tasks like simple reaching, whereas the right became the preferred one for more manipulative tasks or tasks requiring some skill. In other words, we would hang on with the left hand and pick fruit with the right.
Although this is an interesting theory for why the majority of the population is right-handed, it does not give any indication as to why some people are left-handed. Are left-handed people highly skilled in reaching? Are left-handed people as skilled in manipulative tasks as their right-handed counterparts? Regretfully, these questions have to wait for further research.
6.8.3. End Notes
Salive, M. E., Guralink, J. M., & Glynn, R. J. (1993). Left-handedness and mortality. American Journal of Public Health, 83, 265-267.
Annet, M. (1972). The distribution of manual asymmetry. The British Journal of Psychology, 63, 343-358.
Hartlage, L. C., & Gage, R. (1997). Unimanual performance as a measure of laterality. Neuropsyhological Review, 7(3), 143-156.
Bakan, P. (1971). Handedness and birth order. Nature, 229, 195.
Davidson, R. J., & Hugdahl, K (eds.) (1995). Brain Asymmetry. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rasmussen, T., & Milner, B. (1977). The role of early left-brain injury in determining lateralization of cerebral speech functions. Annuls of the New York Academy of Sciences, 299, 355-369.
Rizzolatti, G., & Arbib, A. (1998). Language within our grasp. Trends in Neurosciences, 21, 188-194.
MacNeilage, P. E. (1990). The “Postural Origins” theory of primate neurobiological asymmetries. In N. A. Krasneger et al. (eds.), Biological and Behavioural Determinants of Language Development, 165-168, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
6.8.4. See Also
Laska, M. (1996). Manual laterality in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) solving visually and tactually guided food-reaching tasks. Cortex, 32(4), 717-726.
Karen Bunday
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(17) "5.10.3. End Notes"
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string(347) "Although if you do want to dwell on the role of language in brain evolution (and vice versa), you should start by reading Terrence Deacon’s fantastic The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. New York: W. W. Norton & Company (1998).
The article that contains this theory was published by Peter Carruthers in [...]"
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string(1751) "Although if you do want to dwell on the role of language in brain evolution (and vice versa), you should start by reading Terrence Deacon’s fantastic The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. New York: W. W. Norton & Company (1998).
The article that contains this theory was published by Peter Carruthers in Behavioural and Brain Sciences. It, and the response to comments on it, are at http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/people/faculty/pcarruthers/Cognitive-language.htm and http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/people/faculty/pcarruthers/BBS-reply.htm.
OK, by “modules,” he means a lot more than that, but that’s the basic idea. Read Jerry Fodor’s Modularity of Mind (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1983) for the original articulation of this concept. The importance of modularity is also emphasized by evolutionary psychologists, such as Steven Pinker.
Much of the work Peter Carruthers bases his theory on was done at the lab of Elizabeth Spelke (http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~lds).
Strictly, you don’t have to use both kinds of information in combination at the same time to pass this test; you could use the geometric information and then use the color information, but there is other good evidence that the subjects of the experiments described hererats, children, and adultsdon’t do this.
Hermer-Vazquez, L., Spelke, E. S., & Katsnelson, A. S. (1999). Sources of flexibility in human cognition: Dual-task studies of space and language. Cognitive Psychology, 39(1), 3-36.
Berk, L. E. (November 1994). Why children talk to themselves. Scientific American, 78-83 (http://www.abacon.com/berk/ica/research.html).
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(347) "Although if you do want to dwell on the role of language in brain evolution (and vice versa), you should start by reading Terrence Deacon’s fantastic The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. New York: W. W. Norton & Company (1998).
The article that contains this theory was published by Peter Carruthers in [...]"
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string(1751) "Although if you do want to dwell on the role of language in brain evolution (and vice versa), you should start by reading Terrence Deacon’s fantastic The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. New York: W. W. Norton & Company (1998).
The article that contains this theory was published by Peter Carruthers in Behavioural and Brain Sciences. It, and the response to comments on it, are at http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/people/faculty/pcarruthers/Cognitive-language.htm and http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/people/faculty/pcarruthers/BBS-reply.htm.
OK, by “modules,” he means a lot more than that, but that’s the basic idea. Read Jerry Fodor’s Modularity of Mind (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1983) for the original articulation of this concept. The importance of modularity is also emphasized by evolutionary psychologists, such as Steven Pinker.
Much of the work Peter Carruthers bases his theory on was done at the lab of Elizabeth Spelke (http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~lds).
Strictly, you don’t have to use both kinds of information in combination at the same time to pass this test; you could use the geometric information and then use the color information, but there is other good evidence that the subjects of the experiments described hererats, children, and adultsdon’t do this.
Hermer-Vazquez, L., Spelke, E. S., & Katsnelson, A. S. (1999). Sources of flexibility in human cognition: Dual-task studies of space and language. Cognitive Psychology, 39(1), 3-36.
Berk, L. E. (November 1994). Why children talk to themselves. Scientific American, 78-83 (http://www.abacon.com/berk/ica/research.html).
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(4) "BROW"
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string(333) "Drop from the scalp to the forehead. Push the forehead down into the eyebrows. Form a very tight and terrible scowl with the eyebrows and forehead. Push eyebrows and forehead together. Hold it there. Hold it. Very easily and slowly, relax those tight muscles. Let that scowl go. Slowly, slowly. Feel the tension leaving. Smooth [...]"
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string(2184) "Drop from the scalp to the forehead. Push the forehead down into the eyebrows. Form a very tight and terrible scowl with the eyebrows and forehead. Push eyebrows and forehead together. Hold it there. Hold it. Very easily and slowly, relax those tight muscles. Let that scowl go. Slowly, slowly. Feel the tension leaving. Smooth your brow. Relax. Relax. You felt the tension, now feel the relaxation.
EYE CUPPING
Another exercise to help relax tired, smarting and hurting eyes is called cupping. This is done by cupping your hands and placing the hands over your eyes. Rubbing your hands together, palm to palm, rapidly makes your hands warm, and feels good as you cup your eyes. Rest the heel
of your hand on your cheek bones. Push lightly. Do not put any pressure on the eyes or eye lids. With the cupped hands over the eyes, consciously relax all the eye and eyelid muscles. Close your eyes lightly and relax. Hold your hands over your eyes for a few seconds as you fully
relax the eye area. Remove the hands and then repeat the “cupping” again. Any time you feel tension building around the eye area, cup the eyes for a quick relief. Visualization is very important when you are relaxing. Think of every muscle you tighten as being drawn as tight as a bow string. When you begin to relax, think of the muscles becoming loose and flabby as you begin to relax. While cupping your eyes, think of them as soft balls of cotton. Think soft and limp. You should practice cupping your eyes now. Think soft and limp. Then return to this point. DO IT NOW!
It is always a good idea to cup your eyes every time you begin reading or studying. From time to time, while reading or studying, if you will pause, relax and cup your eyes while visualizing, your ability to concentrate will increase. Immediately after cupping, your eye vision is most acute. That is because your eyes are more relaxed. Eyes free from tension and relaxed, not only feel better, but see better. Cupping is good exercise to use, often.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
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string(333) "Drop from the scalp to the forehead. Push the forehead down into the eyebrows. Form a very tight and terrible scowl with the eyebrows and forehead. Push eyebrows and forehead together. Hold it there. Hold it. Very easily and slowly, relax those tight muscles. Let that scowl go. Slowly, slowly. Feel the tension leaving. Smooth [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2184) "Drop from the scalp to the forehead. Push the forehead down into the eyebrows. Form a very tight and terrible scowl with the eyebrows and forehead. Push eyebrows and forehead together. Hold it there. Hold it. Very easily and slowly, relax those tight muscles. Let that scowl go. Slowly, slowly. Feel the tension leaving. Smooth your brow. Relax. Relax. You felt the tension, now feel the relaxation.
EYE CUPPING
Another exercise to help relax tired, smarting and hurting eyes is called cupping. This is done by cupping your hands and placing the hands over your eyes. Rubbing your hands together, palm to palm, rapidly makes your hands warm, and feels good as you cup your eyes. Rest the heel
of your hand on your cheek bones. Push lightly. Do not put any pressure on the eyes or eye lids. With the cupped hands over the eyes, consciously relax all the eye and eyelid muscles. Close your eyes lightly and relax. Hold your hands over your eyes for a few seconds as you fully
relax the eye area. Remove the hands and then repeat the “cupping” again. Any time you feel tension building around the eye area, cup the eyes for a quick relief. Visualization is very important when you are relaxing. Think of every muscle you tighten as being drawn as tight as a bow string. When you begin to relax, think of the muscles becoming loose and flabby as you begin to relax. While cupping your eyes, think of them as soft balls of cotton. Think soft and limp. You should practice cupping your eyes now. Think soft and limp. Then return to this point. DO IT NOW!
It is always a good idea to cup your eyes every time you begin reading or studying. From time to time, while reading or studying, if you will pause, relax and cup your eyes while visualizing, your ability to concentrate will increase. Immediately after cupping, your eye vision is most acute. That is because your eyes are more relaxed. Eyes free from tension and relaxed, not only feel better, but see better. Cupping is good exercise to use, often.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
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["title"]=>
string(23) "6.8.2. How It Works (2)"
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string(338) "Nine out of 10 people use their right hand predominantly, and at least 9 out of 10 people have their major functions on their left side.5 This includes around two-thirds of left-handers. Everyone else, a significant minority, either uses the right hemisphere for speech or uses both hemispheres.6
One test of which half of the brain [...]"
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string(1903) "Nine out of 10 people use their right hand predominantly, and at least 9 out of 10 people have their major functions on their left side.5 This includes around two-thirds of left-handers. Everyone else, a significant minority, either uses the right hemisphere for speech or uses both hemispheres.6
One test of which half of the brain is dominant for language is the Wada test. This involves a short-acting anesthetic (e.g., sodium amytal) being injected into the carotid artery. This transiently anesthetizes the left hemisphere, thus testing the functional capabilities of the affected half of the brain. People for whom the left hemisphere is indeed dominant for language (i.e., most of us) will temporarily become aphasic, losing the ability to comprehend or produce language. If counting at the time, you’ll stop being able to do so for a few beats when injected with the anesthetic.
The reason most people are still left-brainers for language may be due to how our brain functions became lateralized [Hack #69] before the evolution of language, the brain lateralizing separately from the use of our hands.
It has been suggested that the speech areas of the brain developed near the motor cortex because hand gestures were the principal form of communication before speech.7 Studies show that, when a participant observes hand and mouth gestures, parts of the motor cortex (F5) and Broca’s area (found in the left frontal lobe, specifically involved in the production of language) are stimulated. It is argued that before speech our ancestors used gestures to communicate, much as monkeys and apes do now (i.e., lip smacks). And so the human speech circuit is a consequence of the precursor of Broca’s area, which was endowed (before speech) with mechanisms to recognize action made by others, from which speech developed.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(338) "Nine out of 10 people use their right hand predominantly, and at least 9 out of 10 people have their major functions on their left side.5 This includes around two-thirds of left-handers. Everyone else, a significant minority, either uses the right hemisphere for speech or uses both hemispheres.6
One test of which half of the brain [...]"
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string(1903) "Nine out of 10 people use their right hand predominantly, and at least 9 out of 10 people have their major functions on their left side.5 This includes around two-thirds of left-handers. Everyone else, a significant minority, either uses the right hemisphere for speech or uses both hemispheres.6
One test of which half of the brain is dominant for language is the Wada test. This involves a short-acting anesthetic (e.g., sodium amytal) being injected into the carotid artery. This transiently anesthetizes the left hemisphere, thus testing the functional capabilities of the affected half of the brain. People for whom the left hemisphere is indeed dominant for language (i.e., most of us) will temporarily become aphasic, losing the ability to comprehend or produce language. If counting at the time, you’ll stop being able to do so for a few beats when injected with the anesthetic.
The reason most people are still left-brainers for language may be due to how our brain functions became lateralized [Hack #69] before the evolution of language, the brain lateralizing separately from the use of our hands.
It has been suggested that the speech areas of the brain developed near the motor cortex because hand gestures were the principal form of communication before speech.7 Studies show that, when a participant observes hand and mouth gestures, parts of the motor cortex (F5) and Broca’s area (found in the left frontal lobe, specifically involved in the production of language) are stimulated. It is argued that before speech our ancestors used gestures to communicate, much as monkeys and apes do now (i.e., lip smacks). And so the human speech circuit is a consequence of the precursor of Broca’s area, which was endowed (before speech) with mechanisms to recognize action made by others, from which speech developed.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(20) "RELAXATION EXERCISES"
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string(313) "Starting this exercise, you should be in a location and position that is comfortable and in which you can totally respond to the directions you will receive. Sit or lie comfortably and relaxed. Keep your eyes closed. There is nothing to look at, or read for the rest of this exercise. With your eyes closed, [...]"
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string(1698) "Starting this exercise, you should be in a location and position that is comfortable and in which you can totally respond to the directions you will receive. Sit or lie comfortably and relaxed. Keep your eyes closed. There is nothing to look at, or read for the rest of this exercise. With your eyes closed, think only of what you are hearing. Pay attention to the muscles around the areas we talk about. If you need time to get into a comfortable position, turn the recorder off and when ready, turn it back on. DO IT NOW!
THE HEAD
Start at the top of your head. Raise your eyebrows. Push them right up toward the top of your head. Push hard. Hold it. Push harder. Hold it there. Feel the tension tighten in the muscles in the forehead and scalp area. Now, gradually and slowly, lower your eyebrows. Smooth your
forehead. This tension created by raising your eyebrows extended back into your scalp area. As you relaxed, the entire top of your head relaxed. Pay attention to the top of your head gaining tension and then releasing it as you repeat this exercise.
Raise your eyebrows high. Push them right up to the top of your head. Push hard. Notice the tightness all the way back over your head and to the rear of your scalp. Keep pushing. Hold it.
Hold it. Now, very slowly, slowly, begin to lower your eyebrows. Gradually and slowly. Smooth your forehead. Totally relax that area. Pay special attention to how good it feels. Relax. Relax. Could you feel the tension begin to leave as soon as you began to relax?
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
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string(313) "Starting this exercise, you should be in a location and position that is comfortable and in which you can totally respond to the directions you will receive. Sit or lie comfortably and relaxed. Keep your eyes closed. There is nothing to look at, or read for the rest of this exercise. With your eyes closed, [...]"
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string(1698) "Starting this exercise, you should be in a location and position that is comfortable and in which you can totally respond to the directions you will receive. Sit or lie comfortably and relaxed. Keep your eyes closed. There is nothing to look at, or read for the rest of this exercise. With your eyes closed, think only of what you are hearing. Pay attention to the muscles around the areas we talk about. If you need time to get into a comfortable position, turn the recorder off and when ready, turn it back on. DO IT NOW!
THE HEAD
Start at the top of your head. Raise your eyebrows. Push them right up toward the top of your head. Push hard. Hold it. Push harder. Hold it there. Feel the tension tighten in the muscles in the forehead and scalp area. Now, gradually and slowly, lower your eyebrows. Smooth your
forehead. This tension created by raising your eyebrows extended back into your scalp area. As you relaxed, the entire top of your head relaxed. Pay attention to the top of your head gaining tension and then releasing it as you repeat this exercise.
Raise your eyebrows high. Push them right up to the top of your head. Push hard. Notice the tightness all the way back over your head and to the rear of your scalp. Keep pushing. Hold it.
Hold it. Now, very slowly, slowly, begin to lower your eyebrows. Gradually and slowly. Smooth your forehead. Totally relax that area. Pay special attention to how good it feels. Relax. Relax. Could you feel the tension begin to leave as soon as you began to relax?
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1257483291)
}
[34]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(45) "Benefits of Shopping Zenni Optical Eyeglasses"
["link"]=>
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string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=741#comments"
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["description"]=>
string(316) "Smart shopper like to buy everything they need online because they know that online shopping really can save time and money. How about you? If you are looking for eyeglasses for yourself or for your kids, you can also get best quality eyeglasses if you visit Zenni Optical. People like to shop at Zenni Optical [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
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string(830) "Smart shopper like to buy everything they need online because they know that online shopping really can save time and money. How about you? If you are looking for eyeglasses for yourself or for your kids, you can also get best quality eyeglasses if you visit Zenni Optical. People like to shop at Zenni Optical website because they can get cheap price like $8 Prescription Zenni Glasses. If you like to match your eyeglasses frames with your clothes, you can also buy the stylish New Arrivals collection as well. If you prefer plastic full-rim frame which has many colors, you can select the Holiday Fun Eyeglasses collections. So, get it now!
"
}
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["summary"]=>
string(316) "Smart shopper like to buy everything they need online because they know that online shopping really can save time and money. How about you? If you are looking for eyeglasses for yourself or for your kids, you can also get best quality eyeglasses if you visit Zenni Optical. People like to shop at Zenni Optical [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(830) "Smart shopper like to buy everything they need online because they know that online shopping really can save time and money. How about you? If you are looking for eyeglasses for yourself or for your kids, you can also get best quality eyeglasses if you visit Zenni Optical. People like to shop at Zenni Optical website because they can get cheap price like $8 Prescription Zenni Glasses. If you like to match your eyeglasses frames with your clothes, you can also buy the stylish New Arrivals collection as well. If you prefer plastic full-rim frame which has many colors, you can select the Holiday Fun Eyeglasses collections. So, get it now!
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1257394141)
}
[35]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(19) "6.8.2. How It Works"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=407"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=407#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:10:16 +0000"
["dc"]=>
array(1) {
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string(5) "admin"
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["category"]=>
string(13) "Uncategorized"
["guid"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=407"
["description"]=>
string(294) "By doing the previous tests, you can see that you can still use your off-hand for some things and that it is easier to use your off-hand for some things than for other things. Most people have some things for which they use their dominant hand, some things they may use both for, and some [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
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string(1467) "By doing the previous tests, you can see that you can still use your off-hand for some things and that it is easier to use your off-hand for some things than for other things. Most people have some things for which they use their dominant hand, some things they may use both for, and some for which they use their off-hand.
So, in a sense, describing people as left-handed or right-handed is limiting because it puts them into only one category and ignores the extent to which they may be in that categoryor in between the two. This is why, of course, we used behavioral measures to work out the handedness quotient, rather than just asking people.3
Handedness is only weakly genetic. The child of two left-handers has a 45-50% chance of being left-handed, and thus handedness must partly be to do with how the child is brought up as well, so we know that there is a large nongenetic influence on whether you turn out to be a left-hander. Evidence also suggests that left-handedness may be associated with neurological insult in the womb or during delivery.4
If you try the test out on a few people, you will see that left-handed people more easily use their right hand than right-handed people use their left hand. In part, this is probably because our right-handed world forces left-handers to learn to use their right more, and it could also be for deeper reasons to do with brain lateralization as well.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(294) "By doing the previous tests, you can see that you can still use your off-hand for some things and that it is easier to use your off-hand for some things than for other things. Most people have some things for which they use their dominant hand, some things they may use both for, and some [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1467) "By doing the previous tests, you can see that you can still use your off-hand for some things and that it is easier to use your off-hand for some things than for other things. Most people have some things for which they use their dominant hand, some things they may use both for, and some for which they use their off-hand.
So, in a sense, describing people as left-handed or right-handed is limiting because it puts them into only one category and ignores the extent to which they may be in that categoryor in between the two. This is why, of course, we used behavioral measures to work out the handedness quotient, rather than just asking people.3
Handedness is only weakly genetic. The child of two left-handers has a 45-50% chance of being left-handed, and thus handedness must partly be to do with how the child is brought up as well, so we know that there is a large nongenetic influence on whether you turn out to be a left-hander. Evidence also suggests that left-handedness may be associated with neurological insult in the womb or during delivery.4
If you try the test out on a few people, you will see that left-handed people more easily use their right hand than right-handed people use their left hand. In part, this is probably because our right-handed world forces left-handers to learn to use their right more, and it could also be for deeper reasons to do with brain lateralization as well.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1257214216)
}
[36]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(24) "HOW TO RECOGNIZE TENSION"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=571"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=571#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:52:42 +0000"
["dc"]=>
array(1) {
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["category"]=>
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["guid"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=571"
["description"]=>
string(303) "It is not unusual for you to be unaware of the presence of tension. Many people develop great tension when they sleep. They even grind their teeth while sleeping. While sleeping, it is possible for your eyes to be tense and strained. When you wake up with tired and smarting eyes, it is because of [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
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string(1316) "It is not unusual for you to be unaware of the presence of tension. Many people develop great tension when they sleep. They even grind their teeth while sleeping. While sleeping, it is possible for your eyes to be tense and strained. When you wake up with tired and smarting eyes, it is because of that tension while sleeping. As you learn to relax more effectively, you will find that you not only read much more effectively, but all areas of your life will be positively affected because of your learning the relaxation skill.
When reading and becoming involved in other skill activity areas, the area most singly affected by tension is that of the head. The head area will be used to demonstrate tension. You will be asked to tighten muscles in different parts of the face and head to simulate and demonstrate tension and then relaxation.
Once you learn to recognize tension and then learn to release it through relaxation, you can do this at any time, in any place. You can begin to eliminate your “tension headaches,” and generally feel better when you start to get “up-tight.” It is important that you do the relaxation exercises now.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
}
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string(303) "It is not unusual for you to be unaware of the presence of tension. Many people develop great tension when they sleep. They even grind their teeth while sleeping. While sleeping, it is possible for your eyes to be tense and strained. When you wake up with tired and smarting eyes, it is because of [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1316) "It is not unusual for you to be unaware of the presence of tension. Many people develop great tension when they sleep. They even grind their teeth while sleeping. While sleeping, it is possible for your eyes to be tense and strained. When you wake up with tired and smarting eyes, it is because of that tension while sleeping. As you learn to relax more effectively, you will find that you not only read much more effectively, but all areas of your life will be positively affected because of your learning the relaxation skill.
When reading and becoming involved in other skill activity areas, the area most singly affected by tension is that of the head. The head area will be used to demonstrate tension. You will be asked to tighten muscles in different parts of the face and head to simulate and demonstrate tension and then relaxation.
Once you learn to recognize tension and then learn to release it through relaxation, you can do this at any time, in any place. You can begin to eliminate your “tension headaches,” and generally feel better when you start to get “up-tight.” It is important that you do the relaxation exercises now.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1256964762)
}
[37]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(43) "CHAPTER 22 Other Potential Promemory Agents"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=526"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=526#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:01:14 +0000"
["dc"]=>
array(1) {
["creator"]=>
string(5) "admin"
}
["category"]=>
string(13) "Uncategorized"
["guid"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=526"
["description"]=>
string(374) "MANY OTHER MEDICATIONS have been proposed as treatments for mild memory loss, or as part of an antiaging regimen. These agents include DHEA, hormones and related peptides, and metallic elements. Although several of these substances are intriguing, the knowledge base is currently insufficient to include them in the Memory Program. Nonetheless, knowing the basic facts [...]"
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string(1964) "MANY OTHER MEDICATIONS have been proposed as treatments for mild memory loss, or as part of an antiaging regimen. These agents include DHEA, hormones and related peptides, and metallic elements. Although several of these substances are intriguing, the knowledge base is currently insufficient to include them in the Memory Program. Nonetheless, knowing the basic facts will give you a better understanding of the stories that you are likely to hear in the media about one or more of these agents as potential cures for memory loss.
What about DHEA?
Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, is a natural substance produced primarily by the adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys in the lower back. DHEA is the main starting point for the synthesis of over twenty steroids, including the female hormone estrogen and the male hormone testosterone. Some call it the mother of all steroid hormones.
Actions of DHEA
Heightens sex drive.
Raises general activity level.
Strengthens immune function.
In mice, maintains neuronal structure, improves the ability to traverse a maze.
Increases longevity in mice.
In the human brain, DHEA is present at six times its concentration in the bloodstream. In the average person, DHEA blood levels decline fivefold from the age of twenty to seventy years. A few proponents quote this fact to claim that giving DHEA to older people boosts low blood levels and corrects a ‘‘deficit.” More systematic research is needed to find out if this claim is valid. Of note, in a study of older men, those with the highest DHEA blood levels had the best general health over the course of a decade of follow-up. An alternative to DHEA is pregnenolone, a natural steroid that is converted to DHEA in the body.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
}
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array(1) {
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string(374) "MANY OTHER MEDICATIONS have been proposed as treatments for mild memory loss, or as part of an antiaging regimen. These agents include DHEA, hormones and related peptides, and metallic elements. Although several of these substances are intriguing, the knowledge base is currently insufficient to include them in the Memory Program. Nonetheless, knowing the basic facts [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1964) "MANY OTHER MEDICATIONS have been proposed as treatments for mild memory loss, or as part of an antiaging regimen. These agents include DHEA, hormones and related peptides, and metallic elements. Although several of these substances are intriguing, the knowledge base is currently insufficient to include them in the Memory Program. Nonetheless, knowing the basic facts will give you a better understanding of the stories that you are likely to hear in the media about one or more of these agents as potential cures for memory loss.
What about DHEA?
Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, is a natural substance produced primarily by the adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys in the lower back. DHEA is the main starting point for the synthesis of over twenty steroids, including the female hormone estrogen and the male hormone testosterone. Some call it the mother of all steroid hormones.
Actions of DHEA
Heightens sex drive.
Raises general activity level.
Strengthens immune function.
In mice, maintains neuronal structure, improves the ability to traverse a maze.
Increases longevity in mice.
