I Think I Kind Of Made It. It Was On Neuroscience, Conscience And Child Psychology So If You Have Any Interesting Questions Feel Free To Ask Them.
Also It Involved Statistics, Awesome Huh?
torsdag 21 februari 2008
onsdag 20 februari 2008
War of the Words
Project Chanology is on everybody's keyboards now, after the attacks on scientology on February 10th. Here's a nice forum thread about it. This is probably the new kind of revolutionaries we will see - legions of anonymous protesters who have no contact with each other save for access to free information.
Nobody controls these kinds of protests. Their methods may be immoral and faulty, but their motives are pure and I believe that for the most part, Anonymous is (for once) doing the right thing. The Internet exists to make all information available to all, everywhere. Historically, speeding up communication has always led to humanity's well-being. We stand now on the brink of an era when the last barriers are about to fall. If they don't, and the Internet is restricted, I doubt "democracy" will exist in a few generations.
The rise of Anonymous is a sign of our time. Sure, they a group of nerdy, trend-obsessed b-tards who enjoy posting retarded material on the internet. What matters in freedom if speech is not what you use it for. What matters is that you use it. Anonymous uses it.
Do you?
Nobody controls these kinds of protests. Their methods may be immoral and faulty, but their motives are pure and I believe that for the most part, Anonymous is (for once) doing the right thing. The Internet exists to make all information available to all, everywhere. Historically, speeding up communication has always led to humanity's well-being. We stand now on the brink of an era when the last barriers are about to fall. If they don't, and the Internet is restricted, I doubt "democracy" will exist in a few generations.
The rise of Anonymous is a sign of our time. Sure, they a group of nerdy, trend-obsessed b-tards who enjoy posting retarded material on the internet. What matters in freedom if speech is not what you use it for. What matters is that you use it. Anonymous uses it.
Do you?
tisdag 19 februari 2008
Trivia Time - Part 2
This is less discussion-worthy subjects, just stuff I found kind of cool.
Research by Goldstein et. al focused on teaching video games to elderly people, aged 70 and up. They found interesting beneficial effects on cognitive abilities that have yet to be studied - while uncertain, it seems video games can actually be especially healthy for the elderly. Sadly, the study doesn't specify what video games they were, but it warms my heart to imagine 80+ Americans playing WWII-games and reliving old memories.
Furthermore, I found a scientific definition of "identity" - pretty fun to read about. It's defined, at least in the book I'm reading, as: 1) Social groups that we identify ourselves as members of. These include gender and ethnicity. 2) Personal characteristics in the form of adjectives, such as "smart" or "friendly" and 3) Goals and values.
They are, apparently, ranked in order of importance - and bear in mind that relationships count as "groups", so that "girlfriend" can be a very central part of your identity. If we're to define identity by this fashion, discrete categories seem to be a lot more important than what feels instinctively right - but there is an alluring simplicity in this way of treating identity. I can see how it works scientifically.
Finally, related to the daycare issue, in part 1 - some states of the US require parents who divorce to go to family therapy - not necessarily to mend their marriage, but to help the children get through this traumatic event. I think this is a law that should be applauded - why don't we have something like this? A law that requires parents to make sure the kid is more or less okay in a divorce situation? Or do we?
My source for all these snippets of trivia is called "Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior" by Michael Passer and Ronald Smith, International Edition.
Research by Goldstein et. al focused on teaching video games to elderly people, aged 70 and up. They found interesting beneficial effects on cognitive abilities that have yet to be studied - while uncertain, it seems video games can actually be especially healthy for the elderly. Sadly, the study doesn't specify what video games they were, but it warms my heart to imagine 80+ Americans playing WWII-games and reliving old memories.
Furthermore, I found a scientific definition of "identity" - pretty fun to read about. It's defined, at least in the book I'm reading, as: 1) Social groups that we identify ourselves as members of. These include gender and ethnicity. 2) Personal characteristics in the form of adjectives, such as "smart" or "friendly" and 3) Goals and values.
