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POPSEvolution & Deceit: Bigger Brain = More Sneakiness "When considering the behavior of putative scam operators like Bernard “Ponzi scheme” Madoff or Rod “Potty Mouth” Blagojevich, feel free to express a sense of outrage, indignation, disgust, despair, amusement, schadenfreude. But surprise? Don’t make me laugh. While the scale of their maneuvers may have been exceptional, their apparent willingness to lie, cheat, bluff and deceive most emphatically was not. Deceitful behavior has a long and storied history in the evolution of social life."
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POPSBuilding a machine that can learn from experience There's another requirement: The finished cognitive computer should be as small as a the brain of a small mammal and use as little power as a 100-watt light bulb. It's a major challenge. But it's what our brains do every day. "Value systems or reward systems are important aspects," he said. "Learning is crucial because it needs to learn from experience just like we do." It won't be an easy task, says Tononi, a veteran of earlier efforts to create cognitive computers. Even the brains of the smallest mammals are quite impressive when you consider what tasks they perform with a relatively small volume and energy input. "I would be happy to create a mouse brain," Tononi says. "A mouse brain is quite remarkable. And from there, it shouldn't be too hard to scale up to a rat brain, and then a cat or monkey brain."
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POPSParadox of Choice A journey to understand how emotion and logic interact to guide us through our options, we ponder how we get through the million choices and decisions we make every day
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POPSDrinking alcohol shrinks the brain People who enjoy more than two glasses of wine a day are at greater risk of suffering memory problems in old age than non drinkers, a new study shows. Still wonder why drinking alcohol is not allowed in Islam? Thank God for Prophet Muahmmad who saved us.
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POPSMusical training enhances integration of the senses This study shows that sensorimotor and auditory training induces cortical reorganization to a greater extent than does auditory training alone. It also shows that sensorimotor and auditory training cause more changes in the auditory cortex than auditory training alone. This phenomemon, called cross-modal plasticity, has been investigated only rarely. In 2003, the same group showed that professional trumput players have enhanced interactions between the auditory cortex and the regions of the somatosensory cortex devoted to the lip. The new study therefore provides another demonstration that the sensorimotor and auditory cortices are connected to each other.
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POPSInformation age leaves our heads full of facts but empty of ideas INFORMATION Overload – what it is and how to get rid of it: • The high volume of information coming from sources such as the internet, 24-hour television and blogs has led to complaints of "information overload". While this sounds like a new phenomenon, the term was first used in 1970 by Alvin Toffler, an author, who warned that the human brain did not have the capacity to take in, interpret and store increasingly large volumes of information. • More recently, a psychiatrist at King's College London found that information overload can harm concentration just as much as marijuana, with men twice as likely to be distracted as women. • Research found information overload can reduce a person's ability to focus just as much as losing a night's sleep. • Psychologists who study visual processing and decision-making have shown the brain can cope with only about five messages at any one time.
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POPSResearchers regrow crucial inner ear cells One of the most common causes of hearing loss, is constant exposure to loud noise, which can literally snap the hairs off the base. The more exposure, the more hairs snap off, and of course now we are beginning to see the effects of the 'ipod syndrome' where the volume is maxed out. Like standing next to speakers that are turned up to 11. (You might need to know about the band Spinal Tap) There is no doubt that prevention is better than cure, but some people wont listen. Until they reach the point where they can't listen.
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POPSThe Male Brain, Explained "We have been assuming that the ways in which emotions are organized in the brain are essentially similar in men and women," but they aren't. Parts of the limbic cortex, which is involved in emotional responses, are smaller in men than in women. Additionally, scientists at McMaster University have found that guys have a smaller density of neurons in areas of the temporal lobe that deal with language processing. Appreciate his naturally upbeat nature Does he seem to be "up" most of the time? It's not your imagination: Male brains produce 52 percent more serotonin (the chemical that influences mood) than female brains, according to a study done at McGill University. And studies show that fewer men than women suffer from depression. Remember his brain is his largest sex organ The preoptic area of the hypothalamus is greater in volume, in cross-sectional area and in the number of cells. This area of the hypothalamus is in charge of mating behavior.
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POPSBrain growth in early childhood The vast majority of brain growth occurs during the first five years, due to changes in neurons - which grow in response to activity and stimulation. This is why stimulation during the first 5 years of life is so important.
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