In the human brain, DHEA is present at six times its concentration in the bloodstream. In the average person, DHEA blood levels decline fivefold from the age of twenty to seventy years. A few proponents quote this fact to claim that giving DHEA to older people boosts low blood levels and corrects a ‘‘deficit.” More systematic research is needed to find out if this claim is valid. Of note, in a study of older men, those with the highest DHEA blood levels had the best general health over the course of a decade of follow-up. An alternative to DHEA is pregnenolone, a natural steroid that is converted to DHEA in the body.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1256691674)
}
[38]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(16) "6.8.1. In Action"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=405"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=405#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:00:35 +0000"
["dc"]=>
array(1) {
["creator"]=>
string(5) "admin"
}
["category"]=>
string(13) "Uncategorized"
["guid"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=405"
["description"]=>
string(308) "Have a go at the following tests to determine which is your dominant hand and just how dominant it is. Do each test twiceonce with each handand record your score, in seconds, both times. You don’t have to do all of them; just see which you can do given the equipment you have on hand.
Darts
Throw [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
["encoded"]=>
string(1628) "Have a go at the following tests to determine which is your dominant hand and just how dominant it is. Do each test twiceonce with each handand record your score, in seconds, both times. You don’t have to do all of them; just see which you can do given the equipment you have on hand.
Darts
Throw three darts at a dartboard. (Be very careful when doing this with your off-hand!) Add up the distances from the bull’s-eye.
Handwriting
Measure the time that it takes to write the alphabet as one word, six times. Start with the hand you normally write with and rest for 1 minute before starting with the other hand.
Drawing
Measure the time that it takes to draw a line between two of the lines of some lined paper. Add a penalty of 2 seconds for each time your line touches one of the ruled lines.
Picking up objects with tweezers
Using tweezers, measure the time that it takes to pick up and transfer 12 pieces of wire from one container to another.
Stoppering bottles
Measure the time, in seconds, it takes to put the lids on five jars, the corks back in five wine bottles, or the cap back on five beer bottles.
Here’s how to calculate your handedness quotient:
(Left-hand score - Right-hand score) / (Right-hand score + Left-hand score) x 100
You can now see how the score differs for the different tasks and take an average to see your average dominance. Negative numbers mean right-handedness, positive numbers mean left-handedness. Bigger numbers mean greater dominance by one hand.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
}
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array(1) {
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string(308) "Have a go at the following tests to determine which is your dominant hand and just how dominant it is. Do each test twiceonce with each handand record your score, in seconds, both times. You don’t have to do all of them; just see which you can do given the equipment you have on hand.
Darts
Throw [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1628) "Have a go at the following tests to determine which is your dominant hand and just how dominant it is. Do each test twiceonce with each handand record your score, in seconds, both times. You don’t have to do all of them; just see which you can do given the equipment you have on hand.
Darts
Throw three darts at a dartboard. (Be very careful when doing this with your off-hand!) Add up the distances from the bull’s-eye.
Handwriting
Measure the time that it takes to write the alphabet as one word, six times. Start with the hand you normally write with and rest for 1 minute before starting with the other hand.
Drawing
Measure the time that it takes to draw a line between two of the lines of some lined paper. Add a penalty of 2 seconds for each time your line touches one of the ruled lines.
Picking up objects with tweezers
Using tweezers, measure the time that it takes to pick up and transfer 12 pieces of wire from one container to another.
Stoppering bottles
Measure the time, in seconds, it takes to put the lids on five jars, the corks back in five wine bottles, or the cap back on five beer bottles.
Here’s how to calculate your handedness quotient:
(Left-hand score - Right-hand score) / (Right-hand score + Left-hand score) x 100
You can now see how the score differs for the different tasks and take an average to see your average dominance. Negative numbers mean right-handedness, positive numbers mean left-handedness. Bigger numbers mean greater dominance by one hand.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1256432435)
}
[39]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(33) "There are two types of relaxation"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=569"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=569#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:48:32 +0000"
["dc"]=>
array(1) {
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string(5) "admin"
}
["category"]=>
string(13) "Uncategorized"
["guid"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=569"
["description"]=>
string(374) "There are two types of relaxation: “Dynamic” and “Passive.” When muscles are completely relaxed and simply dormant, it is called PASSIVE RELAXATION. When the muscles are relaxed, but moving smoothly and easily, it is called DYNAMIC RELAXATION. The latter is best illustrated by an athlete running easily in a relaxed manner.
This same dynamic relaxation, used [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
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string(1988) "There are two types of relaxation: “Dynamic” and “Passive.” When muscles are completely relaxed and simply dormant, it is called PASSIVE RELAXATION. When the muscles are relaxed, but moving smoothly and easily, it is called DYNAMIC RELAXATION. The latter is best illustrated by an athlete running easily in a relaxed manner.
This same dynamic relaxation, used by athletes, must be used in the reading activity. All barriers to relaxation must be removed. No tension of any kind should be felt. As you practice and progress through the program, you will learn to relax and your eye movement, while reading, will be easy, smooth and natural. The more you practice, the more easily and the more quickly it will be learned.
The most important step you must take in developing your Alpha-Netics Rapid Reading skills, is learning the skill of relaxation. It is a skill, and like any other skill, it can be learned with practice. You will be given passive relaxation exercises to help you develop the relaxation skill. Once you learn it, you will be able to relax at any time, and in any place. If you can relax this way, you will be able to function more effectively with dynamic relaxation exercises. It is important that you understand and be able to function with dynamic relaxation.
There have been many varied and interesting experiences with people using the relaxation exercises taught by the program. Readers have stated that they could only read for a few minutes before their eyes became tired and they became sleepy. After using the program and learning the relaxation program, they can now read for indefinite periods of time. Others have stated that the ability to relax is so important to them that learning the relaxation skill alone was worth more than the total amount they paid for the program.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
}
["wfw"]=>
array(1) {
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string(37) "http://zombiefud.com/?feed=rss2&p=569"
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string(374) "There are two types of relaxation: “Dynamic” and “Passive.” When muscles are completely relaxed and simply dormant, it is called PASSIVE RELAXATION. When the muscles are relaxed, but moving smoothly and easily, it is called DYNAMIC RELAXATION. The latter is best illustrated by an athlete running easily in a relaxed manner.
This same dynamic relaxation, used [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1988) "There are two types of relaxation: “Dynamic” and “Passive.” When muscles are completely relaxed and simply dormant, it is called PASSIVE RELAXATION. When the muscles are relaxed, but moving smoothly and easily, it is called DYNAMIC RELAXATION. The latter is best illustrated by an athlete running easily in a relaxed manner.
This same dynamic relaxation, used by athletes, must be used in the reading activity. All barriers to relaxation must be removed. No tension of any kind should be felt. As you practice and progress through the program, you will learn to relax and your eye movement, while reading, will be easy, smooth and natural. The more you practice, the more easily and the more quickly it will be learned.
The most important step you must take in developing your Alpha-Netics Rapid Reading skills, is learning the skill of relaxation. It is a skill, and like any other skill, it can be learned with practice. You will be given passive relaxation exercises to help you develop the relaxation skill. Once you learn it, you will be able to relax at any time, and in any place. If you can relax this way, you will be able to function more effectively with dynamic relaxation exercises. It is important that you understand and be able to function with dynamic relaxation.
There have been many varied and interesting experiences with people using the relaxation exercises taught by the program. Readers have stated that they could only read for a few minutes before their eyes became tired and they became sleepy. After using the program and learning the relaxation program, they can now read for indefinite periods of time. Others have stated that the ability to relax is so important to them that learning the relaxation skill alone was worth more than the total amount they paid for the program.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1256186912)
}
[40]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(29) "Hack 68. Test Your Handedness"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=403"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=403#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:00:11 +0000"
["dc"]=>
array(1) {
["creator"]=>
string(5) "admin"
}
["category"]=>
string(13) "Uncategorized"
["guid"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=403"
["description"]=>
string(309) "We all have a hand preference when undertaking manual tasks. But why is this so? And do you always prefer the same hand, or does it vary with what you are doing? Does the way people vary their hand preference differ between right- and left-handers?
The world is a right-handed one, as will be obvious to [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
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string(1634) "We all have a hand preference when undertaking manual tasks. But why is this so? And do you always prefer the same hand, or does it vary with what you are doing? Does the way people vary their hand preference differ between right- and left-handers?
The world is a right-handed one, as will be obvious to left-handers. Most tools are made for right-handed people. Implements such as scissors, knives, coffee pots, and so on are all constructed for the right-handed majority. In consequence, the accident rate for left-handers is higher than for rightand not just in tool use; the rate of traffic fatalities among left-handers is also greater than for right.1
The word “sinister,” which now means “ill-omened,” originally meant “left-handed.” The corresponding word for “right-handed” is “dexter,” from which we get the word “dexterous.”
T.S.
Nine out of 10 people are right-handed.2 The proportion appears to have been stable over thousands of years and across all cultures in which handedness has been examined. Anthropologists have been able to determine the incidence of handedness in ancient cultures by examining artifacts, such as the shape of flint axes. Based on evidence like this and other evidence such as writing about handedness in antiquity, our species appears always to have been a predominantly right-handed one.
But even right-handers vary in just how right-handed they are, and this variation may have a link to how you use the different sides of your brain [Hack #69] .
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
}
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string(309) "We all have a hand preference when undertaking manual tasks. But why is this so? And do you always prefer the same hand, or does it vary with what you are doing? Does the way people vary their hand preference differ between right- and left-handers?
The world is a right-handed one, as will be obvious to [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1634) "We all have a hand preference when undertaking manual tasks. But why is this so? And do you always prefer the same hand, or does it vary with what you are doing? Does the way people vary their hand preference differ between right- and left-handers?
The world is a right-handed one, as will be obvious to left-handers. Most tools are made for right-handed people. Implements such as scissors, knives, coffee pots, and so on are all constructed for the right-handed majority. In consequence, the accident rate for left-handers is higher than for rightand not just in tool use; the rate of traffic fatalities among left-handers is also greater than for right.1
The word “sinister,” which now means “ill-omened,” originally meant “left-handed.” The corresponding word for “right-handed” is “dexter,” from which we get the word “dexterous.”
T.S.
Nine out of 10 people are right-handed.2 The proportion appears to have been stable over thousands of years and across all cultures in which handedness has been examined. Anthropologists have been able to determine the incidence of handedness in ancient cultures by examining artifacts, such as the shape of flint axes. Based on evidence like this and other evidence such as writing about handedness in antiquity, our species appears always to have been a predominantly right-handed one.
But even right-handers vary in just how right-handed they are, and this variation may have a link to how you use the different sides of your brain [Hack #69] .
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1255914011)
}
[41]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(35) "Hack 67. Objects Ask to Be Used (3)"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=401"
["comments"]=>
string(36) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=401#comments"
["pubdate"]=>
string(31) "Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:00:01 +0000"
["dc"]=>
array(1) {
["creator"]=>
string(5) "admin"
}
["category"]=>
string(13) "Uncategorized"
["guid"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=401"
["description"]=>
string(345) "So, objects can produce movements within our mind, but just how do they do so? We don’t know the answer to this yet. One possibility is that these effects happen automatically, as Gibson suggested. Our system for visual perception has two routes [Hack #66] : the ventral (or “what?”) route, concerned with the identity of [...]"
["content"]=>
array(1) {
["encoded"]=>
string(2811) "So, objects can produce movements within our mind, but just how do they do so? We don’t know the answer to this yet. One possibility is that these effects happen automatically, as Gibson suggested. Our system for visual perception has two routes [Hack #66] : the ventral (or “what?”) route, concerned with the identity of the object and the dorsal (”where?” or “how?”) route, concerned with location and action. Affordances may act directly on the dorsal stream, without relying on any higher processing; information about the type of movement might be extracted directly from the shape or location of the object.
However, our knowledge about objects must play a role. We certainly couldn’t have evolved to respond to everyday objects of todayprehistoric man didn’t live in a world filled with door handles and coffee mugs! These automatic responses must be learned through experience. Recently, Tucker and Ellis4 found that merely seeing an object’s name was enough to speed reaction times to produce the relevant size of grasp. Thus, our previous experience and knowledge about acting upon objects become bound up with the way that we represent each object in our brains. So, whenever you see (or simply consider) an object, the possibility of what you might do with it is automatically triggered in your mind.
One point to remember from this research is that objects will exert a constant “pull” on people to be used in the ways that they afford. Don’t be surprised if people who are tired, in a hurry, or simply not paying attention (or who just have a lack of respect for how you wanted the object to be used) end up automatically responding to the actions the object offers. One practical example: if you don’t want something to be used by accident (e.g., an ejector seat), don’t have it triggered by the same action as something else that is used constantly without much thought (e.g., have it triggered by a twist switch, rather than by a button like the ignition).
T. S.
6.7.3. End Notes
Tucker, M., & Ellis, R. (1998). On the relationship between seen objects and components of potential actions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 24, 830-846.
de’Sperati, C., & Stucchi, N. (1997). Recognizing the motion of a graspable object is guided by handedness. NeuroReport, 8, 2761-2765.
Grezes, J., & Decety, J. (2002). Does visual perception of object afford action? Evidence from a neuroimaging study. Neuropsychologia, 40, 212-222.
Tucker, M., & Ellis, R. (2004). Action priming by briefly presented objects. Acta Psychologica, 116, 185-203.
Ellen Poliakoff
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(345) "So, objects can produce movements within our mind, but just how do they do so? We don’t know the answer to this yet. One possibility is that these effects happen automatically, as Gibson suggested. Our system for visual perception has two routes [Hack #66] : the ventral (or “what?”) route, concerned with the identity of [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2811) "So, objects can produce movements within our mind, but just how do they do so? We don’t know the answer to this yet. One possibility is that these effects happen automatically, as Gibson suggested. Our system for visual perception has two routes [Hack #66] : the ventral (or “what?”) route, concerned with the identity of the object and the dorsal (”where?” or “how?”) route, concerned with location and action. Affordances may act directly on the dorsal stream, without relying on any higher processing; information about the type of movement might be extracted directly from the shape or location of the object.
However, our knowledge about objects must play a role. We certainly couldn’t have evolved to respond to everyday objects of todayprehistoric man didn’t live in a world filled with door handles and coffee mugs! These automatic responses must be learned through experience. Recently, Tucker and Ellis4 found that merely seeing an object’s name was enough to speed reaction times to produce the relevant size of grasp. Thus, our previous experience and knowledge about acting upon objects become bound up with the way that we represent each object in our brains. So, whenever you see (or simply consider) an object, the possibility of what you might do with it is automatically triggered in your mind.
One point to remember from this research is that objects will exert a constant “pull” on people to be used in the ways that they afford. Don’t be surprised if people who are tired, in a hurry, or simply not paying attention (or who just have a lack of respect for how you wanted the object to be used) end up automatically responding to the actions the object offers. One practical example: if you don’t want something to be used by accident (e.g., an ejector seat), don’t have it triggered by the same action as something else that is used constantly without much thought (e.g., have it triggered by a twist switch, rather than by a button like the ignition).
T. S.
6.7.3. End Notes
Tucker, M., & Ellis, R. (1998). On the relationship between seen objects and components of potential actions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 24, 830-846.
de’Sperati, C., & Stucchi, N. (1997). Recognizing the motion of a graspable object is guided by handedness. NeuroReport, 8, 2761-2765.
Grezes, J., & Decety, J. (2002). Does visual perception of object afford action? Evidence from a neuroimaging study. Neuropsychologia, 40, 212-222.
Tucker, M., & Ellis, R. (2004). Action priming by briefly presented objects. Acta Psychologica, 116, 185-203.
Ellen Poliakoff
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[42]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(38) "THE GREATEST ENEMY TO READING: TENSION"
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["description"]=>
string(319) "Most people say they don’t read more than they do because it gives them a headache, or they just can’t keep their eyes open, or they just can’t develop and keep their interest level up, or something similar. The people who are having these thoughts and problems believe that these are an inseparable part of [...]"
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string(2643) "Most people say they don’t read more than they do because it gives them a headache, or they just can’t keep their eyes open, or they just can’t develop and keep their interest level up, or something similar. The people who are having these thoughts and problems believe that these are an inseparable part of reading.
For them, these problems really are an inseparable part of reading because they have become a part of their reading habits. All these problems are caused by one thing, TENSION. Tension is not inevitable. As long as tension is present, the reader will always have discomfort, like some of the problems mentioned above or something similar. Tension can be created voluntarily and involuntarily, but can be eliminated with concentrated effort. Tension means tight or taut. The obvious solution to something tight is to loosen it. Tension in a person takes the form of tight muscles and mental tightness. The solution is relaxation, both physically and mentally. Once you learn to relax properly, at any place or time, you should be able to take about 10 minutes and feel almost completely rested. This is, in fact, not difficult to learn or to do.
READING CONDITIONS
When you are preparing to read, take your reading conditions into consideration first. The greatest cause of tension in readers is the condition under which they are reading. Poor light, glare or poor posture, all create tension while reading. When you read for just a few minutes, and feel tired or sleepy, it is usually a result of eye strain and tension caused by poor reading conditions. Eliminating tension by eliminating poor reading conditions must be your top priority.
You should always create as near to ideal reading conditions as you possibly can. The ideal reading position is seated in a comfortable, firm chair with the book on a table or desk, tilted slightly toward the reader. The room should be well lit, with the reading area lighted even more directly than the rest of the room.
When you begin to practice as instructed, you are going to be doing things that are contrary to your primary habits. This will begin to develop tension. As you push yourself across the printed page and you are intentionally trying not to see the words, you are going against your normal reading habits. To avoid building tension, you must make every effort to relax. This effort will make your learning easier. Your biggest road block to learning these new reading skills is tension.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
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string(319) "Most people say they don’t read more than they do because it gives them a headache, or they just can’t keep their eyes open, or they just can’t develop and keep their interest level up, or something similar. The people who are having these thoughts and problems believe that these are an inseparable part of [...]"
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string(2643) "Most people say they don’t read more than they do because it gives them a headache, or they just can’t keep their eyes open, or they just can’t develop and keep their interest level up, or something similar. The people who are having these thoughts and problems believe that these are an inseparable part of reading.
For them, these problems really are an inseparable part of reading because they have become a part of their reading habits. All these problems are caused by one thing, TENSION. Tension is not inevitable. As long as tension is present, the reader will always have discomfort, like some of the problems mentioned above or something similar. Tension can be created voluntarily and involuntarily, but can be eliminated with concentrated effort. Tension means tight or taut. The obvious solution to something tight is to loosen it. Tension in a person takes the form of tight muscles and mental tightness. The solution is relaxation, both physically and mentally. Once you learn to relax properly, at any place or time, you should be able to take about 10 minutes and feel almost completely rested. This is, in fact, not difficult to learn or to do.
READING CONDITIONS
When you are preparing to read, take your reading conditions into consideration first. The greatest cause of tension in readers is the condition under which they are reading. Poor light, glare or poor posture, all create tension while reading. When you read for just a few minutes, and feel tired or sleepy, it is usually a result of eye strain and tension caused by poor reading conditions. Eliminating tension by eliminating poor reading conditions must be your top priority.
You should always create as near to ideal reading conditions as you possibly can. The ideal reading position is seated in a comfortable, firm chair with the book on a table or desk, tilted slightly toward the reader. The room should be well lit, with the reading area lighted even more directly than the rest of the room.
When you begin to practice as instructed, you are going to be doing things that are contrary to your primary habits. This will begin to develop tension. As you push yourself across the printed page and you are intentionally trying not to see the words, you are going against your normal reading habits. To avoid building tension, you must make every effort to relax. This effort will make your learning easier. Your biggest road block to learning these new reading skills is tension.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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[43]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(42) "Why Other Medications Did Not Make the Cut"
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string(319) "The cholinergic compounds lecithin and Alcar just missed the cut because the data are much weaker than for Aricept (or Exelon or Reminyl). DHEA (discussed in the next chapter) is not on my list, not only because its efficacy against memory loss has not been established, but also because it is more toxic than the [...]"
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string(3483) "The cholinergic compounds lecithin and Alcar just missed the cut because the data are much weaker than for Aricept (or Exelon or Reminyl). DHEA (discussed in the next chapter) is not on my list, not only because its efficacy against memory loss has not been established, but also because it is more toxic than the medications that are on the list. The data on hydergine and the nootropics do not suggest sufficient action against memory loss. The COX-II inhibitors did not make it to the list either, mainly because they have just been released and we have no information on their use against memory loss. Ongoing and future clinical studies may demonstrate significant antimemory-loss properties for the COX-II inhibitors, in which case Celebrex or Vioxx might well vault to the top of the list.
The FDA Has Yet to Approve Any Medication for Mild-Memory Loss
Note that none of the prescription medications are approved by the FDA for age-related or mild memory loss, so not all physicians will be willing to prescribe them. However, many neurologists and psychiatrists are prescribing one or more of these medications (off-label) for these purposes.
Long-Term Efficacy Data Are Lacking, But Safety Data Do Exist
Although I have emphasized that we do not have data about any medications on long-term prevention of memory loss, we do have safety data on long-term use for many of these medications. The vitamins can be taken on a daily basis for years, and so can estrogen in women, provided there is gynecological monitoring. Aricept has been prescribed for several years of continuous usage without major adverse events in Alzheimer’s patients, and selegiline has been taken by many Parkinson’s
patients continuously for several years to decades. Ginkgo biloba also appears to be quite safe during long-term use. Phosphatidylserine has not been studied in long-term trials, but its lack of side effects during several months of daily administration indirectly suggests that it is likely to be safe even when taken for several years at a stretch.
Which Medications Should You Take?
If you wish to take a memory enhancer, what medication should you choose from this list? Obviously, you cannot take the whole lot for several reasons: the high cost and large number of capsules required, the increased risk of toxicity, and the lack of solid evidence that combinations are better than single agents. Adding selegiline to vitamin E, for example, does not improve matters for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, even though individually each agent has a small effect. Critically, combining too many medications can be dangerous because the risk of toxic interactions will skyrocket. The solution is to follow the medication guidelines in the following tables, based on whether you have a normal memory or have mild memory loss.
I will now review the possible combinations of medications, and the Memory Program more broadly, according to categories divided on the basis of age, gender, and preventing future memory loss versus treatment for mild memory loss. I will not repeat the doses and side effects of each medication; this information can be obtained from these tables and the preceding text in this chapter (and earlier chapters).
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(319) "The cholinergic compounds lecithin and Alcar just missed the cut because the data are much weaker than for Aricept (or Exelon or Reminyl). DHEA (discussed in the next chapter) is not on my list, not only because its efficacy against memory loss has not been established, but also because it is more toxic than the [...]"
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string(3483) "The cholinergic compounds lecithin and Alcar just missed the cut because the data are much weaker than for Aricept (or Exelon or Reminyl). DHEA (discussed in the next chapter) is not on my list, not only because its efficacy against memory loss has not been established, but also because it is more toxic than the medications that are on the list. The data on hydergine and the nootropics do not suggest sufficient action against memory loss. The COX-II inhibitors did not make it to the list either, mainly because they have just been released and we have no information on their use against memory loss. Ongoing and future clinical studies may demonstrate significant antimemory-loss properties for the COX-II inhibitors, in which case Celebrex or Vioxx might well vault to the top of the list.
The FDA Has Yet to Approve Any Medication for Mild-Memory Loss
Note that none of the prescription medications are approved by the FDA for age-related or mild memory loss, so not all physicians will be willing to prescribe them. However, many neurologists and psychiatrists are prescribing one or more of these medications (off-label) for these purposes.
Long-Term Efficacy Data Are Lacking, But Safety Data Do Exist
Although I have emphasized that we do not have data about any medications on long-term prevention of memory loss, we do have safety data on long-term use for many of these medications. The vitamins can be taken on a daily basis for years, and so can estrogen in women, provided there is gynecological monitoring. Aricept has been prescribed for several years of continuous usage without major adverse events in Alzheimer’s patients, and selegiline has been taken by many Parkinson’s
patients continuously for several years to decades. Ginkgo biloba also appears to be quite safe during long-term use. Phosphatidylserine has not been studied in long-term trials, but its lack of side effects during several months of daily administration indirectly suggests that it is likely to be safe even when taken for several years at a stretch.
Which Medications Should You Take?
If you wish to take a memory enhancer, what medication should you choose from this list? Obviously, you cannot take the whole lot for several reasons: the high cost and large number of capsules required, the increased risk of toxicity, and the lack of solid evidence that combinations are better than single agents. Adding selegiline to vitamin E, for example, does not improve matters for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, even though individually each agent has a small effect. Critically, combining too many medications can be dangerous because the risk of toxic interactions will skyrocket. The solution is to follow the medication guidelines in the following tables, based on whether you have a normal memory or have mild memory loss.
I will now review the possible combinations of medications, and the Memory Program more broadly, according to categories divided on the basis of age, gender, and preventing future memory loss versus treatment for mild memory loss. I will not repeat the doses and side effects of each medication; this information can be obtained from these tables and the preceding text in this chapter (and earlier chapters).
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[44]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(71) "ALPHA-NETICS RAPID READING PROGRAM A BASIC COURSE FOR EVERYONE PART TWO"
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string(328) "“Cod be thanked for books. They are the voices of the distant and the dead, and makes us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages.”
William Ellery Channing
SPECIAL NOTE: Effort and commitment are essential to reaching a goal. To achieve your rapid reading goal, you must make this program a top priority in your daily [...]"
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string(1762) "“Cod be thanked for books. They are the voices of the distant and the dead, and makes us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages.”
William Ellery Channing
SPECIAL NOTE: Effort and commitment are essential to reaching a goal. To achieve your rapid reading goal, you must make this program a top priority in your daily routine. Do not underestimate the value of practice. It will be easier if you set up a specific time of day to practice.
Put that time down in your daily schedule and do not change it. Otherwise, it becomes easy to let your practice slide. Every time you are alone, pick up the program and PRACTICE. The more you do, the more quickly your reading skills will develop. The better your reading skills become, the easier your practicing will become. If you keep a strict practice schedule for only four weeks, the skills you develop with this program will be worth more to you over the rest of your life than anything e/se you will ever do. All the growth and enjoyment begins with your setting and keeping a good practice schedule.