They are, apparently, ranked in order of importance - and bear in mind that relationships count as "groups", so that "girlfriend" can be a very central part of your identity. If we're to define identity by this fashion, discrete categories seem to be a lot more important than what feels instinctively right - but there is an alluring simplicity in this way of treating identity. I can see how it works scientifically.
Finally, related to the daycare issue, in part 1 - some states of the US require parents who divorce to go to family therapy - not necessarily to mend their marriage, but to help the children get through this traumatic event. I think this is a law that should be applauded - why don't we have something like this? A law that requires parents to make sure the kid is more or less okay in a divorce situation? Or do we?
My source for all these snippets of trivia is called "Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior" by Michael Passer and Ronald Smith, International Edition.
Trivia Time - Part 1
Filling the Internet with useless trivia since 1647.
I've been studying more psychology, and I've hit a veritable gold mine of things to discuss or just blurt out in conversation to appear clever and intelligent. Though I prefer the former, I don't mind the latter, and these issues definitely interest me.
The real issue I was going to discuss is actually an interesting cultural difference between the US and Sweden; I read an American study about the influence of daycare on pre-school children. A while back, this was a hot topic in Swedish politics - I dunno, it might still be. The interesting thing is that in Sweden, the focus was on how being reared in a "social environment", as in a "dagis", would help a child's development. The American study, au contraire, discussed how being raised in a daycare center may harm a child's development.
The study reached the conclusion that exposure to daycare centres is more or less harmless for a child, with a notable effect saying that there is a slightly larger risk to develop anxiety if there's no regular teacher to bond to - that is, public daycare causes anxiety if and only if the teachers are replaced "often" - I didn't find the operational definition of how often this would be, unfortunately.
What's interesting isn't the study in itself, but the cultural backdrop against which the questions occur. Swedes presume that daycare is good, the question is only how good it is. The American point of view was diametrically opposed, asking how bad it is. The American study found no beneficial effects of daycare - though of course, they weren't looking for it. Swedish studies might find something.
I'm not saying psychology is inherently flawed - but it's interesting to see how large a factor culture can be.
Which leads me to my second bit of trivia - research on gender identity. Now, children learn things in pretty odd ways, so this is in no way conclusive evidence that gender is "fluid" - but it turns out that many children are incapable of grasping the idea that gender is constant until the age of about 6. While they very quickly understand the difference between boys and girls, many believe it can change - boys want to grow up to become mothers, and can't understand why this is impossible. This study is pretty interesting; there are huge biological differences between men and women, but it is possible that it's hard for a "blank slate" individual to instinctively associate these differences with what's between your legs. Interesting evidence that gender roles may, in fact, be a social construct (though remember, children learn things in peculiar ways). Some children never fully adopt gender constancy - these are likely to keep viewing gender as relatively fluid all the way into adulthood.
I've been studying more psychology, and I've hit a veritable gold mine of things to discuss or just blurt out in conversation to appear clever and intelligent. Though I prefer the former, I don't mind the latter, and these issues definitely interest me.
The real issue I was going to discuss is actually an interesting cultural difference between the US and Sweden; I read an American study about the influence of daycare on pre-school children. A while back, this was a hot topic in Swedish politics - I dunno, it might still be. The interesting thing is that in Sweden, the focus was on how being reared in a "social environment", as in a "dagis", would help a child's development. The American study, au contraire, discussed how being raised in a daycare center may harm a child's development.
The study reached the conclusion that exposure to daycare centres is more or less harmless for a child, with a notable effect saying that there is a slightly larger risk to develop anxiety if there's no regular teacher to bond to - that is, public daycare causes anxiety if and only if the teachers are replaced "often" - I didn't find the operational definition of how often this would be, unfortunately.
What's interesting isn't the study in itself, but the cultural backdrop against which the questions occur. Swedes presume that daycare is good, the question is only how good it is. The American point of view was diametrically opposed, asking how bad it is. The American study found no beneficial effects of daycare - though of course, they weren't looking for it. Swedish studies might find something.