Practicing twice a day is ideal and will guarantee your success in developing new reading and learning skills. Before you set your time schedule for practicing, go through the practice instructions. Then, you will be ready to begin your daily practice schedule. Because the initial instructions are important and will be very helpful to you, refer to them as often as you may need to.
In the next session, you will learn how to practice using the easy-to-read book. If the book is new, prepare it as explained in Part Three.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
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string(328) "“Cod be thanked for books. They are the voices of the distant and the dead, and makes us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages.”
William Ellery Channing
SPECIAL NOTE: Effort and commitment are essential to reaching a goal. To achieve your rapid reading goal, you must make this program a top priority in your daily [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1762) "“Cod be thanked for books. They are the voices of the distant and the dead, and makes us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages.”
William Ellery Channing
SPECIAL NOTE: Effort and commitment are essential to reaching a goal. To achieve your rapid reading goal, you must make this program a top priority in your daily routine. Do not underestimate the value of practice. It will be easier if you set up a specific time of day to practice.
Put that time down in your daily schedule and do not change it. Otherwise, it becomes easy to let your practice slide. Every time you are alone, pick up the program and PRACTICE. The more you do, the more quickly your reading skills will develop. The better your reading skills become, the easier your practicing will become. If you keep a strict practice schedule for only four weeks, the skills you develop with this program will be worth more to you over the rest of your life than anything e/se you will ever do. All the growth and enjoyment begins with your setting and keeping a good practice schedule.
Practicing twice a day is ideal and will guarantee your success in developing new reading and learning skills. Before you set your time schedule for practicing, go through the practice instructions. Then, you will be ready to begin your daily practice schedule. Because the initial instructions are important and will be very helpful to you, refer to them as often as you may need to.
In the next session, you will learn how to practice using the easy-to-read book. If the book is new, prepare it as explained in Part Three.
Taken From: ALPHA-NETICS
RAPID READING PROGRAM
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1254885473)
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[45]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(35) "Hack 67. Objects Ask to Be Used (2)"
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string(317) "Effects of object affordances have been found in experiments: Tucker and Ellis1 asked subjects to press a button with their left or right hand, to indicate whether a picture of an object was the right way up or inverted. Even though subjects were not thinking about the action they would use for that object, it [...]"
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string(2573) "Effects of object affordances have been found in experiments: Tucker and Ellis1 asked subjects to press a button with their left or right hand, to indicate whether a picture of an object was the right way up or inverted. Even though subjects were not thinking about the action they would use for that object, it had an effect. If they saw a cup with a handle pointing toward the rightevoking a right-hand graspthey were faster to react if their response also happened to require a right-hand response. That is, the reaction time improved if the hand used for the button press coincided with the hand that would be used for interacting with the object. This is called a compatibility effect. (The Simon Effect [Hack #56] shows that reaction times improve when stimuli and response match in the more general case. What’s happening here is that the stimulus includes not just what you perceive directly, but what affordances you can perceive too.)
The graspability of objects can affect judgments, even when people are not making any kind of movement. de’Sperati and Stucchi2 asked people to judge which way a moving screwdriver was rotating on a computer screen. People were slower to make a judgment if the handle were in a position that would involve an awkward grasping movement with their dominant hand. That is, although they had no intention to move, their own movement system was affecting their perceptual judgment.
6.7.2. How It Works
Brain imaging has helped us to understand what is happening when we see action-relevant objects. Grèzes and Decety3 looked at which brain areas are active when people do the Tucker and Ellis judgment task. Bits of their brain become active, like the supplementary motor area and the cerebellum, which are also involved in making real movements. In related research in monkeys, cells have also been discovered that respond both when the monkey sees a particular object and also when it observes the type of action that object would require.
People with damage to their frontal lobes sometimes have problems suppressing the tendency to act upon objects. They might automatically pick up a cup or a pair of glasses, without actually wishing to do so (or even when they’re told not to). It is thought that we all share these same tendencies, but with our intact frontal lobes, we are better at stopping ourselves from acting them out. (Frontal patients can also have trouble suppressing other impulses; for instance, some become compulsive gamblers.)
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(317) "Effects of object affordances have been found in experiments: Tucker and Ellis1 asked subjects to press a button with their left or right hand, to indicate whether a picture of an object was the right way up or inverted. Even though subjects were not thinking about the action they would use for that object, it [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2573) "Effects of object affordances have been found in experiments: Tucker and Ellis1 asked subjects to press a button with their left or right hand, to indicate whether a picture of an object was the right way up or inverted. Even though subjects were not thinking about the action they would use for that object, it had an effect. If they saw a cup with a handle pointing toward the rightevoking a right-hand graspthey were faster to react if their response also happened to require a right-hand response. That is, the reaction time improved if the hand used for the button press coincided with the hand that would be used for interacting with the object. This is called a compatibility effect. (The Simon Effect [Hack #56] shows that reaction times improve when stimuli and response match in the more general case. What’s happening here is that the stimulus includes not just what you perceive directly, but what affordances you can perceive too.)
The graspability of objects can affect judgments, even when people are not making any kind of movement. de’Sperati and Stucchi2 asked people to judge which way a moving screwdriver was rotating on a computer screen. People were slower to make a judgment if the handle were in a position that would involve an awkward grasping movement with their dominant hand. That is, although they had no intention to move, their own movement system was affecting their perceptual judgment.
6.7.2. How It Works
Brain imaging has helped us to understand what is happening when we see action-relevant objects. Grèzes and Decety3 looked at which brain areas are active when people do the Tucker and Ellis judgment task. Bits of their brain become active, like the supplementary motor area and the cerebellum, which are also involved in making real movements. In related research in monkeys, cells have also been discovered that respond both when the monkey sees a particular object and also when it observes the type of action that object would require.
People with damage to their frontal lobes sometimes have problems suppressing the tendency to act upon objects. They might automatically pick up a cup or a pair of glasses, without actually wishing to do so (or even when they’re told not to). It is thought that we all share these same tendencies, but with our intact frontal lobes, we are better at stopping ourselves from acting them out. (Frontal patients can also have trouble suppressing other impulses; for instance, some become compulsive gamblers.)
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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["title"]=>
string(31) "Hack 67. Objects Ask to Be Used"
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string(315) "When we see objects, they automatically trigger the movements we’d make to use them.
How do we understand and act upon objects around us? We might perceive the shape and colors of a cup of coffee, recognize what it is, and then decide that the most appropriate movement would be to lift it by the handle [...]"
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string(2223) "When we see objects, they automatically trigger the movements we’d make to use them.
How do we understand and act upon objects around us? We might perceive the shape and colors of a cup of coffee, recognize what it is, and then decide that the most appropriate movement would be to lift it by the handle toward our mouth. However, there seems to be something rather more direct and automatic going on. In the 1960s, James Gibson developed the idea of object affordances. Objects appear to be associated with (or afford) a particular action or actions, and the mere sight of such an object is sufficient to trigger that movement in our mind. There are obvious advantages to such a system: it could allow us to respond quickly and appropriately to objects around us, without having to go to the bother of consciously recognizing (or thinking about) them. In other words, there is a direct link between perceiving an object and acting upon it. I don’t just see my cup of coffee; it also demands to be picked up and drunk.
6.7.1. In Action
You may not believe me yet, but I’m sure you can think of a time when your movements appeared to be automatically captured by something in your environment. Have you ever seen a door handle with a “Push” sign clearly displayed above it, yet found yourself automatically pulling the door toward you? The shape of the pullable handle suggests that you should pull it, despite the contradictory instruction to push it. I go through such a door several times a week and still find myself making that same mistake!
Try finding such a door near where you live or work. Sit down and watch how people interact with it. What happens if you cover up the “Push” sign with a blank piece of paper? Or cover it with a piece of paper labeled “Pull”; does this appear to affect how often people pull rather than push, or is the shape of the handle all they’re really paying attention to?
Perhaps you’ve found yourself picking up a cup or glass from the table in front of you, even though you didn’t mean to (or even knowing that it belonged to someone else)?
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(315) "When we see objects, they automatically trigger the movements we’d make to use them.
How do we understand and act upon objects around us? We might perceive the shape and colors of a cup of coffee, recognize what it is, and then decide that the most appropriate movement would be to lift it by the handle [...]"
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string(2223) "When we see objects, they automatically trigger the movements we’d make to use them.
How do we understand and act upon objects around us? We might perceive the shape and colors of a cup of coffee, recognize what it is, and then decide that the most appropriate movement would be to lift it by the handle toward our mouth. However, there seems to be something rather more direct and automatic going on. In the 1960s, James Gibson developed the idea of object affordances. Objects appear to be associated with (or afford) a particular action or actions, and the mere sight of such an object is sufficient to trigger that movement in our mind. There are obvious advantages to such a system: it could allow us to respond quickly and appropriately to objects around us, without having to go to the bother of consciously recognizing (or thinking about) them. In other words, there is a direct link between perceiving an object and acting upon it. I don’t just see my cup of coffee; it also demands to be picked up and drunk.
6.7.1. In Action
You may not believe me yet, but I’m sure you can think of a time when your movements appeared to be automatically captured by something in your environment. Have you ever seen a door handle with a “Push” sign clearly displayed above it, yet found yourself automatically pulling the door toward you? The shape of the pullable handle suggests that you should pull it, despite the contradictory instruction to push it. I go through such a door several times a week and still find myself making that same mistake!
Try finding such a door near where you live or work. Sit down and watch how people interact with it. What happens if you cover up the “Push” sign with a blank piece of paper? Or cover it with a piece of paper labeled “Pull”; does this appear to affect how often people pull rather than push, or is the shape of the handle all they’re really paying attention to?
Perhaps you’ve found yourself picking up a cup or glass from the table in front of you, even though you didn’t mean to (or even knowing that it belonged to someone else)?
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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["title"]=>
string(16) "The plant genies"
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string(388) "The plant genies donÕt manufacture imagination, nor do they market wonder and beautyÑbut they force us out of context so dramatically and so meditatively that we gawk in amazement at the ubiquitous everyday
wonders that we are culturally disposed to overlook, and they teach us
invaluable lessons about fluidity, relativity, flexibility and paradox. Such
an increase in awareness, [...]"
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string(1975) "The plant genies donÕt manufacture imagination, nor do they market wonder and beautyÑbut they force us out of context so dramatically and so meditatively that we gawk in amazement at the ubiquitous everyday
wonders that we are culturally disposed to overlook, and they teach us
invaluable lessons about fluidity, relativity, flexibility and paradox. Such
an increase in awareness, if skillfully applied, can lift a disciplined,
adventurous artist permanently out of reach of the faded jaws of mediocrity.
The impact of psychedelics upon my own sensibility was to dissolve a
lot of my culturally-conditioned rigidity. Old barriers, often rooted in
ignorance and superstition, just melted away. I learned that one might
move about freely from one level of existence to another. The borderlines between reality and fantasy, dream and wakefulness, animate and inanimate, even life and death, were no longer quite as fixed. The Asian concept of interpenetration of realities was made physically manifestÑ and this served to massage the stiffness out of my literary aesthetic.
Unbeknownst to most western intellectuals, there happens to be a
fairly thin line between the silly and the profound, between the clear light and the joke; and it seems to me that on that frontier is the single most risky and significant place artists or philosophers can station themselves. IÕm led to suspect that my psychedelic background may have prepared me to straddle that boundary more comfortably than those writers who insist on broaching the luminous can of consciousness with a hammer and chisel, and, especially, those who, spurning the in-CAN-descent altogether, elect to lap their watered-down gruel from the leaky trough of orthodoxy.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
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string(388) "The plant genies donÕt manufacture imagination, nor do they market wonder and beautyÑbut they force us out of context so dramatically and so meditatively that we gawk in amazement at the ubiquitous everyday
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invaluable lessons about fluidity, relativity, flexibility and paradox. Such
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string(1975) "The plant genies donÕt manufacture imagination, nor do they market wonder and beautyÑbut they force us out of context so dramatically and so meditatively that we gawk in amazement at the ubiquitous everyday
wonders that we are culturally disposed to overlook, and they teach us
invaluable lessons about fluidity, relativity, flexibility and paradox. Such
an increase in awareness, if skillfully applied, can lift a disciplined,
adventurous artist permanently out of reach of the faded jaws of mediocrity.
The impact of psychedelics upon my own sensibility was to dissolve a
lot of my culturally-conditioned rigidity. Old barriers, often rooted in
ignorance and superstition, just melted away. I learned that one might
move about freely from one level of existence to another. The borderlines between reality and fantasy, dream and wakefulness, animate and inanimate, even life and death, were no longer quite as fixed. The Asian concept of interpenetration of realities was made physically manifestÑ and this served to massage the stiffness out of my literary aesthetic.
Unbeknownst to most western intellectuals, there happens to be a
fairly thin line between the silly and the profound, between the clear light and the joke; and it seems to me that on that frontier is the single most risky and significant place artists or philosophers can station themselves. IÕm led to suspect that my psychedelic background may have prepared me to straddle that boundary more comfortably than those writers who insist on broaching the luminous can of consciousness with a hammer and chisel, and, especially, those who, spurning the in-CAN-descent altogether, elect to lap their watered-down gruel from the leaky trough of orthodoxy.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[48]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(13) "Robbins Rants"
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string(354) "Tom Robbins is the author of numerous books, including Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Still Life with Woodpecker, Skinny Legs and All, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Another Roadside Attraction.
THE TIN CAN was invented in 1811. The can opener was not invented
until 1855. In the intervening 44 years, people were obliged to access
their [...]"
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string(1948) "Tom Robbins is the author of numerous books, including Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Still Life with Woodpecker, Skinny Legs and All, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Another Roadside Attraction.
THE TIN CAN was invented in 1811. The can opener was not invented
until 1855. In the intervening 44 years, people were obliged to access
their pork ÕnÕ beans with a hammer and chisel.
Now, the psychedelic can opener, the device that most efficiently
opens the tin of higher consciousness, was discovered thousands of years ago and put to beneficial use by shamans and their satellites well before the advent of what we like to call Òcivilization.Ó Yet, inconceivably, modern society has flung that proven instrument into the sin bin, forcing its citizens to seek access to the most nourishing of all canned goods with the psychological equivalent of a hammer and chisel. (IÕm referring to Freudian analysis and the various, numberless self-realization techniques.)
Our subject here, however, is creativity, and I donÕt mean to suggest
that just because one employs the psychedelic can opener to momentous effect, just because one manages to dip into the peas of the absolute with a lightning spoon, that one is going to metamorphose into some creative titan if one is not already artistically gifted. The little gurus who inhabit certain psychoactive compounds are not in the business of manufacturing human talent. They donÕt sell imagination by the pound, or even by the microgram. What they ARE capable of doing, however, is reinforcing and supporting that innate imagination that manages to still exist in a nation whose institutionsÑacademic, governmental, religious and otherwiseÑ seem determined to suffocate it with a polyester pillow from WalMart.
Taken From: Learning How to Learn
"
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string(354) "Tom Robbins is the author of numerous books, including Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Still Life with Woodpecker, Skinny Legs and All, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Another Roadside Attraction.
THE TIN CAN was invented in 1811. The can opener was not invented
until 1855. In the intervening 44 years, people were obliged to access
their [...]"
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string(1948) "Tom Robbins is the author of numerous books, including Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Still Life with Woodpecker, Skinny Legs and All, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Another Roadside Attraction.
THE TIN CAN was invented in 1811. The can opener was not invented
until 1855. In the intervening 44 years, people were obliged to access
their pork ÕnÕ beans with a hammer and chisel.
Now, the psychedelic can opener, the device that most efficiently
opens the tin of higher consciousness, was discovered thousands of years ago and put to beneficial use by shamans and their satellites well before the advent of what we like to call Òcivilization.Ó Yet, inconceivably, modern society has flung that proven instrument into the sin bin, forcing its citizens to seek access to the most nourishing of all canned goods with the psychological equivalent of a hammer and chisel. (IÕm referring to Freudian analysis and the various, numberless self-realization techniques.)
Our subject here, however, is creativity, and I donÕt mean to suggest
that just because one employs the psychedelic can opener to momentous effect, just because one manages to dip into the peas of the absolute with a lightning spoon, that one is going to metamorphose into some creative titan if one is not already artistically gifted. The little gurus who inhabit certain psychoactive compounds are not in the business of manufacturing human talent. They donÕt sell imagination by the pound, or even by the microgram. What they ARE capable of doing, however, is reinforcing and supporting that innate imagination that manages to still exist in a nation whose institutionsÑacademic, governmental, religious and otherwiseÑ seem determined to suffocate it with a polyester pillow from WalMart.
Taken From: Learning How to Learn
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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[49]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(14) "6.6.1.3 Part 3"
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string(340) "You should find that your friend’s spoken estimate of the second line is less than her estimate of the first, even though both lines were the same length. That’s the visual illusion. (If you used different length lines, this difference will be in relative terms.) And yet her walked-out estimates should be pretty much the [...]"
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string(3188) "You should find that your friend’s spoken estimate of the second line is less than her estimate of the first, even though both lines were the same length. That’s the visual illusion. (If you used different length lines, this difference will be in relative terms.) And yet her walked-out estimates should be pretty much the same (i.e., not tricked by the illusion), or at least you should find she underestimates the second line’s length far less when walking. That is, her conscious judgment should be tricked more by this illusion (a version of a famous illusion called the Muller-Lyer illusion), than her walked-out estimate, controlled by her dorsal stream.
6.6.2. How It Works
How it works depends upon whom you ask. Advocates of the dual-stream theory of visual processing argue that these demonstrations, of the immunity of our actions to visual illusions, are evidence for the separateness of the dorsal (action) and ventral (perception) streams. The ventral stream is susceptible, they argue, because it processes objects relative to their surroundings, assessing the current context in order that we might recognize things. The dorsal stream, by contrast, is invulnerable to such illusions because it processes objects of interest in egocentric coordinates, relative to the observer, so that we might accurately interact with them.
Doubters of the dual-stream theory take a different view. One reason we are sometimes duped by illusions, and sometimes not, they argue, is all to do with the type of task, far less to do with there being separate processing pathways in our brain. For instance, when we view the Ebbinghaus illusion (Figure 6-6), we are typically asked to compare the two central disks. Yet, when we reach for one of the disks, we are focused on only one disk at a time. Perceptual tasks tend to involve taking context and nearby objects into account, whereas motor tasks tend to involve focusing on one object at a time and, by necessity, using egocentric coordinates to interact accurately. When changing the task conditions reverses these tendencies, the visuomotor system can be found to be susceptible to illusion or the perceptual system invulnerable.
Which argument is right? Well, there’s evidence both ways and the debate will probably roll on for some time yet.2,3 What is clear, is that this phenomenon provides yet another example [Hack #62] of how our illusory sense of a unified self keeps all these conflicting processes conveniently out of mind.
Does the world really appear as you’re seeing it? Who cares? Just sit back and enjoy the view, accurate or not, while your neurons fight things out.
6.6.3. End Notes
Aglioti, S. et al. (1995). Size contrast illusions deceive the eye but not the hand. Current Biology, 5, 679-685.
Franz, V. H. (2001). Action does not resist visual illusions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 5, 457-459.
Milner, D., & Dyde, R. (2003). Why do some perceptual illusions affect visually guided action, when others don’t? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 10-11.
Christian Jarrett
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(340) "You should find that your friend’s spoken estimate of the second line is less than her estimate of the first, even though both lines were the same length. That’s the visual illusion. (If you used different length lines, this difference will be in relative terms.) And yet her walked-out estimates should be pretty much the [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(3188) "You should find that your friend’s spoken estimate of the second line is less than her estimate of the first, even though both lines were the same length. That’s the visual illusion. (If you used different length lines, this difference will be in relative terms.) And yet her walked-out estimates should be pretty much the same (i.e., not tricked by the illusion), or at least you should find she underestimates the second line’s length far less when walking. That is, her conscious judgment should be tricked more by this illusion (a version of a famous illusion called the Muller-Lyer illusion), than her walked-out estimate, controlled by her dorsal stream.
6.6.2. How It Works
How it works depends upon whom you ask. Advocates of the dual-stream theory of visual processing argue that these demonstrations, of the immunity of our actions to visual illusions, are evidence for the separateness of the dorsal (action) and ventral (perception) streams. The ventral stream is susceptible, they argue, because it processes objects relative to their surroundings, assessing the current context in order that we might recognize things. The dorsal stream, by contrast, is invulnerable to such illusions because it processes objects of interest in egocentric coordinates, relative to the observer, so that we might accurately interact with them.
Doubters of the dual-stream theory take a different view. One reason we are sometimes duped by illusions, and sometimes not, they argue, is all to do with the type of task, far less to do with there being separate processing pathways in our brain. For instance, when we view the Ebbinghaus illusion (Figure 6-6), we are typically asked to compare the two central disks. Yet, when we reach for one of the disks, we are focused on only one disk at a time. Perceptual tasks tend to involve taking context and nearby objects into account, whereas motor tasks tend to involve focusing on one object at a time and, by necessity, using egocentric coordinates to interact accurately. When changing the task conditions reverses these tendencies, the visuomotor system can be found to be susceptible to illusion or the perceptual system invulnerable.
Which argument is right? Well, there’s evidence both ways and the debate will probably roll on for some time yet.2,3 What is clear, is that this phenomenon provides yet another example [Hack #62] of how our illusory sense of a unified self keeps all these conflicting processes conveniently out of mind.
Does the world really appear as you’re seeing it? Who cares? Just sit back and enjoy the view, accurate or not, while your neurons fight things out.
6.6.3. End Notes
Aglioti, S. et al. (1995). Size contrast illusions deceive the eye but not the hand. Current Biology, 5, 679-685.
Franz, V. H. (2001). Action does not resist visual illusions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 5, 457-459.
Milner, D., & Dyde, R. (2003). Why do some perceptual illusions affect visually guided action, when others don’t? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 10-11.
Christian Jarrett
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(16) "6.6.1. In Action"
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string(367) "In the mid-’90s, Salvatore Aglioti1 and colleagues showed that when people are presented with the Ebbinghaus illusion (see Figure 6-6) they find the disk surrounded by smaller circles seems larger than an identically sized disk surrounded by larger circles, and yet, when they reach for the central disks, they use the same, appropriate, finger-thumb grip [...]"
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string(2116) "In the mid-’90s, Salvatore Aglioti1 and colleagues showed that when people are presented with the Ebbinghaus illusion (see Figure 6-6) they find the disk surrounded by smaller circles seems larger than an identically sized disk surrounded by larger circles, and yet, when they reach for the central disks, they use the same, appropriate, finger-thumb grip shape for both disks. The brain’s conscious perceptual system (the ventral pathway) appears to have been tricked by the visual illusion, whereas the brain’s visuomotor (hand-eye) system (the dorsal pathway) appears immune.
There are many examples of situations in which our perception seems to be tricked while our brain’s visuomotor system remains immune. Here’s one you can try. You’ll need a friend and a tape measure. Find a sandy beach so you can draw in the sand or a tarmac area where you can draw on the ground with chalk. Tell your friend to look away while you prepare things.
6.6.1.1 Part 1
Draw a line in the sand, between 2 and 3 meters long. Now draw a disk at the end, about 70 cm in diameter, as in Figure 6-7A. Ask your friend to stand so her toes are at the start of the line, with the disk at far end, and get her to estimate how long the line is, using whichever units she’s happy with. Then blindfold her, turn her 90°, and get her to pace out how long she thinks the line is. Measure her “walked” estimate with your tape measure.
6.6.1.2 Part 2
Tell your friend to look away again, get rid of the first line, and draw another one of identical length. (You could use another length if you think your friend might suspect what’s going onit just makes comparing estimates easier if you use the same length twice.) This time, draw the disk at the end so that it overlays the line, as in Figure 6-7B. Now do exactly as before: get your friend to stand with her toes at the line start and guess the length verbally from where she is, blindfold her, and ask her to walk the same length as she thinks the line is.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(367) "In the mid-’90s, Salvatore Aglioti1 and colleagues showed that when people are presented with the Ebbinghaus illusion (see Figure 6-6) they find the disk surrounded by smaller circles seems larger than an identically sized disk surrounded by larger circles, and yet, when they reach for the central disks, they use the same, appropriate, finger-thumb grip [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2116) "In the mid-’90s, Salvatore Aglioti1 and colleagues showed that when people are presented with the Ebbinghaus illusion (see Figure 6-6) they find the disk surrounded by smaller circles seems larger than an identically sized disk surrounded by larger circles, and yet, when they reach for the central disks, they use the same, appropriate, finger-thumb grip shape for both disks. The brain’s conscious perceptual system (the ventral pathway) appears to have been tricked by the visual illusion, whereas the brain’s visuomotor (hand-eye) system (the dorsal pathway) appears immune.
There are many examples of situations in which our perception seems to be tricked while our brain’s visuomotor system remains immune. Here’s one you can try. You’ll need a friend and a tape measure. Find a sandy beach so you can draw in the sand or a tarmac area where you can draw on the ground with chalk. Tell your friend to look away while you prepare things.
6.6.1.1 Part 1
Draw a line in the sand, between 2 and 3 meters long. Now draw a disk at the end, about 70 cm in diameter, as in Figure 6-7A. Ask your friend to stand so her toes are at the start of the line, with the disk at far end, and get her to estimate how long the line is, using whichever units she’s happy with. Then blindfold her, turn her 90°, and get her to pace out how long she thinks the line is. Measure her “walked” estimate with your tape measure.
6.6.1.2 Part 2
Tell your friend to look away again, get rid of the first line, and draw another one of identical length. (You could use another length if you think your friend might suspect what’s going onit just makes comparing estimates easier if you use the same length twice.) This time, draw the disk at the end so that it overlays the line, as in Figure 6-7B. Now do exactly as before: get your friend to stand with her toes at the line start and guess the length verbally from where she is, blindfold her, and ask her to walk the same length as she thinks the line is.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[51]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(19) "Sri Ramana Maharshi"
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string(316) "Sri Ramana Maharshi, according to Ken Wilber,3 Òis arguably the greatest Guru who ever lived.Ó He has stated that the only reason we are not enlightened is that we do not know that we are already enlightened. While this is no doubt true, I have in my own some forty years of psychedelic exploration, enhanced [...]"
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string(3435) "Sri Ramana Maharshi, according to Ken Wilber,3 Òis arguably the greatest Guru who ever lived.Ó He has stated that the only reason we are not enlightened is that we do not know that we are already enlightened. While this is no doubt true, I have in my own some forty years of psychedelic exploration, enhanced by Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, uncovered a vast variety of conditions that seemed to form barriers to this realization. Some of these are listed in the second paragraph above.
While I have found meditation practices extremely valuable, and an important factor in deepening and increasing the profundity of psychedelic experiences, I have found properly conducted psychedelic experiences to be the most powerful aid in rapidly resolving the obstacles that separate us from full realization. But it is well to remember that experiences alone, as influential and valuable as they may be, may not accomplish completely freeing the mind without dedicated application of newfound wisdom. An excellent way of focusing, clarifying, and applying learned wisdom is through a good meditation practice.
All the following factors promote effective psychedelic application: preparation, intent, honesty, set and setting, a qualified guide, experienced and dedicated companions. As interior obstacles are resolved and transcended, one sinks deeper into the intimate, priceless connection with our inner Being. As one develops proficiency and the ability to hold the mind steadily focused, one can discover that the most promising activity is to search out, encounter, and then maintain
the connectedness with the Heart of our own being. For me, this has led to the most satisfactory outcomes.
I do not want to create the impression that this is a simple thing to accomplish. I have found this kind of straightforward surrender very difficult to achieve and maintain, often because we resist the feelings or experiences that spontaneously wish to arise. It may take exploring with different attitudes and occasionally focusing our attention on various considerations, especially if we are prone to getting tense by trying too hard. Things that may work in one situation may not
work the next time, and a fresh approach is required. And since we
are all different, results may well vary considerably from person to
person. For it is fresh, unmediated experience that we are seeking. Just
reading this information or hearing similar ideas and concepts from
others will not accomplish the objective. We each in our own way
must seek out how to best discover and maintain this priceless connection. For myself, I have found that simply being still and Òjust beingÓ is extraordinarily difficult.
Yet I firmly believe this to be the highest prize. Having achieved
an on-going connection or realization of our True Self, we are free to
direct our attention wherever we wish. It is from this perspective that
any object of attention is seen in its clearest light, in its truest aspects, in the most meaningful connections with other aspects of reality. It is from this perspective that the greatest creativity flows forth. By learning how to maintain this connection, we have truly learned how to learn.
Taken From: Learning How to Learn
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string(316) "Sri Ramana Maharshi, according to Ken Wilber,3 Òis arguably the greatest Guru who ever lived.Ó He has stated that the only reason we are not enlightened is that we do not know that we are already enlightened. While this is no doubt true, I have in my own some forty years of psychedelic exploration, enhanced [...]"
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string(3435) "Sri Ramana Maharshi, according to Ken Wilber,3 Òis arguably the greatest Guru who ever lived.Ó He has stated that the only reason we are not enlightened is that we do not know that we are already enlightened. While this is no doubt true, I have in my own some forty years of psychedelic exploration, enhanced by Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, uncovered a vast variety of conditions that seemed to form barriers to this realization. Some of these are listed in the second paragraph above.
While I have found meditation practices extremely valuable, and an important factor in deepening and increasing the profundity of psychedelic experiences, I have found properly conducted psychedelic experiences to be the most powerful aid in rapidly resolving the obstacles that separate us from full realization. But it is well to remember that experiences alone, as influential and valuable as they may be, may not accomplish completely freeing the mind without dedicated application of newfound wisdom. An excellent way of focusing, clarifying, and applying learned wisdom is through a good meditation practice.
All the following factors promote effective psychedelic application: preparation, intent, honesty, set and setting, a qualified guide, experienced and dedicated companions. As interior obstacles are resolved and transcended, one sinks deeper into the intimate, priceless connection with our inner Being. As one develops proficiency and the ability to hold the mind steadily focused, one can discover that the most promising activity is to search out, encounter, and then maintain
the connectedness with the Heart of our own being. For me, this has led to the most satisfactory outcomes.
I do not want to create the impression that this is a simple thing to accomplish. I have found this kind of straightforward surrender very difficult to achieve and maintain, often because we resist the feelings or experiences that spontaneously wish to arise. It may take exploring with different attitudes and occasionally focusing our attention on various considerations, especially if we are prone to getting tense by trying too hard. Things that may work in one situation may not
work the next time, and a fresh approach is required. And since we
are all different, results may well vary considerably from person to
person. For it is fresh, unmediated experience that we are seeking. Just
reading this information or hearing similar ideas and concepts from
others will not accomplish the objective. We each in our own way
must seek out how to best discover and maintain this priceless connection. For myself, I have found that simply being still and Òjust beingÓ is extraordinarily difficult.
Yet I firmly believe this to be the highest prize. Having achieved
an on-going connection or realization of our True Self, we are free to
direct our attention wherever we wish. It is from this perspective that
any object of attention is seen in its clearest light, in its truest aspects, in the most meaningful connections with other aspects of reality. It is from this perspective that the greatest creativity flows forth. By learning how to maintain this connection, we have truly learned how to learn.
Taken From: Learning How to Learn
"
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[52]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(20) "6.5.2.2 How it works"
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string(318) "This predictive process may also be at the root of why physical fights tend to escalate. Notice how tit-for-tat tussles between children (or indeed brawls between adults) intensify, with each person claiming that the other hit him harder. In a recent study,3 a motor was used to apply a brief force to the tip of [...]"
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string(2986) "This predictive process may also be at the root of why physical fights tend to escalate. Notice how tit-for-tat tussles between children (or indeed brawls between adults) intensify, with each person claiming that the other hit him harder. In a recent study,3 a motor was used to apply a brief force to the tip of each participant’s left index finger. Participants were then asked to match the force they felt using their right index finger to push down on their left index finger through a force transducer.
Results showed that participants consistently applied a stronger force than that which was applied to them. The authors suggest that, just as when we try to tickle ourselves, the brain predicts the sensory consequences of the self-generated force and then reduces the sensation. We can only predict the outcome of our own actions and not of someone else’s, so an externally generated force feels more intense. As a result, if you were to deliver a vengeful punch to match the force of your opponent’s blow, it is likely that you would overestimate the strength of the opponent’s punch and strike back harder.
Why have we evolved the inability to tickle ourselves? The force generation experiment shows that sensations that are externally caused are enhanced. Similarly, our reactions to tickling may have evolved to heighten our sensitivity to external stimuli that pose a threat. Our sensory systems are constantly bombarded with sensory stimulation from the environment. It is therefore important to filter out sensory stimulation that is uninterestingsuch as the results of our own movementsin order to pick out, and attend to, sensory information that carries more evolutionary importance, such as someone touching us. When a bee lands on your shoulder or a spider climbs up your leg, the brain ensures that you attend to these potentially dangerous external stimuli by ignoring feelings from your own movements. The predictive system therefore protects us and tickling may just be an accidental consequence.
6.5.3. End Notes
Blakemore, S-J, Wolpert, D. M., & Frith, C. D. (1998). Central cancellation of self-produced tickle sensation. Nature Neuroscience, 1(7), 635-640.
Blakemore, S-J, Frith, C. D., & Wolpert, D. W. (1999). Spatiotemporal prediction modulates the perception of self-produced stimuli. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 11(5), 551-559.
Shergill, S., Bays, P. M., Frith, C. D., & Wolpert, D. M. (2003). Two eyes for an eye: The neuroscience of force escalation. Science, 301(5630), 187.
6.5.4. See Also
Weiskrantz, L., Elliot, J., & Darlington, C. (1971). Preliminary observations of tickling oneself. Nature, 230(5296), 598-599.
Wolpert, D. M., Miall, C. M., & Kawato, M. (1998). Internal models in the cerebellum. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2(9), 338-347.
Suparna Choudhury and Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(318) "This predictive process may also be at the root of why physical fights tend to escalate. Notice how tit-for-tat tussles between children (or indeed brawls between adults) intensify, with each person claiming that the other hit him harder. In a recent study,3 a motor was used to apply a brief force to the tip of [...]"
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string(2986) "This predictive process may also be at the root of why physical fights tend to escalate. Notice how tit-for-tat tussles between children (or indeed brawls between adults) intensify, with each person claiming that the other hit him harder. In a recent study,3 a motor was used to apply a brief force to the tip of each participant’s left index finger. Participants were then asked to match the force they felt using their right index finger to push down on their left index finger through a force transducer.
Results showed that participants consistently applied a stronger force than that which was applied to them. The authors suggest that, just as when we try to tickle ourselves, the brain predicts the sensory consequences of the self-generated force and then reduces the sensation. We can only predict the outcome of our own actions and not of someone else’s, so an externally generated force feels more intense. As a result, if you were to deliver a vengeful punch to match the force of your opponent’s blow, it is likely that you would overestimate the strength of the opponent’s punch and strike back harder.
Why have we evolved the inability to tickle ourselves? The force generation experiment shows that sensations that are externally caused are enhanced. Similarly, our reactions to tickling may have evolved to heighten our sensitivity to external stimuli that pose a threat. Our sensory systems are constantly bombarded with sensory stimulation from the environment. It is therefore important to filter out sensory stimulation that is uninterestingsuch as the results of our own movementsin order to pick out, and attend to, sensory information that carries more evolutionary importance, such as someone touching us. When a bee lands on your shoulder or a spider climbs up your leg, the brain ensures that you attend to these potentially dangerous external stimuli by ignoring feelings from your own movements. The predictive system therefore protects us and tickling may just be an accidental consequence.
6.5.3. End Notes
Blakemore, S-J, Wolpert, D. M., & Frith, C. D. (1998). Central cancellation of self-produced tickle sensation. Nature Neuroscience, 1(7), 635-640.
Blakemore, S-J, Frith, C. D., & Wolpert, D. W. (1999). Spatiotemporal prediction modulates the perception of self-produced stimuli. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 11(5), 551-559.
Shergill, S., Bays, P. M., Frith, C. D., & Wolpert, D. M. (2003). Two eyes for an eye: The neuroscience of force escalation. Science, 301(5630), 187.
6.5.4. See Also
Weiskrantz, L., Elliot, J., & Darlington, C. (1971). Preliminary observations of tickling oneself. Nature, 230(5296), 598-599.
Wolpert, D. M., Miall, C. M., & Kawato, M. (1998). Internal models in the cerebellum. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2(9), 338-347.
Suparna Choudhury and Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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["title"]=>
string(21) "Learning How to Learn"
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string(343) "HE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of learning how to learn is to immerse oneself completely and without reservation into the Knower.
For within each of is that unimaginable place, our Real Self, known by a
variety of names in various times and cultures, listed by Stan Grof: ÒBrahman, Buddha, the Cosmic Christ, Keter, Allah, the Tao, the Great [...]"
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string(2167) "HE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of learning how to learn is to immerse oneself completely and without reservation into the Knower.
For within each of is that unimaginable place, our Real Self, known by a
variety of names in various times and cultures, listed by Stan Grof: ÒBrahman, Buddha, the Cosmic Christ, Keter, Allah, the Tao, the Great Spirit, and many others.Ó1 This Self, which dedicated explorers find to be intimately connected to every aspect of the Universe, seems to hold infinite knowledge. From this perspective, if we have become totally free, vast knowledge is available.
To become one with this Self, one must become free of all attachments,
conceptualizations, judgments, investments, reifications,2 and unconscious barriers, until the mind can be held perfectly still without distractions. Mind training and disciplining as taught by the Buddha, Hindus, and other wisdom traditions are valuable procedures to accomplish the required state of quiescence. A powerful tool for accelerating this process is the informed use of psychedelics. Informed use includes preparation in understanding the nature of psychedelic experiences and possible outcomes, deep intention, and integrity in the form of honoring the experience and the commitment to put what one learns into effect in oneÕs life. It may take a number of experiences
at varying dose levels and settings to achieve a glimpse of the Ultimate Self.
A common experience for those who penetrate deeply into the levels made available by psychedelic experience is the realization that we are all One, that we are all intimately connected through the life force that manifests in every living thing and every aspect of the universe. This being so, we can understand the Buddhist precept that our own ultimate realization depends on committing ourselves to the happiness and welfare of all sentient beings. I have personally found that my own adverse judgment of certain individu- als puts a definite lid on my own development.
Taken From: Learning How to Learn
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For within each of is that unimaginable place, our Real Self, known by a
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string(2167) "HE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of learning how to learn is to immerse oneself completely and without reservation into the Knower.
For within each of is that unimaginable place, our Real Self, known by a
variety of names in various times and cultures, listed by Stan Grof: ÒBrahman, Buddha, the Cosmic Christ, Keter, Allah, the Tao, the Great Spirit, and many others.Ó1 This Self, which dedicated explorers find to be intimately connected to every aspect of the Universe, seems to hold infinite knowledge. From this perspective, if we have become totally free, vast knowledge is available.
To become one with this Self, one must become free of all attachments,
conceptualizations, judgments, investments, reifications,2 and unconscious barriers, until the mind can be held perfectly still without distractions. Mind training and disciplining as taught by the Buddha, Hindus, and other wisdom traditions are valuable procedures to accomplish the required state of quiescence. A powerful tool for accelerating this process is the informed use of psychedelics. Informed use includes preparation in understanding the nature of psychedelic experiences and possible outcomes, deep intention, and integrity in the form of honoring the experience and the commitment to put what one learns into effect in oneÕs life. It may take a number of experiences
at varying dose levels and settings to achieve a glimpse of the Ultimate Self.
A common experience for those who penetrate deeply into the levels made available by psychedelic experience is the realization that we are all One, that we are all intimately connected through the life force that manifests in every living thing and every aspect of the universe. This being so, we can understand the Buddhist precept that our own ultimate realization depends on committing ourselves to the happiness and welfare of all sentient beings. I have personally found that my own adverse judgment of certain individu- als puts a definite lid on my own development.
Taken From: Learning How to Learn
"
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["title"]=>
string(45) "Hack 65. Why Can’t You Tickle Yourself? (3)"
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string(302) "One study used two robots to trick the brain into reacting to a self-tickle as if it were an external tickle.2 In the left hand, participants held an object attached to the first robot. This was connected to a second robot, attached to which was a piece of foam that delivered a touch stimulus to [...]"
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string(2155) "One study used two robots to trick the brain into reacting to a self-tickle as if it were an external tickle.2 In the left hand, participants held an object attached to the first robot. This was connected to a second robot, attached to which was a piece of foam that delivered a touch stimulus to the palm of the right hand. Movement of the participant’s left hand therefore caused movement of the foam, as if by remote control. The robotic interface was used to introduce time delays between the movement of the participant’s left hand and the touch sensation on the right palm, and participants were asked to rate the “tickliness” (Figure 6-5).
When there was no time delay, the condition was equivalent to a self-produced tickle because the participant determined the instant delivery of the touch stimulus by movements of the left hand. Greater delay between the causal action and the sensory effect (up to 300 ms) meant participants experienced the touch as more tickly.This suggests that, when there is no time delay, the brain can accurately predict the touch stimulus so that the sensory effect is attenuated. Introducing a time delay increases the likelihood of a discrepancy between the predicted and actual sensory effect. As a result, there is less attenuation of the tickly sensation, which tricks the brain into labeling the stimulus as external. By making the consequences of our own action unpredictable, therefore, the brain treats the self as another.
6.5.2. Force Prediction
You can see how we anticipate a stimulus and compensate for it, by attempting to estimate a force and seeing whether you can get that right.
6.5.2.1 In action
Use your right index finger to press down gently on the back of a friend’s hand. Your friend should then use her right index finger to press down on the same spot on your hand with the same force that she felt from your finger press. Continue taking turns at thisreproducing the same force each timeand you may notice that after about 10 turns, the forces of your finger presses are getting stronger.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(302) "One study used two robots to trick the brain into reacting to a self-tickle as if it were an external tickle.2 In the left hand, participants held an object attached to the first robot. This was connected to a second robot, attached to which was a piece of foam that delivered a touch stimulus to [...]"
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string(2155) "One study used two robots to trick the brain into reacting to a self-tickle as if it were an external tickle.2 In the left hand, participants held an object attached to the first robot. This was connected to a second robot, attached to which was a piece of foam that delivered a touch stimulus to the palm of the right hand. Movement of the participant’s left hand therefore caused movement of the foam, as if by remote control. The robotic interface was used to introduce time delays between the movement of the participant’s left hand and the touch sensation on the right palm, and participants were asked to rate the “tickliness” (Figure 6-5).
When there was no time delay, the condition was equivalent to a self-produced tickle because the participant determined the instant delivery of the touch stimulus by movements of the left hand. Greater delay between the causal action and the sensory effect (up to 300 ms) meant participants experienced the touch as more tickly.This suggests that, when there is no time delay, the brain can accurately predict the touch stimulus so that the sensory effect is attenuated. Introducing a time delay increases the likelihood of a discrepancy between the predicted and actual sensory effect. As a result, there is less attenuation of the tickly sensation, which tricks the brain into labeling the stimulus as external. By making the consequences of our own action unpredictable, therefore, the brain treats the self as another.
6.5.2. Force Prediction
You can see how we anticipate a stimulus and compensate for it, by attempting to estimate a force and seeing whether you can get that right.
6.5.2.1 In action
Use your right index finger to press down gently on the back of a friend’s hand. Your friend should then use her right index finger to press down on the same spot on your hand with the same force that she felt from your finger press. Continue taking turns at thisreproducing the same force each timeand you may notice that after about 10 turns, the forces of your finger presses are getting stronger.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(316) "The graveyard of memory research has turned into a fertile field budding with roses of all shapes and colors. The rose isn’t a bad analogy; while the final product will be extremely beautiful, you are likely to meet a few thorns along the way. In this book, I have reviewed our current knowledge base and [...]"
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string(3040) "The graveyard of memory research has turned into a fertile field budding with roses of all shapes and colors. The rose isn’t a bad analogy; while the final product will be extremely beautiful, you are likely to meet a few thorns along the way. In this book, I have reviewed our current knowledge base and laid out a comprehensive program to help you prevent memory loss due to the aging process, or to identify and treat mild memory loss if it has already set in. But all this is based on current knowledge, which is clearly limited in many ways. Given the various research directions that the field is taking, what does the future hold?
Research in molecular genetics, neuroscience, and clinical trials is growing at a blinding pace and is likely to accelerate. Part of this pressure comes from the worldwide exponential increase in knowledge, and part of it comes from you. You comprise the largest segment of the population with the most political clout, and at least when it comes to funding medical research, the politicians are responding.
If things pan out the way that some experts hope, every Kodak moment will literally be inside your head in a perfect image, and cameras will become obsolete. But I do not entirely subscribe to this view, because the fact is that human memory is finite. We all have to wipe out old, useless memories to make way for the new, important ones. We do this daily, as our hippocampi and frontal lobes deliberately forget what we ate for lunch yesterday, two days ago, a week ago, and so forth.
Therefore, at least for the foreseeable future, I expect that new treatments will be able to completely block memory loss, but they will not be able to give us total recall. Total recall would mean cluttering up our brains with sundry, often worthless information, and life would become impossible to manage.
Larger societal questions will spring forth as memory enhancement becomes a universal tool. Will people in high-precision jobs that do not permit error, such as highfliers on Wall Street or surgeons in the operating room, be required to take memory enhancers as a matter of course? And the courts, which are already nightmarish in their complexity— what will they do about witnesses who do or don’t take promemory agents? And what about the opposite end of the age spectrum: will children be made to take memory enhancers to perform well in school the way they now use computers and the Internet to boost academic performance?
These possibilities lie well into the future. For now, I urge you to begin, and then maintain, the Memory Program to prevent memory loss, and to directly tackle mild memory loss if it has already begun to affect your life. I predict that as time goes on, you are likely to look back with satisfaction at the results that you have achieved.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
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string(316) "The graveyard of memory research has turned into a fertile field budding with roses of all shapes and colors. The rose isn’t a bad analogy; while the final product will be extremely beautiful, you are likely to meet a few thorns along the way. In this book, I have reviewed our current knowledge base and [...]"
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string(3040) "The graveyard of memory research has turned into a fertile field budding with roses of all shapes and colors. The rose isn’t a bad analogy; while the final product will be extremely beautiful, you are likely to meet a few thorns along the way. In this book, I have reviewed our current knowledge base and laid out a comprehensive program to help you prevent memory loss due to the aging process, or to identify and treat mild memory loss if it has already set in. But all this is based on current knowledge, which is clearly limited in many ways. Given the various research directions that the field is taking, what does the future hold?
Research in molecular genetics, neuroscience, and clinical trials is growing at a blinding pace and is likely to accelerate. Part of this pressure comes from the worldwide exponential increase in knowledge, and part of it comes from you. You comprise the largest segment of the population with the most political clout, and at least when it comes to funding medical research, the politicians are responding.
If things pan out the way that some experts hope, every Kodak moment will literally be inside your head in a perfect image, and cameras will become obsolete. But I do not entirely subscribe to this view, because the fact is that human memory is finite. We all have to wipe out old, useless memories to make way for the new, important ones. We do this daily, as our hippocampi and frontal lobes deliberately forget what we ate for lunch yesterday, two days ago, a week ago, and so forth.
Therefore, at least for the foreseeable future, I expect that new treatments will be able to completely block memory loss, but they will not be able to give us total recall. Total recall would mean cluttering up our brains with sundry, often worthless information, and life would become impossible to manage.
Larger societal questions will spring forth as memory enhancement becomes a universal tool. Will people in high-precision jobs that do not permit error, such as highfliers on Wall Street or surgeons in the operating room, be required to take memory enhancers as a matter of course? And the courts, which are already nightmarish in their complexity— what will they do about witnesses who do or don’t take promemory agents? And what about the opposite end of the age spectrum: will children be made to take memory enhancers to perform well in school the way they now use computers and the Internet to boost academic performance?
These possibilities lie well into the future. For now, I urge you to begin, and then maintain, the Memory Program to prevent memory loss, and to directly tackle mild memory loss if it has already begun to affect your life. I predict that as time goes on, you are likely to look back with satisfaction at the results that you have achieved.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(22) "CREB and Knockout Mice"
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string(327) "A memory trace is solidified if there is a small gap in time between the pieces of information that need to be remembered. Using this technique, which is called spaced training, scientists engineered a fruit fly to have a photographic memory. In the same fruit fly species, they triggered a master gene called CREB, which [...]"
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string(4319) "A memory trace is solidified if there is a small gap in time between the pieces of information that need to be remembered. Using this technique, which is called spaced training, scientists engineered a fruit fly to have a photographic memory. In the same fruit fly species, they triggered a master gene called CREB, which has the ability to goad a number of other genes into action. In this manner, the fruit fly with a fabulous memory was born. Ideally, if we could stimulate CREB in the same way in
the human brain, total recall would become the standard for everyone. But there is no known method to turn a gene on or off in the human brain, so even though we all possess CREB, we don’t yet know how to galvanize it into action in people. The goal of these researchers is to see if manipulating CREB in some fashion will make it possible to unlock the full power of human memory.
Other researchers like Eric Kandel approach the same problem from a different angle. He takes mice and removes, or knocks out, a gene or set of genes that are involved in cognitive processes. These “knockout” mice perform horribly in mazes and similar tests of cognitive ability. Drugs are then administered, one by one, to see if they can reverse this glaring memory deficit in the knockout mice. One such promising agent is rolipram, but as yet there are no worthwhile clinical studies with
this compound. Another strategy is to block the synthesis of specific proteins by genetic manipulation, which then leads to memory loss in rats. As with the knockout mice, specific drugs can be given to reverse this process and correct the memory deficit. Kandel, in his dynamic way, has formed his own company to employ these techniques to try and find the magic pill that will reverse memory loss.
Other Novel Strategies
AMPA receptors are present throughout the brain, and are involved in synaptic connections between brain cells. These AMPA receptors play a role in boosting both learning and memory, and ampakines are substances that amplify or enhance these signals. Some investigators are trying to develop drugs that can amplify the AMPA signal, while others believe that this is a waste of time because ampakines share many similarities to caffeine, which improves attention and mental arousal with no direct impact on memory.
In animal models, a number of other substances can amplify long-term potentiation, which is the physiologic property of cells to remain depolarized, or stimulated, for an extended period of time. Kandel and other researchers believe that at the cellular level, long-term potentiation is the method by which a memory trace becomes solidified and is eventually transferred into long-term memory storage. A number of chemicals can amplify the effects of long-term potentiation. These include substances that stimulate dopamine receptors and others that inhibit the enzyme phosphodiesterase. In animal studies, these chemical substances improve transfer of information from short- to longterm storage. But as of yet, there are no clinical studies to back up these intriguing laboratory findings.
Earlier, I referred to Dennis Choi’s work on zinc and memory. Although few other researchers are putting much time and energy into studying metallic elements that are known to be involved in essential enzyme pathways, my guess is that this will change in the future. Sophisticated new technologies will help us to decipher what exactly these trace metals like chromium and selenium are doing in the brain. Future therapies may be based on increasing or decreasing the levels of these
metallic elements in a targeted fashion, taking into account the delicate balance that exists between these metallic elements and a variety of processes in the brain.
The elusive prion, discovered by Nobel laureate Stanley Prusiner, must not be forgotten. These microscopic prions play a role not only in neurological disorders, but possibly in memory loss due to the aging process itself. I suspect that we will hear a lot more about the role of prions in memory loss.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(327) "A memory trace is solidified if there is a small gap in time between the pieces of information that need to be remembered. Using this technique, which is called spaced training, scientists engineered a fruit fly to have a photographic memory. In the same fruit fly species, they triggered a master gene called CREB, which [...]"