I'm not saying psychology is inherently flawed - but it's interesting to see how large a factor culture can be.
Which leads me to my second bit of trivia - research on gender identity. Now, children learn things in pretty odd ways, so this is in no way conclusive evidence that gender is "fluid" - but it turns out that many children are incapable of grasping the idea that gender is constant until the age of about 6. While they very quickly understand the difference between boys and girls, many believe it can change - boys want to grow up to become mothers, and can't understand why this is impossible. This study is pretty interesting; there are huge biological differences between men and women, but it is possible that it's hard for a "blank slate" individual to instinctively associate these differences with what's between your legs. Interesting evidence that gender roles may, in fact, be a social construct (though remember, children learn things in peculiar ways). Some children never fully adopt gender constancy - these are likely to keep viewing gender as relatively fluid all the way into adulthood.
Anagram Time!
Turning your names into silly anagrams, since 1988. My intent is to make new names for people, such as "Fred Slitgröt" or "Glen Träben". Some you've already seen, some are new.
Note that, while I've made up the anagrammed names by myself, the random phrases have been generated by the Internet Anagram Server. Brent can show you how to find it if you're interested.
David is "Drake Davis", which is just a plainly cool name. You can also rename him "Vidar Daske" if you think a more nordic-sounding name suits him. "Interestingly, his name also anagrams as "Dark Advise" which, while misspelled, is still pretty ominous.
Madelene has got an interesting name. Meet "Emerald En Gebby" - a little more nonsense than usual, but I just liked the fact that you could spell "Emerald" too much to pass up that opportunity. If you want a more descriptive or poetic name, how about "Dame Green Byble" or "Amber Bend Elegy"?
Anton is "Brent Googlefan", the guy who loves Google. His name can also be anagrammed as "Torgel Bonefang" or "T-Bone of Gangrel".
For all you Exalted fans - Love is a "Cloven Solar"; perfected, but can't make up his mind. You can also rename him "Sven Corolla", making him sound like a Swedish American during the 50's - pretty rad, I must say. He also has "No Coveralls".
Sara's new name is "Karma Furtears", making her sound very hippie. Hippies are cool. She can also be anagrammed as "Ar, Karate Smurf" which frightens me a little bit.
Kristin is "Kit, Handguns Girl" where the umlaut is removed because umlauts don't make sense in english anagrams. Keeping the umlaut, she becomes "Grin-Ling Hästdunk" which isn't as pretty, but is still pretty funny when you think about it. Other interesting things you can write (without umlaut) include "Kind Hug Starling". Most disturbing of all is possibly "Drag King, Nil Tush".
Kuffu's anagram is the classical "Jason Venomkiss" - I stick to my guns on that name. "Novas Smoke Sins" is also an interesting factoid derived from his name.
Björn becomes "Jarl Orbas Knellsworn", again, without umlaut. Without umlaut, you can also spell interesting phrases like "Jews snarl or bankroll" or "Newborn Larks - Lol jars" or other interesting phrases. This guy's name is a veritable goldmine, seriously.
Eva becomes "I Wavee!" or possibly "Via Wee", meaning "Way of the Tiny" in Latin. Honestly.
Da-Ryun also has an umlaut problem. I'm getting a little lazy at this point in the anagramming, so I'll just blurt out "Troya Darkrune", which is without the umlaut problem. You can also spell "Rad Ray Nuke Storm" which sounds very very science fiction. There's also an odd X-men reference, in that you can spell "Storm N'Dare Ryu Ka" - the two last ones are unrelated, but Storm is Princess of N'Dare. Co-in-ci-dence?
Whoosh. I think that's all. Feel free to use the Internet Anagram Server to play more. It's fun.
Note that, while I've made up the anagrammed names by myself, the random phrases have been generated by the Internet Anagram Server. Brent can show you how to find it if you're interested.