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string(4319) "A memory trace is solidified if there is a small gap in time between the pieces of information that need to be remembered. Using this technique, which is called spaced training, scientists engineered a fruit fly to have a photographic memory. In the same fruit fly species, they triggered a master gene called CREB, which has the ability to goad a number of other genes into action. In this manner, the fruit fly with a fabulous memory was born. Ideally, if we could stimulate CREB in the same way in
the human brain, total recall would become the standard for everyone. But there is no known method to turn a gene on or off in the human brain, so even though we all possess CREB, we don’t yet know how to galvanize it into action in people. The goal of these researchers is to see if manipulating CREB in some fashion will make it possible to unlock the full power of human memory.
Other researchers like Eric Kandel approach the same problem from a different angle. He takes mice and removes, or knocks out, a gene or set of genes that are involved in cognitive processes. These “knockout” mice perform horribly in mazes and similar tests of cognitive ability. Drugs are then administered, one by one, to see if they can reverse this glaring memory deficit in the knockout mice. One such promising agent is rolipram, but as yet there are no worthwhile clinical studies with
this compound. Another strategy is to block the synthesis of specific proteins by genetic manipulation, which then leads to memory loss in rats. As with the knockout mice, specific drugs can be given to reverse this process and correct the memory deficit. Kandel, in his dynamic way, has formed his own company to employ these techniques to try and find the magic pill that will reverse memory loss.
Other Novel Strategies
AMPA receptors are present throughout the brain, and are involved in synaptic connections between brain cells. These AMPA receptors play a role in boosting both learning and memory, and ampakines are substances that amplify or enhance these signals. Some investigators are trying to develop drugs that can amplify the AMPA signal, while others believe that this is a waste of time because ampakines share many similarities to caffeine, which improves attention and mental arousal with no direct impact on memory.
In animal models, a number of other substances can amplify long-term potentiation, which is the physiologic property of cells to remain depolarized, or stimulated, for an extended period of time. Kandel and other researchers believe that at the cellular level, long-term potentiation is the method by which a memory trace becomes solidified and is eventually transferred into long-term memory storage. A number of chemicals can amplify the effects of long-term potentiation. These include substances that stimulate dopamine receptors and others that inhibit the enzyme phosphodiesterase. In animal studies, these chemical substances improve transfer of information from short- to longterm storage. But as of yet, there are no clinical studies to back up these intriguing laboratory findings.
Earlier, I referred to Dennis Choi’s work on zinc and memory. Although few other researchers are putting much time and energy into studying metallic elements that are known to be involved in essential enzyme pathways, my guess is that this will change in the future. Sophisticated new technologies will help us to decipher what exactly these trace metals like chromium and selenium are doing in the brain. Future therapies may be based on increasing or decreasing the levels of these
metallic elements in a targeted fashion, taking into account the delicate balance that exists between these metallic elements and a variety of processes in the brain.
The elusive prion, discovered by Nobel laureate Stanley Prusiner, must not be forgotten. These microscopic prions play a role not only in neurological disorders, but possibly in memory loss due to the aging process itself. I suspect that we will hear a lot more about the role of prions in memory loss.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[57]=>
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string(411) "This comprehensive Memory Program has three major steps, each involving several components:
Step 1. Identifying and treating specific, reversible causes of memory loss;
Step 2. General measures to protect against memory loss
that include a healthy diet, physical exercise, and memory training;
Step 3. Medication strategies to maintain and improve your memory.
I will first describe the Memory Program in [...]"
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Step 1. Identifying and treating specific, reversible causes of memory loss;
Step 2. General measures to protect against memory loss
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Step 3. Medication strategies to maintain and improve your memory.
I will first describe the Memory Program in its entirety, and then individualize the program by focusing on subcategories of people, based on whether you have a sound memory or mild memory loss, as well as by gender and age group.
Step 1: Identify Reversible Causes of Memory Loss
I have started with reversible causes of memory loss for a very important reason. If you fall within the category of people with mild memory loss, identifying and treating these reversible causes, where
a cure is often possible, should be your first step. A large minority of people with mild memory loss suffer from reversible causes, and it is absolutely essential to fix these causes first.
The following table outlines the most common reversible causes of memory loss, and describes typical symptoms and the main treatment approaches for the specific disorder. To avoid clutter, less common causes like drug abuse and infections are not listed in the table. The symptoms of many of these reversible causes are not restricted to memory loss but also include general cognitive and intellectual decline.
If you suffer from mild memory loss and think you may be suffering from a potentially reversible cause:
1. Carefully read the relevant chapter earlier in this book and institute the recommended measures.
2. If you’re not sure about whether you have a reversible cause, go see your doctor. Diagnosis and treatment of some reversible causes require physician consultation.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
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string(411) "This comprehensive Memory Program has three major steps, each involving several components:
Step 1. Identifying and treating specific, reversible causes of memory loss;
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Step 3. Medication strategies to maintain and improve your memory.
I will first describe the Memory Program in [...]"
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Step 1. Identifying and treating specific, reversible causes of memory loss;
Step 2. General measures to protect against memory loss
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Step 3. Medication strategies to maintain and improve your memory.
I will first describe the Memory Program in its entirety, and then individualize the program by focusing on subcategories of people, based on whether you have a sound memory or mild memory loss, as well as by gender and age group.
Step 1: Identify Reversible Causes of Memory Loss
I have started with reversible causes of memory loss for a very important reason. If you fall within the category of people with mild memory loss, identifying and treating these reversible causes, where
a cure is often possible, should be your first step. A large minority of people with mild memory loss suffer from reversible causes, and it is absolutely essential to fix these causes first.
The following table outlines the most common reversible causes of memory loss, and describes typical symptoms and the main treatment approaches for the specific disorder. To avoid clutter, less common causes like drug abuse and infections are not listed in the table. The symptoms of many of these reversible causes are not restricted to memory loss but also include general cognitive and intellectual decline.
If you suffer from mild memory loss and think you may be suffering from a potentially reversible cause:
1. Carefully read the relevant chapter earlier in this book and institute the recommended measures.
2. If you’re not sure about whether you have a reversible cause, go see your doctor. Diagnosis and treatment of some reversible causes require physician consultation.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(300) "Spending some money in the internet would need some “smart” strategies. We must be able to get the perfect stuff in the perfect site to make sure that we use the money smartly. We must to find the perfect online store that could give us what we need.
If you need the eyeglasses, it would be [...]"
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If you need the eyeglasses, it would be strongly recommended for you to visit the Zennioptical.com. This is one of the ultimate online optical that could give you some awesome services. One of the best services is that they have the cheap $ 8 Rx eyeglasses .
Some people said that finally; I found My favorite high fashion eyeglasses in this site. If you wish to be the smart spender, get the How You Can Start Spending Smart tips in the Cbn.com.
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If you need the eyeglasses, it would be strongly recommended for you to visit the Zennioptical.com. This is one of the ultimate online optical that could give you some awesome services. One of the best services is that they have the cheap $ 8 Rx eyeglasses .
Some people said that finally; I found My favorite high fashion eyeglasses in this site. If you wish to be the smart spender, get the How You Can Start Spending Smart tips in the Cbn.com.
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string(31) "DHEA: Clinical Impact on Memory"
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string(364) "Clinically, some patients with lupus who take DHEA have reported improved mood and less generalized pain. DHEA has also been administered to people with a variety of age-related maladies, including memory loss. A major limitation is that most studies to date have involved only a handful of subjects.
German investigators recently reported that a single 300 [...]"
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German investigators recently reported that a single 300 mg dose of DHEA did not affect memory test performance in young adults. In another negative study, Kristine Yaffe, in San Francisco, found no associations between DHEA blood levels and cognitive test performance in a community sample of 394 women. On the other hand, a small uncontrolled study conducted within the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, suggests that DHEA can treat memory loss in patients with dementia. But until the acid test of a large-scale, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial has been passed, the jury will still be out on this compound.
DHEA Side Effects Can Be Serious
DHEA’s conversion to steroid hormones underlies some of its therapeutic effects, but the same properties can lead to toxicity. DHEA raises the levels of testosterone and other male hormones, which increases the risk of prostate cancer. I strongly recommend medical evaluation and clearance by a physician, including assessment of blood prostate-specific antigen (PSA), for any middle-aged or elderly man who chooses to embark on DHEA therapy.
Another side effect is an increase in masculine features such as growth of facial hair and acne. As a result, DHEA is rarely given to women, who also risk losing scalp hair and developing a bass voice. Proper medical monitoring is essential. Daily doses of DHEA cover a range from 25 to 200 mg daily, with an average of 50 mg daily. This range is wide because some physicians adjust the dose to maintain high blood levels of
DHEA, a scientifically unproven practice.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
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German investigators recently reported that a single 300 [...]"
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German investigators recently reported that a single 300 mg dose of DHEA did not affect memory test performance in young adults. In another negative study, Kristine Yaffe, in San Francisco, found no associations between DHEA blood levels and cognitive test performance in a community sample of 394 women. On the other hand, a small uncontrolled study conducted within the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, suggests that DHEA can treat memory loss in patients with dementia. But until the acid test of a large-scale, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial has been passed, the jury will still be out on this compound.
DHEA Side Effects Can Be Serious
DHEA’s conversion to steroid hormones underlies some of its therapeutic effects, but the same properties can lead to toxicity. DHEA raises the levels of testosterone and other male hormones, which increases the risk of prostate cancer. I strongly recommend medical evaluation and clearance by a physician, including assessment of blood prostate-specific antigen (PSA), for any middle-aged or elderly man who chooses to embark on DHEA therapy.
Another side effect is an increase in masculine features such as growth of facial hair and acne. As a result, DHEA is rarely given to women, who also risk losing scalp hair and developing a bass voice. Proper medical monitoring is essential. Daily doses of DHEA cover a range from 25 to 200 mg daily, with an average of 50 mg daily. This range is wide because some physicians adjust the dose to maintain high blood levels of
DHEA, a scientifically unproven practice.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[60]=>
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["title"]=>
string(67) "Hack 62. The Broken Escalator Phenomenon: When Autopilot Takes Over"
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string(337) "Your conscious experience of the world and control over your body both feel instantaneousbut they’re not.
Lengthy delays in sensory feedback and in the commands that are sent to your muscles mean that what you see now happened a few moments ago and what you’re doing now you planned back then. To get around the problem [...]"
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string(1544) "Your conscious experience of the world and control over your body both feel instantaneousbut they’re not.
Lengthy delays in sensory feedback and in the commands that are sent to your muscles mean that what you see now happened a few moments ago and what you’re doing now you planned back then. To get around the problem caused by these delays in neural transmission, your brain is active and constructive in its interactions with the outside world, endlessly anticipating what’s going to happen next and planning movements to respond appropriately.
Most of the time this works well, but sometimes your brain can anticipate inappropriately, and the mismatch between what your brain thought was going to happen and what it actually encounters can lead to some strange sensations.
6.2.1. In Action
One such sensation can be felt when you walk onto a broken escalator. You know it’s broken but your brain’s autopilot takes over regardless, inappropriately adjusting your posture and gait as if the escalator were moving. This has been dubbed the broken escalator phenomenon.1 Normally, the sensory consequences of these postural adjustments are canceled out by the escalator’s motion, but when it’s broken, they lead to some self-induced sensations that your brain simply wasn’t expecting. Your brain normally cancels out the sensory consequences of its own actions [Hack #65], so it feels really weird when that doesn’t happen.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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Lengthy delays in sensory feedback and in the commands that are sent to your muscles mean that what you see now happened a few moments ago and what you’re doing now you planned back then. To get around the problem [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1544) "Your conscious experience of the world and control over your body both feel instantaneousbut they’re not.
Lengthy delays in sensory feedback and in the commands that are sent to your muscles mean that what you see now happened a few moments ago and what you’re doing now you planned back then. To get around the problem caused by these delays in neural transmission, your brain is active and constructive in its interactions with the outside world, endlessly anticipating what’s going to happen next and planning movements to respond appropriately.
Most of the time this works well, but sometimes your brain can anticipate inappropriately, and the mismatch between what your brain thought was going to happen and what it actually encounters can lead to some strange sensations.
6.2.1. In Action
One such sensation can be felt when you walk onto a broken escalator. You know it’s broken but your brain’s autopilot takes over regardless, inappropriately adjusting your posture and gait as if the escalator were moving. This has been dubbed the broken escalator phenomenon.1 Normally, the sensory consequences of these postural adjustments are canceled out by the escalator’s motion, but when it’s broken, they lead to some self-induced sensations that your brain simply wasn’t expecting. Your brain normally cancels out the sensory consequences of its own actions [Hack #65], so it feels really weird when that doesn’t happen.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[61]=>
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["title"]=>
string(20) "5.10.2. How It Works"
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string(379) "Peter Carruthers thinks that you get this effect because language is essential for conjoining information from different modules. Specifically he thinks that it is needed at the interface between beliefs, desires, and planning. Combining across modalities is possible without language for simple actions (see the other crossmodal hacks [Hack #57] through [Hack #59] in this [...]"
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string(1768) "Peter Carruthers thinks that you get this effect because language is essential for conjoining information from different modules. Specifically he thinks that it is needed at the interface between beliefs, desires, and planning. Combining across modalities is possible without language for simple actions (see the other crossmodal hacks [Hack #57] through [Hack #59] in this book for examples), but there’s something about planning, and that includes reorientation, that requires language.
This would explain why people sometimes begin to talk to themselvesto instruct themselves out loudduring especially difficult tasks. Children use self-instruction as a normal part of their development to help them carry out things they find difficult.7 Telling them to keep quiet is unfair and probably makes it harder for them to finish what they are doing.
If Carruthers is right, it means two things. First, if you are asking people to engage in goal-oriented reasoning, particularly if it uses information of different sorts, you shouldn’t ask them to do something else that is verbal, either listening or speaking.
I’ve just realized that this could be another [Hack #54] part of the reason people can drive with the radio on but need to turn it off as soon as they don’t know where they are going and need to think about which direction to take. It also explains why you should keep quiet when the driver is trying to figure out where to go next.
T.S.
Second, if you do want to get people to do complex multisequence tasks, they might find it easier if the tasks can be done using only one kind of information, so that language isn’t required to combine across modules.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(379) "Peter Carruthers thinks that you get this effect because language is essential for conjoining information from different modules. Specifically he thinks that it is needed at the interface between beliefs, desires, and planning. Combining across modalities is possible without language for simple actions (see the other crossmodal hacks [Hack #57] through [Hack #59] in this [...]"
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string(1768) "Peter Carruthers thinks that you get this effect because language is essential for conjoining information from different modules. Specifically he thinks that it is needed at the interface between beliefs, desires, and planning. Combining across modalities is possible without language for simple actions (see the other crossmodal hacks [Hack #57] through [Hack #59] in this book for examples), but there’s something about planning, and that includes reorientation, that requires language.
This would explain why people sometimes begin to talk to themselvesto instruct themselves out loudduring especially difficult tasks. Children use self-instruction as a normal part of their development to help them carry out things they find difficult.7 Telling them to keep quiet is unfair and probably makes it harder for them to finish what they are doing.
If Carruthers is right, it means two things. First, if you are asking people to engage in goal-oriented reasoning, particularly if it uses information of different sorts, you shouldn’t ask them to do something else that is verbal, either listening or speaking.
I’ve just realized that this could be another [Hack #54] part of the reason people can drive with the radio on but need to turn it off as soon as they don’t know where they are going and need to think about which direction to take. It also explains why you should keep quiet when the driver is trying to figure out where to go next.
T.S.
Second, if you do want to get people to do complex multisequence tasks, they might find it easier if the tasks can be done using only one kind of information, so that language isn’t required to combine across modules.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(26) "Blocking Neurotransmitters"
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string(398) "There may be ways to either block the formation or increase the destruction of other naturally occurring toxic chemicals and neurotransmitters, which include nitric oxide, n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), and glutamate. Studies with glutamate antagonists have been unsuccessful in clinical trials of patients with dementia, and fiddling with NMDA receptor function can be dangerous because of the [...]"
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string(2505) "There may be ways to either block the formation or increase the destruction of other naturally occurring toxic chemicals and neurotransmitters, which include nitric oxide, n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), and glutamate. Studies with glutamate antagonists have been unsuccessful in clinical trials of patients with dementia, and fiddling with NMDA receptor function can be dangerous because of the risk of seizures.
Part of the problem is that we currently do not have a complete understanding of how exactly these chemicals and neurotransmitters work in the brain, and what impact they have on
memory processes. As research evolves, compounds that can better target the right neurotransmitter sites within the brain will be developed.
Genetic Strategies: There Is No “Memory Gene”
The more we learn about the brain, the more it becomes clear that there is no single “memory gene” that holds the key. A complex web of interacting genes, chemicals, and neurotransmitters is involved in an intricate dance to keep our brains ticking along accurately, and at the right pace.
Genetics is the holy grail of new technology in medicine. There is a lot of hype, which reaches a crescendo with every breakthrough, be it the cloning of sheep or a new treatment for breast cancer. But in my view, the hype is justified. An incredible number of diseases are primarily genetic in origin, and we have little to no idea as to how to treat them, except for therapies that treat the symptoms but not the disease itself. As our knowledge about human genetic structure and function
grows, more and more genetically engineered treatments will emerge. Eventually, some of our science fiction fantasies will be transformed into human reality.
A large part of the human genome, or genetic map, focuses on controlling protein synthesis within the brain. As of now, we do not know which genes are responsible for triggering the process of
neuronal degeneration and death in the hippocampus and frontal lobes, or for that matter any other part of the brain. It is likely that we all possess both ‘‘good memory genes” and “bad memory genes,” and once we discover them we will be able to directly tackle the problem of age-related memory loss that affects most of us as we grow older.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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Part of the problem is that we currently do not have a complete understanding of how exactly these chemicals and neurotransmitters work in the brain, and what impact they have on
memory processes. As research evolves, compounds that can better target the right neurotransmitter sites within the brain will be developed.
Genetic Strategies: There Is No “Memory Gene”
The more we learn about the brain, the more it becomes clear that there is no single “memory gene” that holds the key. A complex web of interacting genes, chemicals, and neurotransmitters is involved in an intricate dance to keep our brains ticking along accurately, and at the right pace.
Genetics is the holy grail of new technology in medicine. There is a lot of hype, which reaches a crescendo with every breakthrough, be it the cloning of sheep or a new treatment for breast cancer. But in my view, the hype is justified. An incredible number of diseases are primarily genetic in origin, and we have little to no idea as to how to treat them, except for therapies that treat the symptoms but not the disease itself. As our knowledge about human genetic structure and function
grows, more and more genetically engineered treatments will emerge. Eventually, some of our science fiction fantasies will be transformed into human reality.
A large part of the human genome, or genetic map, focuses on controlling protein synthesis within the brain. As of now, we do not know which genes are responsible for triggering the process of
neuronal degeneration and death in the hippocampus and frontal lobes, or for that matter any other part of the brain. It is likely that we all possess both ‘‘good memory genes” and “bad memory genes,” and once we discover them we will be able to directly tackle the problem of age-related memory loss that affects most of us as we grow older.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[63]=>
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["title"]=>
string(41) "Hack 65. Why Can’t You Tickle Yourself?"
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string(362) "Experiments with tickling provide hints as to how the brain registers self-generated and externally generated sensations.
Most of us can identify a ticklish area on our body that, when touched by someone else, makes us laugh. Even chimpanzees, when tickled under their arms, respond with a sound equivalent to laughter; rats, too, squeal with pleasure when [...]"
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string(2485) "Experiments with tickling provide hints as to how the brain registers self-generated and externally generated sensations.
Most of us can identify a ticklish area on our body that, when touched by someone else, makes us laugh. Even chimpanzees, when tickled under their arms, respond with a sound equivalent to laughter; rats, too, squeal with pleasure when tickled. Tickling is a curious phenomenon, a sensation we surrender to almost like a reflex. Francis Bacon in 1677 commented that “[when tickled] men even in a grieved state of mind . . . cannot sometimes forebear laughing.” It can generate both pleasure and pain: a person being tickled might simultaneously laugh hysterically and writhe in agony. Indeed, in Roman times, continuous tickling of the feet was used as a method of torture. Charles Darwin, however, theorized that tickling is an important part of social and sexual bonding. He also noted that for tickling to be effective in making us laugh, the person doing the tickling should be someone we are familiar with, but that there should also be an element of unpredictability.
As psychoanalyst Adam Phillips commented, tickling “cannot be reproduced in the absence of another.” So, for tickling to induce its effect, there needs to be both a tickler and a ticklee. Here are a couple of experiments to try in the privacy of your own homeyou’ll need a friend, however, to play along.
6.5.1. Tickle Predicting
First, you can look at why there’s a difference between being tickled by yourself and by someone else.
6.5.1.1 In action
Try tickling yourself on the palm of your hand and notice how it feels. It might feel a little ticklish. Now, ask a friend to tickle you in the same place and note the difference. This time, it tickles much more.
6.5.1.2 How it works
When you experience a sensation or generate an action, how do you know whether it was you or someone else who caused it? After all, there is no special signal from the skin receptors to tell you that it was generated by you or by something in the environment. The sensors in your arm cannot tell who’s stimulating them. The brain solves this problem using a prediction system called a forward model. The brain’s motor system makes predictions about the consequences of a movement and uses the predictions to label sensations as self-produced or externally produced.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(362) "Experiments with tickling provide hints as to how the brain registers self-generated and externally generated sensations.
Most of us can identify a ticklish area on our body that, when touched by someone else, makes us laugh. Even chimpanzees, when tickled under their arms, respond with a sound equivalent to laughter; rats, too, squeal with pleasure when [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2485) "Experiments with tickling provide hints as to how the brain registers self-generated and externally generated sensations.
Most of us can identify a ticklish area on our body that, when touched by someone else, makes us laugh. Even chimpanzees, when tickled under their arms, respond with a sound equivalent to laughter; rats, too, squeal with pleasure when tickled. Tickling is a curious phenomenon, a sensation we surrender to almost like a reflex. Francis Bacon in 1677 commented that “[when tickled] men even in a grieved state of mind . . . cannot sometimes forebear laughing.” It can generate both pleasure and pain: a person being tickled might simultaneously laugh hysterically and writhe in agony. Indeed, in Roman times, continuous tickling of the feet was used as a method of torture. Charles Darwin, however, theorized that tickling is an important part of social and sexual bonding. He also noted that for tickling to be effective in making us laugh, the person doing the tickling should be someone we are familiar with, but that there should also be an element of unpredictability.
As psychoanalyst Adam Phillips commented, tickling “cannot be reproduced in the absence of another.” So, for tickling to induce its effect, there needs to be both a tickler and a ticklee. Here are a couple of experiments to try in the privacy of your own homeyou’ll need a friend, however, to play along.
6.5.1. Tickle Predicting
First, you can look at why there’s a difference between being tickled by yourself and by someone else.
6.5.1.1 In action
Try tickling yourself on the palm of your hand and notice how it feels. It might feel a little ticklish. Now, ask a friend to tickle you in the same place and note the difference. This time, it tickles much more.
6.5.1.2 How it works
When you experience a sensation or generate an action, how do you know whether it was you or someone else who caused it? After all, there is no special signal from the skin receptors to tell you that it was generated by you or by something in the environment. The sensors in your arm cannot tell who’s stimulating them. The brain solves this problem using a prediction system called a forward model. The brain’s motor system makes predictions about the consequences of a movement and uses the predictions to label sensations as self-produced or externally produced.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[64]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(15) "Transplantation"
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string(382) "A more direct human application is transplantation, which has been tried with dopamine-producing cells in Parkinson’s patients who suffer from dopamine deficiency. In the early work, human fetal cells that produced dopamine were transplanted, because such cells are more likely to retain the capacity to reproduce than adult cells. Later, the abortion controversy led to [...]"
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string(3710) "A more direct human application is transplantation, which has been tried with dopamine-producing cells in Parkinson’s patients who suffer from dopamine deficiency. In the early work, human fetal cells that produced dopamine were transplanted, because such cells are more likely to retain the capacity to reproduce than adult cells. Later, the abortion controversy led to a U.S. ban on the use of fetal tissue in medical research or procedures. This political detour submerged the revolutionary impact of the finding that cells from outside the body can actually survive and reproduce after being placed inside the brain. A Mexican neurosurgeon reported the initial successful transplants in Parkinson’s disease, but Scandinavian and American doctors could not replicate the results, and the jury is still out on this issue. But note that
long-term follow-up of these transplanted Parkinson’s patients has revealed a disturbing side effect: involuntary jerks and movements caused by the transplanted dopamine cells continuing to reproduce,
because the normal regulatory mechanisms that suppress their action within the brain don’t work well on transplanted cells.
Memory loss involves the hippocampus and surrounding areas, which are relatively small regions, but also the frontal cortex, which occupies a huge portion of the brain’s surface. This wide representation of memory in the brain makes transplantation an unlikely candidate for the next
memory “cure.” Nonetheless, if a method can be developed to transplant cells that reproduce and differentiate into hippocampal nerve cells, preferably cholinergic nerve cells, the field would truly be revolutionized. My prediction, however, is that highly effective promemory medications will be developed long before implantation of cells into the brain can be used to solve the problem of memory loss.
Blocking Formation of Toxic Compounds
Most of the existing therapies, and those in research development, focus on stimulating natural promemory factors— the good guys— in the brain, or by blocking destruction of the good guys (e.g., cholinesterase inhibitors). But what about the opposite strategy: blocking the bad guys— the toxic enzymes, the destructive genes and neurotransmitters that trigger and mediate cell death? Antioxidants represent one such approach. But in recent years, the focus has shifted to more sophisticated techniques that attempt to block the formation of deposits in the brain that damage nerve cells. These deposits, which are called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, typically occur in Alzheimer’s disease. The same plaques are present, though to a much lesser extent, in elderly people with age-related memory loss. So the question naturally arises: what if we could block the formation of plaques and tangles in the first place?
Preventing Amyloid Formation
Many drug companies are now in hot pursuit of compounds (Beta-block is the name of one such drug in development) that can block the enzymes that trigger the formation of Beta-amyloid, which is the main protein component of the amyloid plaque. Recently, an experimental vaccine has also been developed for this purpose. Many of these compounds are toxic, and we are still a long way from translating these concepts into a clinically useful treatment. But if it does occur, millions of patients and families with dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, will be eternally grateful.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(382) "A more direct human application is transplantation, which has been tried with dopamine-producing cells in Parkinson’s patients who suffer from dopamine deficiency. In the early work, human fetal cells that produced dopamine were transplanted, because such cells are more likely to retain the capacity to reproduce than adult cells. Later, the abortion controversy led to [...]"
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string(3710) "A more direct human application is transplantation, which has been tried with dopamine-producing cells in Parkinson’s patients who suffer from dopamine deficiency. In the early work, human fetal cells that produced dopamine were transplanted, because such cells are more likely to retain the capacity to reproduce than adult cells. Later, the abortion controversy led to a U.S. ban on the use of fetal tissue in medical research or procedures. This political detour submerged the revolutionary impact of the finding that cells from outside the body can actually survive and reproduce after being placed inside the brain. A Mexican neurosurgeon reported the initial successful transplants in Parkinson’s disease, but Scandinavian and American doctors could not replicate the results, and the jury is still out on this issue. But note that
long-term follow-up of these transplanted Parkinson’s patients has revealed a disturbing side effect: involuntary jerks and movements caused by the transplanted dopamine cells continuing to reproduce,
because the normal regulatory mechanisms that suppress their action within the brain don’t work well on transplanted cells.
Memory loss involves the hippocampus and surrounding areas, which are relatively small regions, but also the frontal cortex, which occupies a huge portion of the brain’s surface. This wide representation of memory in the brain makes transplantation an unlikely candidate for the next
memory “cure.” Nonetheless, if a method can be developed to transplant cells that reproduce and differentiate into hippocampal nerve cells, preferably cholinergic nerve cells, the field would truly be revolutionized. My prediction, however, is that highly effective promemory medications will be developed long before implantation of cells into the brain can be used to solve the problem of memory loss.
Blocking Formation of Toxic Compounds
Most of the existing therapies, and those in research development, focus on stimulating natural promemory factors— the good guys— in the brain, or by blocking destruction of the good guys (e.g., cholinesterase inhibitors). But what about the opposite strategy: blocking the bad guys— the toxic enzymes, the destructive genes and neurotransmitters that trigger and mediate cell death? Antioxidants represent one such approach. But in recent years, the focus has shifted to more sophisticated techniques that attempt to block the formation of deposits in the brain that damage nerve cells. These deposits, which are called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, typically occur in Alzheimer’s disease. The same plaques are present, though to a much lesser extent, in elderly people with age-related memory loss. So the question naturally arises: what if we could block the formation of plaques and tangles in the first place?
Preventing Amyloid Formation
Many drug companies are now in hot pursuit of compounds (Beta-block is the name of one such drug in development) that can block the enzymes that trigger the formation of Beta-amyloid, which is the main protein component of the amyloid plaque. Recently, an experimental vaccine has also been developed for this purpose. Many of these compounds are toxic, and we are still a long way from translating these concepts into a clinically useful treatment. But if it does occur, millions of patients and families with dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, will be eternally grateful.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[65]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(34) "Hack 64. Mold Your Body Schema (3)"
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string(329) "These disorders suggest that the brain’s system for representing body schema can operate (and be damaged) independently from the sensory feedback provided by the body itself. Sensory feedback must play a role of course, and it seems that it is used to update and correct the model to keep it in check with reality. In [...]"
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string(2944) "These disorders suggest that the brain’s system for representing body schema can operate (and be damaged) independently from the sensory feedback provided by the body itself. Sensory feedback must play a role of course, and it seems that it is used to update and correct the model to keep it in check with reality. In some situations, like the ones in the previous exercises, one type of sensory feedback can become out of sync with the others, leading to the experience of mild confusion of the body schema.
Ramachandran and Rogers-Ramachandran applied an understanding of the relationship between sensory feedback and the body schema to create a novel method to help people with phantom-limb pain.2 They used a mirror to allow people who were experiencing a phantom limb to simulate visual experience of their amputated hand. In the same way as the earlier exercise, the image of their amputated hand was simply a reflection of their remaining hand, but this simulated feedback provided enough information to the brain so they felt as if they could control and move their phantom limb. In some cases, they were able to “move” their limb out of positions that had been causing them real pain.
An fMRI [Hack #4] study by Donna Lloyd and colleagues3 might explain why visual feedback of body position might have such a dramatic effect. They scanned people while they were receiving tactile stimulation to the right hand, either while they had their eyes closed or while they were looking directly at their hand. When participants had the opportunity to view where they were being stimulated, activation shifted dramatically, not only to the parietal area, known to be involved in representing the body schema, but also to the premotor area, a part of the brain involved in planning and executing movements. This may also explain why the earlier exercises confuse our body schema enough to make accurate movement seem difficult or feel unusual. Visual information from viewing our body seems to activate brain areas involved in planning our next move.
6.4.3. End Notes
Ramachandran, V. S., & Blakeslee, S. (1998). Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind. London: Fourth Estate.
Ramachandran, V. S., & Rogers-Ramachandran, D. (1996). Synaesthesia in phantom limbs induced with mirrors. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences, 263(1369), 377-386.
Lloyd, D. M., Shore, D. I., Spence, C., & Calvert, G. A. (2002). Multisensory representation of limb position in human premotor cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 6(1), 17-18.
6.4.4. See Also
Tool use extends the body schema with its reach, altering the map the brain keeps of our own body: Maravita, A., & Iriki, A. (2004). Tools for the body (schema). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(2), 79-86.
Vaughan Bell
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(329) "These disorders suggest that the brain’s system for representing body schema can operate (and be damaged) independently from the sensory feedback provided by the body itself. Sensory feedback must play a role of course, and it seems that it is used to update and correct the model to keep it in check with reality. In [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2944) "These disorders suggest that the brain’s system for representing body schema can operate (and be damaged) independently from the sensory feedback provided by the body itself. Sensory feedback must play a role of course, and it seems that it is used to update and correct the model to keep it in check with reality. In some situations, like the ones in the previous exercises, one type of sensory feedback can become out of sync with the others, leading to the experience of mild confusion of the body schema.
Ramachandran and Rogers-Ramachandran applied an understanding of the relationship between sensory feedback and the body schema to create a novel method to help people with phantom-limb pain.2 They used a mirror to allow people who were experiencing a phantom limb to simulate visual experience of their amputated hand. In the same way as the earlier exercise, the image of their amputated hand was simply a reflection of their remaining hand, but this simulated feedback provided enough information to the brain so they felt as if they could control and move their phantom limb. In some cases, they were able to “move” their limb out of positions that had been causing them real pain.
An fMRI [Hack #4] study by Donna Lloyd and colleagues3 might explain why visual feedback of body position might have such a dramatic effect. They scanned people while they were receiving tactile stimulation to the right hand, either while they had their eyes closed or while they were looking directly at their hand. When participants had the opportunity to view where they were being stimulated, activation shifted dramatically, not only to the parietal area, known to be involved in representing the body schema, but also to the premotor area, a part of the brain involved in planning and executing movements. This may also explain why the earlier exercises confuse our body schema enough to make accurate movement seem difficult or feel unusual. Visual information from viewing our body seems to activate brain areas involved in planning our next move.
6.4.3. End Notes
Ramachandran, V. S., & Blakeslee, S. (1998). Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind. London: Fourth Estate.
Ramachandran, V. S., & Rogers-Ramachandran, D. (1996). Synaesthesia in phantom limbs induced with mirrors. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences, 263(1369), 377-386.
Lloyd, D. M., Shore, D. I., Spence, C., & Calvert, G. A. (2002). Multisensory representation of limb position in human premotor cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 6(1), 17-18.
6.4.4. See Also
Tool use extends the body schema with its reach, altering the map the brain keeps of our own body: Maravita, A., & Iriki, A. (2004). Tools for the body (schema). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(2), 79-86.
Vaughan Bell
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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["title"]=>
string(30) "Hack 63. Keep Hold of Yourself"
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string(288) "How do we keep the sensations on our skin up to date as we move our bodies around in space?
When an insect lands on your skin, receptors in that area of skin fire and a signal travels up to your brain. The identity of the receptor indicates which part of your skin has been touched. [...]"
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string(1950) "How do we keep the sensations on our skin up to date as we move our bodies around in space?
When an insect lands on your skin, receptors in that area of skin fire and a signal travels up to your brain. The identity of the receptor indicates which part of your skin has been touched. But how do you know exactly where that bit of your body is so you can swat the fly? As we move our bodies around in space we have to remap and take account of our changes in posture to understand the sensations arriving at our skin; very different movements are required to scratch your knee depending on whether you’re sitting down or standing up. This might seem like a trivial problem, but it is more complex than it seems at first. We have to integrate information from our joints and muscles about the current position of our bodyproprioceptive informationas well as touch and vision, for example, to gauge that the sight of a fly landing and the sensation of it contacting your finger are coming from the same place.
6.3.1. In Action
Try closing your eyes and feeling an object on a table in front of you with the fingers of both hands. Now, cross your hands and return your fingers to the object. Despite swapping the point of contact between your two hands, you do not feel that the object has flipped around. The next two illusions attempt to make this remapping fail.
First, try crossing your index finger and middle finger and run the gap between them along the ridge and around the tip of your nose (make sure you do this quite slowly). You will probably feel as if you have two noses. This is because your brain has failed to take account of the fact that you have crossed your fingers. Notice that you are unable to overcome this illusion even if you consciously try to do so. This is sometimes called Aristotle’s Illusion, as he was apparently the first person to record it.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(288) "How do we keep the sensations on our skin up to date as we move our bodies around in space?
When an insect lands on your skin, receptors in that area of skin fire and a signal travels up to your brain. The identity of the receptor indicates which part of your skin has been touched. [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1950) "How do we keep the sensations on our skin up to date as we move our bodies around in space?
When an insect lands on your skin, receptors in that area of skin fire and a signal travels up to your brain. The identity of the receptor indicates which part of your skin has been touched. But how do you know exactly where that bit of your body is so you can swat the fly? As we move our bodies around in space we have to remap and take account of our changes in posture to understand the sensations arriving at our skin; very different movements are required to scratch your knee depending on whether you’re sitting down or standing up. This might seem like a trivial problem, but it is more complex than it seems at first. We have to integrate information from our joints and muscles about the current position of our bodyproprioceptive informationas well as touch and vision, for example, to gauge that the sight of a fly landing and the sensation of it contacting your finger are coming from the same place.
6.3.1. In Action
Try closing your eyes and feeling an object on a table in front of you with the fingers of both hands. Now, cross your hands and return your fingers to the object. Despite swapping the point of contact between your two hands, you do not feel that the object has flipped around. The next two illusions attempt to make this remapping fail.
First, try crossing your index finger and middle finger and run the gap between them along the ridge and around the tip of your nose (make sure you do this quite slowly). You will probably feel as if you have two noses. This is because your brain has failed to take account of the fact that you have crossed your fingers. Notice that you are unable to overcome this illusion even if you consciously try to do so. This is sometimes called Aristotle’s Illusion, as he was apparently the first person to record it.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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["title"]=>
string(59) "Brain Exercises and Memory Training: Practice Makes Perfect"
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string(346) "Exercising the brain can take many forms. It is essential to keep your mind curious, occupied, and creative. Maintaining an active social life as you grow older is crucial, because it is through interaction with other people that your intellect stays sharp. Be mentally active, and cultivate your memory skills to avoid losing them. Several [...]"
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string(2388) "Exercising the brain can take many forms. It is essential to keep your mind curious, occupied, and creative. Maintaining an active social life as you grow older is crucial, because it is through interaction with other people that your intellect stays sharp. Be mentally active, and cultivate your memory skills to avoid losing them. Several simple strategies, summarized in the table below, can be used to maintain and even boost your memory skills (see more details in chapter 6). Regularity and consistency are necessary for these techniques to have any long-term impact.
Diet, Physical Exercise, and Memory Training Work Best Together
Obviously, the most effective diet and exercise (physical and mental) program is just that: a diet and exercise program, not just one or the other. From a health standpoint, this combination needs to be executed on a steady, continuous basis. Fits and starts are not very helpful in preventing memory loss. Stick to a sensible diet without drastic changes and exercise regularly, preferably a few times each week. Memory training to maintain mental sharpness is also important. Once you convert these changes into regular habits you will be on automatic pilot, and the regimen will not seem so difficult to maintain.
Step 3: Supplement with Medications: Vitamins, Alternative, Pharmaceutical
Medications to prevent future memory loss, or to treat mild forms of memory loss, should be used to supplement, and not replace, general health measures like proper diet and exercise. You may wish to try the alternative medications in the list, or you may prefer to stick to modern pharmaceuticals, which include over-the-counter and prescription medications. But regardless of which camp you belong to, I suggest that you keep an open mind and weigh all the information in your Memory Program before starting any medications.
Individuals React Differently to Different Medications
People react in different ways to the same medications, so if you start with one and you’re not happy with it, or feel that you’re developing side effects, it is perfectly reasonable to switch to another medication or combination of medications.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(2388) "Exercising the brain can take many forms. It is essential to keep your mind curious, occupied, and creative. Maintaining an active social life as you grow older is crucial, because it is through interaction with other people that your intellect stays sharp. Be mentally active, and cultivate your memory skills to avoid losing them. Several simple strategies, summarized in the table below, can be used to maintain and even boost your memory skills (see more details in chapter 6). Regularity and consistency are necessary for these techniques to have any long-term impact.
Diet, Physical Exercise, and Memory Training Work Best Together
Obviously, the most effective diet and exercise (physical and mental) program is just that: a diet and exercise program, not just one or the other. From a health standpoint, this combination needs to be executed on a steady, continuous basis. Fits and starts are not very helpful in preventing memory loss. Stick to a sensible diet without drastic changes and exercise regularly, preferably a few times each week. Memory training to maintain mental sharpness is also important. Once you convert these changes into regular habits you will be on automatic pilot, and the regimen will not seem so difficult to maintain.
Step 3: Supplement with Medications: Vitamins, Alternative, Pharmaceutical
Medications to prevent future memory loss, or to treat mild forms of memory loss, should be used to supplement, and not replace, general health measures like proper diet and exercise. You may wish to try the alternative medications in the list, or you may prefer to stick to modern pharmaceuticals, which include over-the-counter and prescription medications. But regardless of which camp you belong to, I suggest that you keep an open mind and weigh all the information in your Memory Program before starting any medications.
Individuals React Differently to Different Medications
People react in different ways to the same medications, so if you start with one and you’re not happy with it, or feel that you’re developing side effects, it is perfectly reasonable to switch to another medication or combination of medications.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1249204172)
}
[68]=>
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string(29) "Stimulating Nerve Cell Growth"
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string(350) "In infant mice, an enriched environment of toys, high-quality food, games, and other stimuli increases nerve cell growth and branching in the brain. Compared to normally caged mice living a spartan existence, mice exposed to barely two months of this enriched environment show a 15 percent increase in the number of brain nerve cells.
You know [...]"
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string(2712) "In infant mice, an enriched environment of toys, high-quality food, games, and other stimuli increases nerve cell growth and branching in the brain. Compared to normally caged mice living a spartan existence, mice exposed to barely two months of this enriched environment show a 15 percent increase in the number of brain nerve cells.
You know that in children, intensive education accompanied by strong nurturing and healthy social stimulation often leads to outstanding academic and subsequent professional success. It is as if these enviromental factors are the cognitive enhancers, the promemory agents, of childhood. But can a similar approach be used to boost memory in older people, whose nerve cells have largely lost the ability to reproduce?
Substances that stimulate the growth and branching of existing nerve cells, without necessarily increasing their number through a reproductive process, may enhance cognitive abilities. For example, infusing a naturally occurring substance called nerve growth factor into mice increases neuronal branching and improves connectivity among brain cells. These ideas are still in animal experimentation, but clinical trials are likely to begin with one or more neurotrophic compounds in
the near future.
Pluripotent Nerve Cells: A Neuroscience Controversy
A healthy diet, regular exercise, and intellectual and social stimulation are clearly beneficial to brain function. There is a molecular basis to the effects of these types of environmental stimulation in the brain. Although most nerve cells in an older person’s brain have indeed lost the ability to reproduce, there are a few primitive cells, called pluripotent cells, that retain the capacity to differentiate or evolve into several types of nerve cells at any time during the life span, including old age. While these cells are small in number, they can still play an important restorative role after injury or damage or the aging process itself. Some of these pluripotent neural cells appear to be present in the hippocampus, and stimulating them to differentiate and reproduce may prove to be an excellent promemory strategy. As a matter of fact, a few drug companies are trying to develop neurotrophic compounds that can stimulate these primitive, pluripotent cells to differentiate and grow into functioning nerve cells in the brain.
Basic research on pluripotent nerve cells has been very limited, and some scientists question if they even exist in the adult human brain.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(350) "In infant mice, an enriched environment of toys, high-quality food, games, and other stimuli increases nerve cell growth and branching in the brain. Compared to normally caged mice living a spartan existence, mice exposed to barely two months of this enriched environment show a 15 percent increase in the number of brain nerve cells.
You know [...]"
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string(2712) "In infant mice, an enriched environment of toys, high-quality food, games, and other stimuli increases nerve cell growth and branching in the brain. Compared to normally caged mice living a spartan existence, mice exposed to barely two months of this enriched environment show a 15 percent increase in the number of brain nerve cells.
You know that in children, intensive education accompanied by strong nurturing and healthy social stimulation often leads to outstanding academic and subsequent professional success. It is as if these enviromental factors are the cognitive enhancers, the promemory agents, of childhood. But can a similar approach be used to boost memory in older people, whose nerve cells have largely lost the ability to reproduce?
Substances that stimulate the growth and branching of existing nerve cells, without necessarily increasing their number through a reproductive process, may enhance cognitive abilities. For example, infusing a naturally occurring substance called nerve growth factor into mice increases neuronal branching and improves connectivity among brain cells. These ideas are still in animal experimentation, but clinical trials are likely to begin with one or more neurotrophic compounds in
the near future.
Pluripotent Nerve Cells: A Neuroscience Controversy
A healthy diet, regular exercise, and intellectual and social stimulation are clearly beneficial to brain function. There is a molecular basis to the effects of these types of environmental stimulation in the brain. Although most nerve cells in an older person’s brain have indeed lost the ability to reproduce, there are a few primitive cells, called pluripotent cells, that retain the capacity to differentiate or evolve into several types of nerve cells at any time during the life span, including old age. While these cells are small in number, they can still play an important restorative role after injury or damage or the aging process itself. Some of these pluripotent neural cells appear to be present in the hippocampus, and stimulating them to differentiate and reproduce may prove to be an excellent promemory strategy. As a matter of fact, a few drug companies are trying to develop neurotrophic compounds that can stimulate these primitive, pluripotent cells to differentiate and grow into functioning nerve cells in the brain.
Basic research on pluripotent nerve cells has been very limited, and some scientists question if they even exist in the adult human brain.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1248918331)
}
[69]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(25) "Hack 61. Talk to Yourself"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=349"
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["pubdate"]=>
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string(342) "Language isn’t just for talking to other people; it may play a vital role in helping your brain combine information from different modules.
Language might be an astoundingly efficient way of getting information into your head from the outside [Hack #49] , but that’s not its only job. It also helps you think. Far from being [...]"
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string(1715) "Language isn’t just for talking to other people; it may play a vital role in helping your brain combine information from different modules.
Language might be an astoundingly efficient way of getting information into your head from the outside [Hack #49] , but that’s not its only job. It also helps you think. Far from being a sign of madness, talking to yourself is something at the essence of being human.
Rather than dwell on the evolution of language and its role in rewiring the brain into its modern form,1 let’s look at one way language may be used by our brains to do cognitive work. Specifically we’re talking about the ability of language to combine information in ordered structuresin a word: syntax.
Peter Carruthers, at the University of Maryland,2 has proposed that language syntax is used to combine, simultaneously, information from different cognitive modules. By “modules,” he means specialized processes into which we have no insight,3 such as color perception or instant number judgments [Hack #35] . You don’t know how you know that something is red or that there are two coffee cups, you just know. Without language syntax, the claim is, we can’t combine this information.
The theory seems pretty boldor maybe even wrongbut we’ll go through the evidence Carruthers uses and the details of what exactly he means and you can make up your own mind. If he’s right, the implications are profound, and it clarifies exactly how deeply language is entwined with thought. At the very least, we hope to convince you that something interesting is going on in these experiments.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(342) "Language isn’t just for talking to other people; it may play a vital role in helping your brain combine information from different modules.
Language might be an astoundingly efficient way of getting information into your head from the outside [Hack #49] , but that’s not its only job. It also helps you think. Far from being [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1715) "Language isn’t just for talking to other people; it may play a vital role in helping your brain combine information from different modules.
Language might be an astoundingly efficient way of getting information into your head from the outside [Hack #49] , but that’s not its only job. It also helps you think. Far from being a sign of madness, talking to yourself is something at the essence of being human.
Rather than dwell on the evolution of language and its role in rewiring the brain into its modern form,1 let’s look at one way language may be used by our brains to do cognitive work. Specifically we’re talking about the ability of language to combine information in ordered structuresin a word: syntax.
Peter Carruthers, at the University of Maryland,2 has proposed that language syntax is used to combine, simultaneously, information from different cognitive modules. By “modules,” he means specialized processes into which we have no insight,3 such as color perception or instant number judgments [Hack #35] . You don’t know how you know that something is red or that there are two coffee cups, you just know. Without language syntax, the claim is, we can’t combine this information.
The theory seems pretty boldor maybe even wrongbut we’ll go through the evidence Carruthers uses and the details of what exactly he means and you can make up your own mind. If he’s right, the implications are profound, and it clarifies exactly how deeply language is entwined with thought. At the very least, we hope to convince you that something interesting is going on in these experiments.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
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[70]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(34) "Hack 64. Mold Your Body Schema (2)"
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string(292) "One easy way of moving your hands together is to run a curtain rail under the mirror, if you have one handy, and place each hand on a curtain ring (this is what I’m doing in Figure 6-2). Move your hands toward and away from the mirror for 30 seconds, until your brain has confused [...]"
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string(2875) "One easy way of moving your hands together is to run a curtain rail under the mirror, if you have one handy, and place each hand on a curtain ring (this is what I’m doing in Figure 6-2). Move your hands toward and away from the mirror for 30 seconds, until your brain has confused your right hand and your reflected left hand in the mirrorthen release the curtain ring from your right hand. You can feel the ring has gone, but in the mirror it looks as though you’re still holding it. To me, the disconnect felt like pins and needles, all through my right hand.
Alternatively, you can manipulate your body schema into incorporating a table as part of yourself.1 Sit at a table with a friend at your side. Put one hand on your knee, out of sight under the table. Your friend’s job is to tap, touch, and stroke your hidden hand andwith identical movements using her other handto tap the top of the table directly above. Do this for a couple of minutes. It helps if you concentrate on the table where your friend is touching, and it’s important you don’t get hints of how your friend is touching your hidden hand. The more irregular the pattern and the better synchronized the movements on your hand and on the table, the greater the chance this will work for you. About 50% of people begin to feel as if the tapping sensation is arising from the table, where they can see the tapping happening before their very eyes. If you’re lucky, the simultaneous touching and visual input have led the table to be incorporated into your body image.
6.4.2. How It Works
These techniques provide conflicting touch and visual feedback, making it difficult to maintain a consistent impression of exactly where body parts are located in space. They’re similar to the crossed hands illusion [Hack #63], in which twisting your hands generates visual feedback contradictory to your body schema. In the crossed hands illusion, this leads to movement errors, and in the preceding techniques leads to the sense of being momentarily disconnected from our own movements.
Some of our best information on the body schema has been from patients who have had limbs amputated. More than 90% of amputees with reporting an experience of a “phantom limb”: they still experience sensations (sometimes pain) from an amputated body part. This suggests that the brain represents some aspects of body position and sensation as an internal model that does not entirely depend on sensory feedback. Further evidence is provided by a rare disorder called autotopagnosia: despite the patients having intact limbs, brain injury (particularly to the left parietal lobe [Hack #8]) causes a loss of spatial knowledge about the body so severe that they are unable to even point to a body part when asked.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(292) "One easy way of moving your hands together is to run a curtain rail under the mirror, if you have one handy, and place each hand on a curtain ring (this is what I’m doing in Figure 6-2). Move your hands toward and away from the mirror for 30 seconds, until your brain has confused [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2875) "One easy way of moving your hands together is to run a curtain rail under the mirror, if you have one handy, and place each hand on a curtain ring (this is what I’m doing in Figure 6-2). Move your hands toward and away from the mirror for 30 seconds, until your brain has confused your right hand and your reflected left hand in the mirrorthen release the curtain ring from your right hand. You can feel the ring has gone, but in the mirror it looks as though you’re still holding it. To me, the disconnect felt like pins and needles, all through my right hand.
Alternatively, you can manipulate your body schema into incorporating a table as part of yourself.1 Sit at a table with a friend at your side. Put one hand on your knee, out of sight under the table. Your friend’s job is to tap, touch, and stroke your hidden hand andwith identical movements using her other handto tap the top of the table directly above. Do this for a couple of minutes. It helps if you concentrate on the table where your friend is touching, and it’s important you don’t get hints of how your friend is touching your hidden hand. The more irregular the pattern and the better synchronized the movements on your hand and on the table, the greater the chance this will work for you. About 50% of people begin to feel as if the tapping sensation is arising from the table, where they can see the tapping happening before their very eyes. If you’re lucky, the simultaneous touching and visual input have led the table to be incorporated into your body image.