David is "Drake Davis", which is just a plainly cool name. You can also rename him "Vidar Daske" if you think a more nordic-sounding name suits him. "Interestingly, his name also anagrams as "Dark Advise" which, while misspelled, is still pretty ominous.
Madelene has got an interesting name. Meet "Emerald En Gebby" - a little more nonsense than usual, but I just liked the fact that you could spell "Emerald" too much to pass up that opportunity. If you want a more descriptive or poetic name, how about "Dame Green Byble" or "Amber Bend Elegy"?
Anton is "Brent Googlefan", the guy who loves Google. His name can also be anagrammed as "Torgel Bonefang" or "T-Bone of Gangrel".
For all you Exalted fans - Love is a "Cloven Solar"; perfected, but can't make up his mind. You can also rename him "Sven Corolla", making him sound like a Swedish American during the 50's - pretty rad, I must say. He also has "No Coveralls".
Sara's new name is "Karma Furtears", making her sound very hippie. Hippies are cool. She can also be anagrammed as "Ar, Karate Smurf" which frightens me a little bit.
Kristin is "Kit, Handguns Girl" where the umlaut is removed because umlauts don't make sense in english anagrams. Keeping the umlaut, she becomes "Grin-Ling Hästdunk" which isn't as pretty, but is still pretty funny when you think about it. Other interesting things you can write (without umlaut) include "Kind Hug Starling". Most disturbing of all is possibly "Drag King, Nil Tush".
Kuffu's anagram is the classical "Jason Venomkiss" - I stick to my guns on that name. "Novas Smoke Sins" is also an interesting factoid derived from his name.
Björn becomes "Jarl Orbas Knellsworn", again, without umlaut. Without umlaut, you can also spell interesting phrases like "Jews snarl or bankroll" or "Newborn Larks - Lol jars" or other interesting phrases. This guy's name is a veritable goldmine, seriously.
Eva becomes "I Wavee!" or possibly "Via Wee", meaning "Way of the Tiny" in Latin. Honestly.
Da-Ryun also has an umlaut problem. I'm getting a little lazy at this point in the anagramming, so I'll just blurt out "Troya Darkrune", which is without the umlaut problem. You can also spell "Rad Ray Nuke Storm" which sounds very very science fiction. There's also an odd X-men reference, in that you can spell "Storm N'Dare Ryu Ka" - the two last ones are unrelated, but Storm is Princess of N'Dare. Co-in-ci-dence?
Whoosh. I think that's all. Feel free to use the Internet Anagram Server to play more. It's fun.
måndag 18 februari 2008
Neuroscience
Today has been spent studying the subject of psychology, specifically how the brain and nerves work - and I have encountered a lot of interesting trivia on the matter, that I thought I might share with you.
Firstly, stem cell research is apparently making it increasingly likely that we will be able to mend broken nerves - up to and including nerves in the spine, possibly even in the brain. The possibilities here are endless - paralysis can be cured, neural diseases can be stopped, and we could even potentially regrow lost limbs (we can already clone forth raw flesh - if we can give it functioning nerves, we could attach limbs to ourselves). Aside from the sheer practicality and awesomeness of such an invention, it works in an interesting way; stem cells introduced into the spine or the brain find their way towards a damaged nerve and replace it.
Doing so in the brain, which is still more science fiction than science but sort of possible, would be interesting since each individual nerve doesn't contribute to our identity - merely the structure, the pattern of nerves. I'm not entirely certain about how neurobiology works, admittedly, but it seems like it's not impossible to speculate in making your brain effectively immortal by introducing new stem cells to it on a regular basis. Growing and learning to control nerves would also hypothetically make it possible to grow organic computers, if we could learn to dictate the growth of the nerves and interact with them in a meaningful way.