6.4.2. How It Works
These techniques provide conflicting touch and visual feedback, making it difficult to maintain a consistent impression of exactly where body parts are located in space. They’re similar to the crossed hands illusion [Hack #63], in which twisting your hands generates visual feedback contradictory to your body schema. In the crossed hands illusion, this leads to movement errors, and in the preceding techniques leads to the sense of being momentarily disconnected from our own movements.
Some of our best information on the body schema has been from patients who have had limbs amputated. More than 90% of amputees with reporting an experience of a “phantom limb”: they still experience sensations (sometimes pain) from an amputated body part. This suggests that the brain represents some aspects of body position and sensation as an internal model that does not entirely depend on sensory feedback. Further evidence is provided by a rare disorder called autotopagnosia: despite the patients having intact limbs, brain injury (particularly to the left parietal lobe [Hack #8]) causes a loss of spatial knowledge about the body so severe that they are unable to even point to a body part when asked.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1248426028)
}
[71]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(71) "Hack 62. The Broken Escalator Phenomenon: When Autopilot Takes Over (3)"
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string(347) "The first time the subjects stepped onto the moving walkway, they lost their balance and grasped the handrail. But over the next few attempts, they learned to anticipate the unbalancing effect of the walkway by speeding up their stride and leaning their body forward.
Then crucially, when the volunteers first walked onto the walkway when it [...]"
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string(3449) "The first time the subjects stepped onto the moving walkway, they lost their balance and grasped the handrail. But over the next few attempts, they learned to anticipate the unbalancing effect of the walkway by speeding up their stride and leaning their body forward.
Then crucially, when the volunteers first walked onto the walkway when it was switched off, they continued to walk at the increased speed and also continued to sway the trunk of their body forward. They performed these inappropriate adjustments even though they could see the walkway was no longer moving and even though they had been told it would no longer move. However, this happened only once. Their brain had apparently realized the mistake and the next time they walked onto the stationary walkway they didn’t perform these inappropriate adjustments. Consistent with anecdotal evidence for the broken escalator phenomenon, most of the volunteers expressed spontaneous surprise at the sensations they experienced when they first stepped onto the stationary walkway.
6.2.3. In Real Life
There are obviously differences between the lab experiment and the real-life phenomenon. Our brains have learned to cope with escalators over years of experience, whereas the experimental volunteers adapted to the lab walkway in just a few minutes. But what the real-life phenomenon and lab experiment both represent is an example of dissociation between our conscious knowledge and our brain’s control of our actions. The volunteers knew the walkway was motionless, but because it had been moving previously, the brain put anticipatory adjustments in place anyway to prevent loss of balance. Usually these kinds of dissociations work the other way around. Often our conscious perception can be tricked by sensory illusions, but the action systems of our brain are not fooled and act appropriately. For example, visual illusions of size can lead us to perceptually misjudge the size of an object, yet our fingertip grasp will be appropriate to the object’s true size. The motor system gets it right when our conscious perception is fooled by the illusion size (see [Hack #66] to see this in action).
These observations undermine our sense of a unified self: it seems our consciousness and the movement control parts of our brain can have two different takes on the world at the same time. This happens because, in our fast-paced world of infinite information and possibility, our brain must prioritize both what sensory information reaches consciousness and what aspects of movement our consciousness controls. Imagine how sluggish you would be if you had to think in detail about every movement you made. Indeed, most of the time autopilot improves performancethink of how fluent you’ve become at the boring drive home from work or the benefits of touch-typing. It’s just that, in the case of the broken escalator, your brain should really have handed the reins back to “you.”
6.2.4. End Notes
Reynolds, R. F., & Bronstein, A. M. (2003). The broken escalator phenomenon. aftereffect of walking onto a moving platform. Experimental Brain Research, 151, 301-308.
Reynolds, R. F., & Bronstein, A. M. (2004). The moving platform aftereffect: Limited generalization of a locomotor adaptation. Journal of Neurophysiology, 91, 92-100.
Christian Jarrett
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(347) "The first time the subjects stepped onto the moving walkway, they lost their balance and grasped the handrail. But over the next few attempts, they learned to anticipate the unbalancing effect of the walkway by speeding up their stride and leaning their body forward.
Then crucially, when the volunteers first walked onto the walkway when it [...]"
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string(3449) "The first time the subjects stepped onto the moving walkway, they lost their balance and grasped the handrail. But over the next few attempts, they learned to anticipate the unbalancing effect of the walkway by speeding up their stride and leaning their body forward.
Then crucially, when the volunteers first walked onto the walkway when it was switched off, they continued to walk at the increased speed and also continued to sway the trunk of their body forward. They performed these inappropriate adjustments even though they could see the walkway was no longer moving and even though they had been told it would no longer move. However, this happened only once. Their brain had apparently realized the mistake and the next time they walked onto the stationary walkway they didn’t perform these inappropriate adjustments. Consistent with anecdotal evidence for the broken escalator phenomenon, most of the volunteers expressed spontaneous surprise at the sensations they experienced when they first stepped onto the stationary walkway.
6.2.3. In Real Life
There are obviously differences between the lab experiment and the real-life phenomenon. Our brains have learned to cope with escalators over years of experience, whereas the experimental volunteers adapted to the lab walkway in just a few minutes. But what the real-life phenomenon and lab experiment both represent is an example of dissociation between our conscious knowledge and our brain’s control of our actions. The volunteers knew the walkway was motionless, but because it had been moving previously, the brain put anticipatory adjustments in place anyway to prevent loss of balance. Usually these kinds of dissociations work the other way around. Often our conscious perception can be tricked by sensory illusions, but the action systems of our brain are not fooled and act appropriately. For example, visual illusions of size can lead us to perceptually misjudge the size of an object, yet our fingertip grasp will be appropriate to the object’s true size. The motor system gets it right when our conscious perception is fooled by the illusion size (see [Hack #66] to see this in action).
These observations undermine our sense of a unified self: it seems our consciousness and the movement control parts of our brain can have two different takes on the world at the same time. This happens because, in our fast-paced world of infinite information and possibility, our brain must prioritize both what sensory information reaches consciousness and what aspects of movement our consciousness controls. Imagine how sluggish you would be if you had to think in detail about every movement you made. Indeed, most of the time autopilot improves performancethink of how fluent you’ve become at the boring drive home from work or the benefits of touch-typing. It’s just that, in the case of the broken escalator, your brain should really have handed the reins back to “you.”
6.2.4. End Notes
Reynolds, R. F., & Bronstein, A. M. (2003). The broken escalator phenomenon. aftereffect of walking onto a moving platform. Experimental Brain Research, 151, 301-308.
Reynolds, R. F., & Bronstein, A. M. (2004). The moving platform aftereffect: Limited generalization of a locomotor adaptation. Journal of Neurophysiology, 91, 92-100.
Christian Jarrett
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[72]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(30) "Hack 64. Mold Your Body Schema"
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string(347) "Your body image is mutable within only a few minutes of judiciousand misleadingvisual feedback.
Our brains are constantly updated with information about the position of our bodies. Rather than relying entirely on one form of sensory feedback, our bodies use both visual and tactile feedback in concert to allow us to work out where our limbs [...]"
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string(1726) "Your body image is mutable within only a few minutes of judiciousand misleadingvisual feedback.
Our brains are constantly updated with information about the position of our bodies. Rather than relying entirely on one form of sensory feedback, our bodies use both visual and tactile feedback in concert to allow us to work out where our limbs are likely to be at any one moment. Proprioceptiongenerated by sensory receptors located in our joints and muscles that feed back information on muscle stretch and joint positionis another sense that is specifically concerned with body position.
The brain combines all this information to provide a unified impression of body position and shape known as the body schema. Nevertheless, by supplying conflicting sensory feedback during movement, we can confuse our body schema and break apart the unified impression.
6.4.1. In Action
Find a mirror big enough so you can stand it on its edge, perpendicular to your body, with the mirrored side facing left. Put your arms at your sides (you’ll probably need a friend to hold the mirror). This whole setup is shown in Figure 6-2. Look sideways into the mirror so you can see both your left hand and its reflection in the mirror, so that it appears at first blush to be your hidden right hand. While keeping your wrists still and looking into the mirror, waggle your fingers and move both your hands in synchrony for about 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, keep your left hand moving but stop your right. You should sense a momentary feeling of “strangeness,” as if disconnected from your right hand. It looks as if it is moving yet feels as if it has stopped.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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string(347) "Your body image is mutable within only a few minutes of judiciousand misleadingvisual feedback.
Our brains are constantly updated with information about the position of our bodies. Rather than relying entirely on one form of sensory feedback, our bodies use both visual and tactile feedback in concert to allow us to work out where our limbs [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1726) "Your body image is mutable within only a few minutes of judiciousand misleadingvisual feedback.
Our brains are constantly updated with information about the position of our bodies. Rather than relying entirely on one form of sensory feedback, our bodies use both visual and tactile feedback in concert to allow us to work out where our limbs are likely to be at any one moment. Proprioceptiongenerated by sensory receptors located in our joints and muscles that feed back information on muscle stretch and joint positionis another sense that is specifically concerned with body position.
The brain combines all this information to provide a unified impression of body position and shape known as the body schema. Nevertheless, by supplying conflicting sensory feedback during movement, we can confuse our body schema and break apart the unified impression.
6.4.1. In Action
Find a mirror big enough so you can stand it on its edge, perpendicular to your body, with the mirrored side facing left. Put your arms at your sides (you’ll probably need a friend to hold the mirror). This whole setup is shown in Figure 6-2. Look sideways into the mirror so you can see both your left hand and its reflection in the mirror, so that it appears at first blush to be your hidden right hand. While keeping your wrists still and looking into the mirror, waggle your fingers and move both your hands in synchrony for about 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, keep your left hand moving but stop your right. You should sense a momentary feeling of “strangeness,” as if disconnected from your right hand. It looks as if it is moving yet feels as if it has stopped.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1247904011)
}
[73]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(25) "Cholinesterase Inhibitors"
["link"]=>
string(27) "http://zombiefud.com/?p=538"
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["pubdate"]=>
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string(440) "Cholinesterase inhibitors represent the only class of medications that are FDA-approved to treat dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease. After tacrine came donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Reminyl). Although these medications were developed to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the pharmaceutical industry has become aware that the market for mild memory loss is much larger. Aricept [...]"
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string(2732) "Cholinesterase inhibitors represent the only class of medications that are FDA-approved to treat dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease. After tacrine came donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Reminyl). Although these medications were developed to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the pharmaceutical industry has become aware that the market for mild memory loss is much larger. Aricept has been shown to improve cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis, and is now being tested in people with mild to moderate memory loss. The other newer cholinergic agents may have similar properties. The underlying rationale is that cholinergic nerve cells decay in all of us during the aging process, and cholinesterase inhibitors can reverse this deficit and thereby improve cognitive performance.
Combination Therapies Need to Be Tested
From a theoretical perspective, tackling different pathways that lead to memory loss may be more beneficial than dealing with only one pathway, but a few studies that attempted combination therapies met with poor results. The Alzheimer’s study using vitamin E plus selegiline showed no advantage for the combination over either medication taken alone. Earlier, Ken Davis’s group at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York tried a medication cocktail to simultaneously correct the cholinergic and adrenergic (norepinephrine) deficits in Alzheimer’s disease, but the combination did not work well in a clinical trial.
But another incidental finding suggests that the search for an optimal combination therapy should not be abandoned. In the tacrine study of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the medication’s effect was strongest in women taking estrogen, indicating that the combination was better than tacrine alone. In an entirely different field, AIDS treatment underwent a revolution after combinations of protease inhibitors were shown to be much more effective than single medication regimens. In the future, I expect that a number of combinations will be studied from the potpourri of therapies for memory loss: ginkgo biloba, donepezil, vitamin E, estrogen, and COX-II inhibitors, to name a few. At this stage, it is impossible to predict which combination of two or three or four medications will prove superior to treatment with individual medications.
Note that the Memory Program relies on a multilayered strategy that includes the judicious use of carefully selected combinations of medications.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
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string(440) "Cholinesterase inhibitors represent the only class of medications that are FDA-approved to treat dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease. After tacrine came donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Reminyl). Although these medications were developed to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the pharmaceutical industry has become aware that the market for mild memory loss is much larger. Aricept [...]"
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string(2732) "Cholinesterase inhibitors represent the only class of medications that are FDA-approved to treat dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease. After tacrine came donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Reminyl). Although these medications were developed to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the pharmaceutical industry has become aware that the market for mild memory loss is much larger. Aricept has been shown to improve cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis, and is now being tested in people with mild to moderate memory loss. The other newer cholinergic agents may have similar properties. The underlying rationale is that cholinergic nerve cells decay in all of us during the aging process, and cholinesterase inhibitors can reverse this deficit and thereby improve cognitive performance.
Combination Therapies Need to Be Tested
From a theoretical perspective, tackling different pathways that lead to memory loss may be more beneficial than dealing with only one pathway, but a few studies that attempted combination therapies met with poor results. The Alzheimer’s study using vitamin E plus selegiline showed no advantage for the combination over either medication taken alone. Earlier, Ken Davis’s group at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York tried a medication cocktail to simultaneously correct the cholinergic and adrenergic (norepinephrine) deficits in Alzheimer’s disease, but the combination did not work well in a clinical trial.
But another incidental finding suggests that the search for an optimal combination therapy should not be abandoned. In the tacrine study of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the medication’s effect was strongest in women taking estrogen, indicating that the combination was better than tacrine alone. In an entirely different field, AIDS treatment underwent a revolution after combinations of protease inhibitors were shown to be much more effective than single medication regimens. In the future, I expect that a number of combinations will be studied from the potpourri of therapies for memory loss: ginkgo biloba, donepezil, vitamin E, estrogen, and COX-II inhibitors, to name a few. At this stage, it is impossible to predict which combination of two or three or four medications will prove superior to treatment with individual medications.
Note that the Memory Program relies on a multilayered strategy that includes the judicious use of carefully selected combinations of medications.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[74]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(23) "6.3.2. How It Works (2)"
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string(301) "These cells usually respond to stimuli coming from the same region of space: a cell might respond to a finger being touched and to a light close to that finger. The most fascinating thing about some of these cells is that when the monkey moves its arm around, the region of visual space to which [...]"
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string(2839) "These cells usually respond to stimuli coming from the same region of space: a cell might respond to a finger being touched and to a light close to that finger. The most fascinating thing about some of these cells is that when the monkey moves its arm around, the region of visual space to which the cell responds also moves. Such cells are thought to represent the space that is close to our bodies. It is particularly important for us to merge together information from our different senses about this, our peripersonal space, which is within our immediate reach.
Spence and colleagues5 gave a patient with a split brain (whose left and right hemispheres were disconnected [Hack #69] ) the same touch and vision distraction task as described earlier. The patient behaved as normal with his right hand in the right side of space. That is, the lights on the right side produced the greatest interference. In this case, both touch and vision arrived first at the left hemisphere of his brain. When he moved his right hand over to the left side of space, we would now expect his right hand to be disrupted most by the nearby lights on the left side. However, the lights on the right side still interfered most with touches to the right hand (despite being on the opposite side of space to his hand). In this case, the lights on the left arrived first at the right hemisphere and touches to the right hand at the left hemisphere, and without connections between the two halves of his brain, he was unable to update. This shows how important the long-range connections between distant cortical areas of the brain are for remapping.
The fact that the updating of our posture and remapping of our visual-tactile links appears to occur before conscious awareness could explain why we take them for granted in our everyday lives. Some people seem to find such processing easier than others. Could experience affect these abilities? Might drummers who spend many hours playing with their arms crossed find remapping easier?
6.3.3. End Notes
Maravita, A., Spence, C., & Driver, J. (2003). Multisensory integration and the body schema: Close to hand and within reach. Current Biology, 13, R531-R539.
Yamamoto, S., & Kitazawa, S. (2001). Reversal of subjective temporal order due to arm crossing. Nature Neuroscience 4, 759-765.
Shore, D. I., Spry, E., & Spence, C. (2002). Confusing the mind by crossing the hands. Cognitive Brain Research, 14, 153-163.
Kitazawa, S. (2002). Where conscious sensation takes place. Consciousness and Cognition, 11, 475-477.
Spence, C. J., Kingstone, A., Shore, D. I., & Gazzaniga, M. S. (2001). Representation of visuotactile space in the split brain. Psychological Science, 12, 90-93.
Ellen Poliakoff
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(2839) "These cells usually respond to stimuli coming from the same region of space: a cell might respond to a finger being touched and to a light close to that finger. The most fascinating thing about some of these cells is that when the monkey moves its arm around, the region of visual space to which the cell responds also moves. Such cells are thought to represent the space that is close to our bodies. It is particularly important for us to merge together information from our different senses about this, our peripersonal space, which is within our immediate reach.
Spence and colleagues5 gave a patient with a split brain (whose left and right hemispheres were disconnected [Hack #69] ) the same touch and vision distraction task as described earlier. The patient behaved as normal with his right hand in the right side of space. That is, the lights on the right side produced the greatest interference. In this case, both touch and vision arrived first at the left hemisphere of his brain. When he moved his right hand over to the left side of space, we would now expect his right hand to be disrupted most by the nearby lights on the left side. However, the lights on the right side still interfered most with touches to the right hand (despite being on the opposite side of space to his hand). In this case, the lights on the left arrived first at the right hemisphere and touches to the right hand at the left hemisphere, and without connections between the two halves of his brain, he was unable to update. This shows how important the long-range connections between distant cortical areas of the brain are for remapping.
The fact that the updating of our posture and remapping of our visual-tactile links appears to occur before conscious awareness could explain why we take them for granted in our everyday lives. Some people seem to find such processing easier than others. Could experience affect these abilities? Might drummers who spend many hours playing with their arms crossed find remapping easier?
6.3.3. End Notes
Maravita, A., Spence, C., & Driver, J. (2003). Multisensory integration and the body schema: Close to hand and within reach. Current Biology, 13, R531-R539.
Yamamoto, S., & Kitazawa, S. (2001). Reversal of subjective temporal order due to arm crossing. Nature Neuroscience 4, 759-765.
Shore, D. I., Spry, E., & Spence, C. (2002). Confusing the mind by crossing the hands. Cognitive Brain Research, 14, 153-163.
Kitazawa, S. (2002). Where conscious sensation takes place. Consciousness and Cognition, 11, 475-477.
Spence, C. J., Kingstone, A., Shore, D. I., & Gazzaniga, M. S. (2001). Representation of visuotactile space in the split brain. Psychological Science, 12, 90-93.
Ellen Poliakoff
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[75]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(4) "Iron"
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string(344) "What about iron, one of the most common metals in your body? Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, which is a big molecule inside red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body, including the brain. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, which in severe cases can cause weakness, fatigue, and secondary cognitive impairment. [...]"
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string(2854) "What about iron, one of the most common metals in your body? Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, which is a big molecule inside red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body, including the brain. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, which in severe cases can cause weakness, fatigue, and secondary cognitive impairment. The treatment is iron replacement (tablets). In the absence of iron deficiency, taking iron supplements will not boost your memory. I do not recommend iron supplementation in the absence of anemia, because excessive iron intake can damage the liver and other internal organs, as well as predispose you to a heart attack.
Trace Elements: To Take or Not To Take Them Except for iron, all the heavy metals described in this section come under the category of “trace” elements because they are needed in microscopic quantities for normal bodily function. These metals can become toxic if taken in high doses. You may recall my earlier story about how my father’s Parkinson’s disease was going to be treated with an Ayurvedic heavy metal concoction, and I put a stop to it because of the potential for toxicity. Traces of lead, mercury, or arsenic, which are indistinguishable to the naked eye when mixed with other metals, can be extremely dangerous and even fatal. Therefore, if you plan to take a metallic supplement of any type, you must buy it from a reputed manufacturing source, preferably one with a national or international reputation.
As you’ve noticed, none of the trace metals made it into the Memory Program, largely because of the lack of systematic controlled studies with any of them.
CHAPTER 23
Your Future Memory Program
THE LONG-STANDING DEFEATISM about preventing and treating memory loss has now given way to a feeling of growing excitement that we will soon have the keys to the memory kingdom. But we have just scratched the surface, and new knowledge will eventually render obsolete our current repertoire of preventive and treatment strategies, including some of the components in the Memory Program.
Several potential therapies for age-related memory loss are still in the development stage. These include a new crop of cholinesterase inhibitors, treatment with combinations of cognitive enhancers,
stimulation of neuronal growth, blocking the formation of toxic compounds in the brain, and genetic strategies. Most of these attempts are likely to fail, but the few gems that emerge will revolutionize
the field of memory loss research and potentially could completely reverse the memory loss that occurs during the aging process.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(344) "What about iron, one of the most common metals in your body? Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, which is a big molecule inside red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body, including the brain. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, which in severe cases can cause weakness, fatigue, and secondary cognitive impairment. [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2854) "What about iron, one of the most common metals in your body? Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, which is a big molecule inside red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body, including the brain. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, which in severe cases can cause weakness, fatigue, and secondary cognitive impairment. The treatment is iron replacement (tablets). In the absence of iron deficiency, taking iron supplements will not boost your memory. I do not recommend iron supplementation in the absence of anemia, because excessive iron intake can damage the liver and other internal organs, as well as predispose you to a heart attack.
Trace Elements: To Take or Not To Take Them Except for iron, all the heavy metals described in this section come under the category of “trace” elements because they are needed in microscopic quantities for normal bodily function. These metals can become toxic if taken in high doses. You may recall my earlier story about how my father’s Parkinson’s disease was going to be treated with an Ayurvedic heavy metal concoction, and I put a stop to it because of the potential for toxicity. Traces of lead, mercury, or arsenic, which are indistinguishable to the naked eye when mixed with other metals, can be extremely dangerous and even fatal. Therefore, if you plan to take a metallic supplement of any type, you must buy it from a reputed manufacturing source, preferably one with a national or international reputation.
As you’ve noticed, none of the trace metals made it into the Memory Program, largely because of the lack of systematic controlled studies with any of them.
CHAPTER 23
Your Future Memory Program
THE LONG-STANDING DEFEATISM about preventing and treating memory loss has now given way to a feeling of growing excitement that we will soon have the keys to the memory kingdom. But we have just scratched the surface, and new knowledge will eventually render obsolete our current repertoire of preventive and treatment strategies, including some of the components in the Memory Program.
Several potential therapies for age-related memory loss are still in the development stage. These include a new crop of cholinesterase inhibitors, treatment with combinations of cognitive enhancers,
stimulation of neuronal growth, blocking the formation of toxic compounds in the brain, and genetic strategies. Most of these attempts are likely to fail, but the few gems that emerge will revolutionize
the field of memory loss research and potentially could completely reverse the memory loss that occurs during the aging process.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(8) "Chromium"
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string(377) "Chromium is essential in the manufacture of trypsin, an important digestive enzyme in the intestines. Chromium is also present in red blood cells and helps to metabolize cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis. Most diets are sufficient in chromium, except for elderly people with poor diets. Supplements are available as chromium picolinate, but should [...]"
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string(3031) "Chromium is essential in the manufacture of trypsin, an important digestive enzyme in the intestines. Chromium is also present in red blood cells and helps to metabolize cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis. Most diets are sufficient in chromium, except for elderly people with poor diets. Supplements are available as chromium picolinate, but should not be taken in excess because of the risk of toxicity. Although on a theoretical basis chromium may have promemory properties, there are no worthwhile research data on this issue.
Boron
Boron is another metallic element that acts in the brain. It improves electrical activity in nerve cells and seems to speed up reaction time and general alertness. It is also necessary for the body to properly process calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Fruits and nuts have a high boron content. Since only a minuscule dietary intake is necessary, deficiency of this element is extremely rare. There are no clinical studies showing an effect against memory loss.
Zinc
Antiaging Properties of Zinc
Helps to heal wounds and repair skin damage.
Facilitates the action of antioxidants like vitamin E.
Increases the efficiency of the immune system.
Present in high concentrations in the hippocampus.
Involved either as a catalyst or in the chemical structure of over three hundred enzymes.
Levels decline with age, and some practitioners recommend zinc supplements as part of an antiaging program.
Zinc’s utility against memory loss remains to be tested clinically. In an elegant series of laboratory experiments in animals, Dennis Choi, chairman of the department of neurology at Washington University in St. Louis, showed that zinc in low concentrations protects against some types of hippocampal neuronal injury, but that at higher concentrations it kills nerve cells. So zinc therapy may be a double-edged sword: at low doses it is good, at high doses it is bad. This twist has led to a reversal in therapeutic strategies for memory loss; zinc therapy is now being replaced by substances that actually decrease zinc’s availability in the brain. Zinc is present in concentrations that are sometimes too low to detect, but new technology has opened up opportunities that should eventually tell us a great deal about the functions of zinc and all the other metallic trace elements in the brain.
The FDA recommended daily requirement for zinc is 15 mg for men and 12 mg for women, and this is easily obtained through a wide range of foods. Rarely, elderly people who suffer from general mal-nutrition can develop zinc deficiency, for which the main symptom is lack of taste and poor appetite. In high doses, zinc can cause stomach irritation, so if you plan to use zinc supplements, do so in moderation.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(377) "Chromium is essential in the manufacture of trypsin, an important digestive enzyme in the intestines. Chromium is also present in red blood cells and helps to metabolize cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis. Most diets are sufficient in chromium, except for elderly people with poor diets. Supplements are available as chromium picolinate, but should [...]"
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string(3031) "Chromium is essential in the manufacture of trypsin, an important digestive enzyme in the intestines. Chromium is also present in red blood cells and helps to metabolize cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis. Most diets are sufficient in chromium, except for elderly people with poor diets. Supplements are available as chromium picolinate, but should not be taken in excess because of the risk of toxicity. Although on a theoretical basis chromium may have promemory properties, there are no worthwhile research data on this issue.
Boron
Boron is another metallic element that acts in the brain. It improves electrical activity in nerve cells and seems to speed up reaction time and general alertness. It is also necessary for the body to properly process calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Fruits and nuts have a high boron content. Since only a minuscule dietary intake is necessary, deficiency of this element is extremely rare. There are no clinical studies showing an effect against memory loss.
Zinc
Antiaging Properties of Zinc
Helps to heal wounds and repair skin damage.
Facilitates the action of antioxidants like vitamin E.
Increases the efficiency of the immune system.
Present in high concentrations in the hippocampus.
Involved either as a catalyst or in the chemical structure of over three hundred enzymes.
Levels decline with age, and some practitioners recommend zinc supplements as part of an antiaging program.
Zinc’s utility against memory loss remains to be tested clinically. In an elegant series of laboratory experiments in animals, Dennis Choi, chairman of the department of neurology at Washington University in St. Louis, showed that zinc in low concentrations protects against some types of hippocampal neuronal injury, but that at higher concentrations it kills nerve cells. So zinc therapy may be a double-edged sword: at low doses it is good, at high doses it is bad. This twist has led to a reversal in therapeutic strategies for memory loss; zinc therapy is now being replaced by substances that actually decrease zinc’s availability in the brain. Zinc is present in concentrations that are sometimes too low to detect, but new technology has opened up opportunities that should eventually tell us a great deal about the functions of zinc and all the other metallic trace elements in the brain.
The FDA recommended daily requirement for zinc is 15 mg for men and 12 mg for women, and this is easily obtained through a wide range of foods. Rarely, elderly people who suffer from general mal-nutrition can develop zinc deficiency, for which the main symptom is lack of taste and poor appetite. In high doses, zinc can cause stomach irritation, so if you plan to use zinc supplements, do so in moderation.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[77]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(29) "Hormone and Peptide Therapy14"
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string(365) "If thyroid deficiency causes memory loss, can giving thyroid hormone to people without this hormone deficiency boost memory? The answer is no: the body’s internal regulatory system maintains a fine balance in the levels of thyroid and most other hormones, quickly getting rid of the excess hormone that is ingested. An additional factor weighing against [...]"
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string(1748) "If thyroid deficiency causes memory loss, can giving thyroid hormone to people without this hormone deficiency boost memory? The answer is no: the body’s internal regulatory system maintains a fine balance in the levels of thyroid and most other hormones, quickly getting rid of the excess hormone that is ingested. An additional factor weighing against these hormones is that they cause a variety of side effects (differs markedly among different hormones) when given in high doses, thus reducing their potential utility as a long-term preventive strategy against age-related memory loss.
Vasopressin, also called antidiuretic hormone, is produced by cells that lie just above the pituitary gland in the brain. Studies in mice indicate that vasopressin improves learning and memory, but clinical results have been disappointing. Vasopressin is difficult to use because it needs to be given intravenously or via a nasal spray, and its effects on blood pressure and the kidneys make it potentially dangerous when used in high doses.
Other hormones, and some peptides that are similar to hormones, have each been proposed as potential antimemory-loss agents, but no scientific basis has been found for these claims. These include melanotropin, atrial natriuretic peptide, and substance P.
Metallic Elements Are Present in Trace Quantities
Metallic elements like chromium, magnesium, and selenium are essential elements that are normally ingested only in trace quantities. These elements hold some promise in the fight against memory loss.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(365) "If thyroid deficiency causes memory loss, can giving thyroid hormone to people without this hormone deficiency boost memory? The answer is no: the body’s internal regulatory system maintains a fine balance in the levels of thyroid and most other hormones, quickly getting rid of the excess hormone that is ingested. An additional factor weighing against [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(1748) "If thyroid deficiency causes memory loss, can giving thyroid hormone to people without this hormone deficiency boost memory? The answer is no: the body’s internal regulatory system maintains a fine balance in the levels of thyroid and most other hormones, quickly getting rid of the excess hormone that is ingested. An additional factor weighing against these hormones is that they cause a variety of side effects (differs markedly among different hormones) when given in high doses, thus reducing their potential utility as a long-term preventive strategy against age-related memory loss.
Vasopressin, also called antidiuretic hormone, is produced by cells that lie just above the pituitary gland in the brain. Studies in mice indicate that vasopressin improves learning and memory, but clinical results have been disappointing. Vasopressin is difficult to use because it needs to be given intravenously or via a nasal spray, and its effects on blood pressure and the kidneys make it potentially dangerous when used in high doses.
Other hormones, and some peptides that are similar to hormones, have each been proposed as potential antimemory-loss agents, but no scientific basis has been found for these claims. These include melanotropin, atrial natriuretic peptide, and substance P.
Metallic Elements Are Present in Trace Quantities
Metallic elements like chromium, magnesium, and selenium are essential elements that are normally ingested only in trace quantities. These elements hold some promise in the fight against memory loss.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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[78]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(44) "Vitamin Supplements Are Good for Your Memory"
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string(361) "Diet alone can give you only a moderate amount of promemory antioxidants, and supplementation with vitamins is necessary to boost your antioxidant intake for a promemory effect. I describe the role of antioxidant vitamins E, A, and C, as well as other medications, in your Memory Program later in this chapter.
Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise
Both aerobic [...]"
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string(2368) "Diet alone can give you only a moderate amount of promemory antioxidants, and supplementation with vitamins is necessary to boost your antioxidant intake for a promemory effect. I describe the role of antioxidant vitamins E, A, and C, as well as other medications, in your Memory Program later in this chapter.
Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise
Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise are good for the heart and brain. Aerobic exercise involves medium-level effort in which the heart rate (pulse) rises on average by thirty to forty beats per minute. More severe exertion raises your heart rate even further and takes you into the anaerobic range, which is difficult to keep up for long. As you grow older, there is a good chance that you will shift from mixed anaerobic/aerobic to pure aerobic activity, tennis to golf. Long walks represent very good aerobic exercise, but with the exception of power walking they do not burn up as many calories as most people think they do.
Exercise Is Important for Your Memory
Perform moderate, regular exercise three to six times per week.
Regulate aerobic and anaerobic exercises to your age, health, and tolerance level.
Aerobic: brisk walking thirty minutes, jogging twenty-five minutes, swimming twenty minutes, formal exercise programs in aerobics classes.
Mixed aerobic and anaerobic: running, tennis, cycling, exercise equipment (stationary cycle, StairMaster, treadmill, NordicTrack, newer, low-impact workout machines).
Before you liftweights, start with at least twenty minutes of aerobic or anaerobic cardiovascular fitness exercise (any of the options listed above).
Yoga and related exercises are excellent for mobility but burn few calories.
Keep a regular routine: don’t overexert one week and become a couch potato the next.
Stop if breathing difficulty or palpitations or faintness develops.
Regular physical exercise not only improves your general feeling of well-being and quality of life, but it also has a positive impact on memory by decreasing the risk of stroke, releasing endorphins, and possibly stimulating neuronal branching within the brain.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(361) "Diet alone can give you only a moderate amount of promemory antioxidants, and supplementation with vitamins is necessary to boost your antioxidant intake for a promemory effect. I describe the role of antioxidant vitamins E, A, and C, as well as other medications, in your Memory Program later in this chapter.
Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise
Both aerobic [...]"
["atom_content"]=>
string(2368) "Diet alone can give you only a moderate amount of promemory antioxidants, and supplementation with vitamins is necessary to boost your antioxidant intake for a promemory effect. I describe the role of antioxidant vitamins E, A, and C, as well as other medications, in your Memory Program later in this chapter.
Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise
Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise are good for the heart and brain. Aerobic exercise involves medium-level effort in which the heart rate (pulse) rises on average by thirty to forty beats per minute. More severe exertion raises your heart rate even further and takes you into the anaerobic range, which is difficult to keep up for long. As you grow older, there is a good chance that you will shift from mixed anaerobic/aerobic to pure aerobic activity, tennis to golf. Long walks represent very good aerobic exercise, but with the exception of power walking they do not burn up as many calories as most people think they do.
Exercise Is Important for Your Memory
Perform moderate, regular exercise three to six times per week.
Regulate aerobic and anaerobic exercises to your age, health, and tolerance level.
Aerobic: brisk walking thirty minutes, jogging twenty-five minutes, swimming twenty minutes, formal exercise programs in aerobics classes.
Mixed aerobic and anaerobic: running, tennis, cycling, exercise equipment (stationary cycle, StairMaster, treadmill, NordicTrack, newer, low-impact workout machines).
Before you liftweights, start with at least twenty minutes of aerobic or anaerobic cardiovascular fitness exercise (any of the options listed above).
Yoga and related exercises are excellent for mobility but burn few calories.
Keep a regular routine: don’t overexert one week and become a couch potato the next.
Stop if breathing difficulty or palpitations or faintness develops.
Regular physical exercise not only improves your general feeling of well-being and quality of life, but it also has a positive impact on memory by decreasing the risk of stroke, releasing endorphins, and possibly stimulating neuronal branching within the brain.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
["date_timestamp"]=>
int(1246323696)
}
[79]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(71) "Hack 62. The Broken Escalator Phenomenon: When Autopilot Takes Over (2)"
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string(326) "To try it out yourself, the best place to look is somewhere like the London Underground (where you’re sure to find plenty of broken escalators) or your favorite run-down mall. You need an escalator that is broken and not moving but that you’re still allowed to walk up. You could also use the moving walkways [...]"
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string(2128) "To try it out yourself, the best place to look is somewhere like the London Underground (where you’re sure to find plenty of broken escalators) or your favorite run-down mall. You need an escalator that is broken and not moving but that you’re still allowed to walk up. You could also use the moving walkways they have at airports; again, you need one that’s stationary but that you’re still permitted to walk onto. Now, try not to think about it too much and just go ahead and walk on up the escalator. You should find that you experience an odd sensation as you take your first step or two onto the escalator. People often report feeling as though they’ve been “sucked” onto the escalator. You might even lose your balance for a moment. If you keep trying it, the effect usually diminishes quite quickly.
6.2.2. How It Works
Unless we’ve lived our lives out in the wilderness, most of us will have encountered moving escalators or walkways at least a few times. And when we’ve done so, our brain has learned to adapt to the loss of balance caused by the escalator’s motion. It’s done this with little conscious effort on our part, automatically saving us from falling over. So when we step onto an escalator or moving walkway now, we barely notice the transition, and continue fluidly on our way. The thing is, when the escalator is broken, our brain adjusts our balance and posture anyway, and it seems we can’t stop it from doing so.
Until recently, evidence for this phenomenon was based only on urban anecdotes. But now the phenomenon has actually been investigated in the laboratory using a computer-controlled moving walkway.1,2 Special devices attached to the bodies and legs of 14 volunteers recorded their posture and muscle activity. Each volunteer then walked 20 times from a fixed platform onto the moving walkway. After that, the walkway was switched off, the volunteers were told it would no longer move, and they then walked from the platform onto the stationary walkway 10 times.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(326) "To try it out yourself, the best place to look is somewhere like the London Underground (where you’re sure to find plenty of broken escalators) or your favorite run-down mall. You need an escalator that is broken and not moving but that you’re still allowed to walk up. You could also use the moving walkways [...]"
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string(2128) "To try it out yourself, the best place to look is somewhere like the London Underground (where you’re sure to find plenty of broken escalators) or your favorite run-down mall. You need an escalator that is broken and not moving but that you’re still allowed to walk up. You could also use the moving walkways they have at airports; again, you need one that’s stationary but that you’re still permitted to walk onto. Now, try not to think about it too much and just go ahead and walk on up the escalator. You should find that you experience an odd sensation as you take your first step or two onto the escalator. People often report feeling as though they’ve been “sucked” onto the escalator. You might even lose your balance for a moment. If you keep trying it, the effect usually diminishes quite quickly.
6.2.2. How It Works
Unless we’ve lived our lives out in the wilderness, most of us will have encountered moving escalators or walkways at least a few times. And when we’ve done so, our brain has learned to adapt to the loss of balance caused by the escalator’s motion. It’s done this with little conscious effort on our part, automatically saving us from falling over. So when we step onto an escalator or moving walkway now, we barely notice the transition, and continue fluidly on our way. The thing is, when the escalator is broken, our brain adjusts our balance and posture anyway, and it seems we can’t stop it from doing so.
Until recently, evidence for this phenomenon was based only on urban anecdotes. But now the phenomenon has actually been investigated in the laboratory using a computer-controlled moving walkway.1,2 Special devices attached to the bodies and legs of 14 volunteers recorded their posture and muscle activity. Each volunteer then walked 20 times from a fixed platform onto the moving walkway. After that, the walkway was switched off, the volunteers were told it would no longer move, and they then walked from the platform onto the stationary walkway 10 times.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[80]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(19) "6.3.2. How It Works"
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string(31) "Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:04:04 +0000"
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string(322) "Charles Spence and colleagues1 have shown that we can update how we bind together vision and touch when we cross our hands over. They asked people to attend to and make judgments about vibrations that they felt on their hands, while ignoring lights presented at the same time. When feeling a vibration on their right [...]"
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string(2340) "Charles Spence and colleagues1 have shown that we can update how we bind together vision and touch when we cross our hands over. They asked people to attend to and make judgments about vibrations that they felt on their hands, while ignoring lights presented at the same time. When feeling a vibration on their right hand, the lights on the right sideclosest to their right handinterfered much more (made people slower to carry out the task), than lights on their left side. That is, we tend to bind together vision and touch when they come from the same part of the outside world. So what happened when they crossed their hands over? The interaction between vision and touch changed over: lights over on the left side of their body were now closest to their right hand and interfered more with the right hand than the lights over on the right side. So, when we change where our hands are in space, we integrate different sets of visual and tactile signals.
But remapping can sometimes fail, even without intertwining our fingers. Two recent experiments2,3 have shown that we are particularly bad at dealing with information in quick succession. If your hands are in their usual uncrossed position and you are asked to judge which hand is touched first, it is relatively easy. On the other hand, if your hands are crossed, the same task becomes much more difficult. This difficulty in coping with stimuli presented in quick succession, suggests that remapping can be a time-consuming process. Shigeru Kitazawa4 has suggested we do not become conscious of a sensation on a particular part of our skin and then attribute it to a particular location in space. Rather, our conscious sensation of touch seems to be delayed until we can identify where it’s coming from.
So where in the brain do we remap and update our connections? Some clues have come from investigating the monkey brain. Cells that respond to both vision and touch have been found in the parietal and premotor cortexhigher areas, upstream of the somatosensory [Hack #12] and visual areas, which deal mainly with touch and vision alone.
The parietal cortex [Hack #8] contains areas that are concerned with visual and spatial representation. The premotor cortex is involved in representing and selecting movements
Taken from : Mind Hacks
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string(322) "Charles Spence and colleagues1 have shown that we can update how we bind together vision and touch when we cross our hands over. They asked people to attend to and make judgments about vibrations that they felt on their hands, while ignoring lights presented at the same time. When feeling a vibration on their right [...]"
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string(2340) "Charles Spence and colleagues1 have shown that we can update how we bind together vision and touch when we cross our hands over. They asked people to attend to and make judgments about vibrations that they felt on their hands, while ignoring lights presented at the same time. When feeling a vibration on their right hand, the lights on the right sideclosest to their right handinterfered much more (made people slower to carry out the task), than lights on their left side. That is, we tend to bind together vision and touch when they come from the same part of the outside world. So what happened when they crossed their hands over? The interaction between vision and touch changed over: lights over on the left side of their body were now closest to their right hand and interfered more with the right hand than the lights over on the right side. So, when we change where our hands are in space, we integrate different sets of visual and tactile signals.
But remapping can sometimes fail, even without intertwining our fingers. Two recent experiments2,3 have shown that we are particularly bad at dealing with information in quick succession. If your hands are in their usual uncrossed position and you are asked to judge which hand is touched first, it is relatively easy. On the other hand, if your hands are crossed, the same task becomes much more difficult. This difficulty in coping with stimuli presented in quick succession, suggests that remapping can be a time-consuming process. Shigeru Kitazawa4 has suggested we do not become conscious of a sensation on a particular part of our skin and then attribute it to a particular location in space. Rather, our conscious sensation of touch seems to be delayed until we can identify where it’s coming from.
So where in the brain do we remap and update our connections? Some clues have come from investigating the monkey brain. Cells that respond to both vision and touch have been found in the parietal and premotor cortexhigher areas, upstream of the somatosensory [Hack #12] and visual areas, which deal mainly with touch and vision alone.
The parietal cortex [Hack #8] contains areas that are concerned with visual and spatial representation. The premotor cortex is involved in representing and selecting movements
Taken from : Mind Hacks
"
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[81]=>
array(13) {
["title"]=>
string(8) "Selenium"
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string(358) "Selenium is an integral part of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which protects cell membranes. Selenium is a strong antioxidant, and therefore may work against memory loss, but this has not been tested systematically. The daily dietary requirement of selenium is 70 micrograms for men and 55 micrograms for women, and is easily obtained from grains, [...]"
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string(2367) "Selenium is an integral part of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which protects cell membranes. Selenium is a strong antioxidant, and therefore may work against memory loss, but this has not been tested systematically. The daily dietary requirement of selenium is 70 micrograms for men and 55 micrograms for women, and is easily obtained from grains, nuts, fish, and dairy products.
Magnesium
Both magnesium and selenium increase the production of antibodies and enhance immune system function. Magnesium is also a catalyst for enzymes involved in energy production, and helps to regulate cell membrane stability. This range of actions has lent it some standing as an antiaging and antimemory-loss therapy, but systematic clinical studies have not yet been conducted.
Magnesium may have antianxiety and antistress properties. Since magnesium has cardiac effects, if you are a heart patient you need to check with your doctor if you plan to start taking magnesium supplements. Magnesium is chemically very similar to calcium, and the two have to be in close balance— yin and yang— for proper bodily function. Therefore, high calcium intake needs to accompany magnesium therapy. Magnesium is present in a variety of foodstuffs: fruits, dairy products, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seafood. A normal diet easily exceeds the FDA minimum daily requirement of 350 mg for men and 280 mg for women.
Aluminum
Metals like chromium, magnesium, and selenium compete with aluminum in some of their actions because they occupy similar positions in the periodic table of natural elements. The interest in these elements accelerated after the aluminum theory of Alzheimer’s disease was proposed. In the early 1980s, traces of aluminum were found in the plaques and tangles that develop in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. However, community surveys across the world show no link between aluminum exposure and dementia, or even milder forms of memory loss. As a result, research in this area has floundered in recent years. Few studies have been conducted with any of these metals as a treatment for memory loss.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(358) "Selenium is an integral part of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which protects cell membranes. Selenium is a strong antioxidant, and therefore may work against memory loss, but this has not been tested systematically. The daily dietary requirement of selenium is 70 micrograms for men and 55 micrograms for women, and is easily obtained from grains, [...]"
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string(2367) "Selenium is an integral part of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which protects cell membranes. Selenium is a strong antioxidant, and therefore may work against memory loss, but this has not been tested systematically. The daily dietary requirement of selenium is 70 micrograms for men and 55 micrograms for women, and is easily obtained from grains, nuts, fish, and dairy products.
Magnesium
Both magnesium and selenium increase the production of antibodies and enhance immune system function. Magnesium is also a catalyst for enzymes involved in energy production, and helps to regulate cell membrane stability. This range of actions has lent it some standing as an antiaging and antimemory-loss therapy, but systematic clinical studies have not yet been conducted.
Magnesium may have antianxiety and antistress properties. Since magnesium has cardiac effects, if you are a heart patient you need to check with your doctor if you plan to start taking magnesium supplements. Magnesium is chemically very similar to calcium, and the two have to be in close balance— yin and yang— for proper bodily function. Therefore, high calcium intake needs to accompany magnesium therapy. Magnesium is present in a variety of foodstuffs: fruits, dairy products, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seafood. A normal diet easily exceeds the FDA minimum daily requirement of 350 mg for men and 280 mg for women.
Aluminum
Metals like chromium, magnesium, and selenium compete with aluminum in some of their actions because they occupy similar positions in the periodic table of natural elements. The interest in these elements accelerated after the aluminum theory of Alzheimer’s disease was proposed. In the early 1980s, traces of aluminum were found in the plaques and tangles that develop in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. However, community surveys across the world show no link between aluminum exposure and dementia, or even milder forms of memory loss. As a result, research in this area has floundered in recent years. Few studies have been conducted with any of these metals as a treatment for memory loss.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(29) "Customize Your Memory Program"
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string(332) "Classify Your Own Memory Status
Place yourself in one of the two categories of normal memory or mild memory loss based on your performance on the tests in the first chapter of this book, and not by relying only on your own subjective view or the opinion of family and friends.
Female, Forty to Fifty-nine Years Old,
Currently [...]"
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string(3398) "Classify Your Own Memory Status
Place yourself in one of the two categories of normal memory or mild memory loss based on your performance on the tests in the first chapter of this book, and not by relying only on your own subjective view or the opinion of family and friends.
Female, Forty to Fifty-nine Years Old,
Currently Normal Memory
Follow the entire promemory diet (chapter 5 and this chapter).
Follow the physical exercise regimen (chapter 5 and this chapter), but go easy on running and lifting weights. Equality of the sexes does not extend to bone structure: you need to protect your knees, ankles, and hips more than men of your age. Perform moderate, regular exercise three to six times per week; use any mixture of aerobic and anaerobic exercise that suits your interests.
Memory exercises and training: this is the right time to begin using all the methods to improve learning and recall that you can use, before memory loss begins to occur.
Identifying reversible causes of memory loss should not be an issue if you have a normal memory, but it is worth checking the list to see if you have a reversible condition that can be corrected.
Medications
1. Vitamin E 400 to 1,200 IUs daily (400 if you bleed easily, otherwise 800 to 1,200; avoid if taking anticoagulants for medical reasons; do not exceed 400 IUs if you also take aspirin or ginkgo).
2. Add vitamin A and C supplements (see table on page 203) to your diet, which should already be rich in these vitamins.
3. Consider taking phosphatidylserine as a cognitive enhancer.
4. If you’re postmenopausal, consult your doctor about taking estrogen, both for its promemory and antiosteoporosis effects.
5. Talk to your doctor about prescribing donepezil (Aricept; or Exelon or Reminyl), especially if you don’t have a clearly identifiable cause of memory loss.
6. You can also ask your doctor about selegiline. Ginkgo biloba is another option. Consider taking only one (or none) of these two medications.
7. Take an aspirin a day if you have risk factors for stroke.
Final Memory Program Tips
1. A combination of general health measures like proper diet and regular exercise, memory training, and appropriate medications (particularly if you have mild memory loss; medications are less critical if you currently have a normal memory), provides a comprehensive strategy to prevent memory loss due to the aging process.
2. If you have mild memory loss, you should first look for a reversible cause.
3. You should feel free to deviate from my recommendations if you have specific health reasons or conditions that make it difficult to implement (medical or other contraindication) one or more of these components in the Memory Program.
4. This field is evolving rapidly, so you need to keep up with the latest developments, which are certain to be given considerable play in the media. These new developments may make it necessary for you to change your strategy over time— for example, you may need to switch to COX-II inhibitors in the future if they are shown to be effective in treating mild memory loss.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
"
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string(332) "Classify Your Own Memory Status
Place yourself in one of the two categories of normal memory or mild memory loss based on your performance on the tests in the first chapter of this book, and not by relying only on your own subjective view or the opinion of family and friends.
Female, Forty to Fifty-nine Years Old,
Currently [...]"
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string(3398) "Classify Your Own Memory Status
Place yourself in one of the two categories of normal memory or mild memory loss based on your performance on the tests in the first chapter of this book, and not by relying only on your own subjective view or the opinion of family and friends.
Female, Forty to Fifty-nine Years Old,
Currently Normal Memory
Follow the entire promemory diet (chapter 5 and this chapter).
Follow the physical exercise regimen (chapter 5 and this chapter), but go easy on running and lifting weights. Equality of the sexes does not extend to bone structure: you need to protect your knees, ankles, and hips more than men of your age. Perform moderate, regular exercise three to six times per week; use any mixture of aerobic and anaerobic exercise that suits your interests.
Memory exercises and training: this is the right time to begin using all the methods to improve learning and recall that you can use, before memory loss begins to occur.
Identifying reversible causes of memory loss should not be an issue if you have a normal memory, but it is worth checking the list to see if you have a reversible condition that can be corrected.
Medications
1. Vitamin E 400 to 1,200 IUs daily (400 if you bleed easily, otherwise 800 to 1,200; avoid if taking anticoagulants for medical reasons; do not exceed 400 IUs if you also take aspirin or ginkgo).
2. Add vitamin A and C supplements (see table on page 203) to your diet, which should already be rich in these vitamins.
3. Consider taking phosphatidylserine as a cognitive enhancer.
4. If you’re postmenopausal, consult your doctor about taking estrogen, both for its promemory and antiosteoporosis effects.
5. Talk to your doctor about prescribing donepezil (Aricept; or Exelon or Reminyl), especially if you don’t have a clearly identifiable cause of memory loss.
6. You can also ask your doctor about selegiline. Ginkgo biloba is another option. Consider taking only one (or none) of these two medications.
7. Take an aspirin a day if you have risk factors for stroke.
Final Memory Program Tips
1. A combination of general health measures like proper diet and regular exercise, memory training, and appropriate medications (particularly if you have mild memory loss; medications are less critical if you currently have a normal memory), provides a comprehensive strategy to prevent memory loss due to the aging process.
2. If you have mild memory loss, you should first look for a reversible cause.
3. You should feel free to deviate from my recommendations if you have specific health reasons or conditions that make it difficult to implement (medical or other contraindication) one or more of these components in the Memory Program.
4. This field is evolving rapidly, so you need to keep up with the latest developments, which are certa