A second interesting invention is the Cortical Implant, built by the University of Utah. Apparently this invention allows for wireless eyes for blind people - a camera in a pair of glasses connected to a computer sends information to a microchip implanted in the brain. This chip stimulates the visual cortex of the occipital lobe, causing you to perceive flashes of light - an effect since long tested. What the researchers are now working on is a way to turn these flashes of light into "pixels", allowing blind people to see, albeit in black-and-white low-resolution only. Currently there are enough such "pixels" for blind people to be able to read, although only one letter at a time and they need to be large and glow - which is still pretty damn impressive, considering the method works on people who don't even have eyes.
In a manner of speaking, the future is already here. But, all this tampering with the brain and the neurons is getting me awfully curious about my favourite subject again; identity. It seems like the way the brain is constructed indicates that identity, much like the brain in which it resides, can be picked apart - we even know how to "switch off" some functions of the brain, such as sexuality or aggression. If you ask me, these two aspects are rather large a part of how people work.
Firstly, stem cell research is apparently making it increasingly likely that we will be able to mend broken nerves - up to and including nerves in the spine, possibly even in the brain. The possibilities here are endless - paralysis can be cured, neural diseases can be stopped, and we could even potentially regrow lost limbs (we can already clone forth raw flesh - if we can give it functioning nerves, we could attach limbs to ourselves). Aside from the sheer practicality and awesomeness of such an invention, it works in an interesting way; stem cells introduced into the spine or the brain find their way towards a damaged nerve and replace it.
Doing so in the brain, which is still more science fiction than science but sort of possible, would be interesting since each individual nerve doesn't contribute to our identity - merely the structure, the pattern of nerves. I'm not entirely certain about how neurobiology works, admittedly, but it seems like it's not impossible to speculate in making your brain effectively immortal by introducing new stem cells to it on a regular basis. Growing and learning to control nerves would also hypothetically make it possible to grow organic computers, if we could learn to dictate the growth of the nerves and interact with them in a meaningful way.
A second interesting invention is the Cortical Implant, built by the University of Utah. Apparently this invention allows for wireless eyes for blind people - a camera in a pair of glasses connected to a computer sends information to a microchip implanted in the brain. This chip stimulates the visual cortex of the occipital lobe, causing you to perceive flashes of light - an effect since long tested. What the researchers are now working on is a way to turn these flashes of light into "pixels", allowing blind people to see, albeit in black-and-white low-resolution only. Currently there are enough such "pixels" for blind people to be able to read, although only one letter at a time and they need to be large and glow - which is still pretty damn impressive, considering the method works on people who don't even have eyes.
In a manner of speaking, the future is already here. But, all this tampering with the brain and the neurons is getting me awfully curious about my favourite subject again; identity. It seems like the way the brain is constructed indicates that identity, much like the brain in which it resides, can be picked apart - we even know how to "switch off" some functions of the brain, such as sexuality or aggression. If you ask me, these two aspects are rather large a part of how people work.
fredag 8 februari 2008
Worst Idea Ever
I got the worst idea ever yesterday. I was walking away from school, and I started pondering about the whole flirt-wheel thing we constructed a while back - and it struck me that there are no (at least, as far as I know) homosexuals in our little in-group in Uppsala. Bisexuals, sure, but no strictly homosexual people. So I started pondering how that would change things in the little relationship wheel. You know, what if I hadn't dated Eva, but gone with Jocke instead? Thoughts like that.
One thought led to another, and I got the worst idea I've had in a long, long time - possibly ever: Writing slashfiction about your friends. Seriously. It weirds people out, potentially grosses them out, potentially offends them, and add to that that they're your friends and will be totally confused about why you think it would be a good idea for them make kisses with another friend. I am so fascinated with how stupid this is, I can't believe it.
It would be such a horrible idea.
I dare you all to try it. Write about the senpai-kohai relationship between Love and Björn in a ninjutsu context. Elaborate on the stormy passions between Anton and myself, started by an apple core kiss on a truth-or-dare session so many months ago. Make poetic descriptions of Madde and Da-Ryuns long forgotten love affair, that still burns under the surface, hidden away for so many years.
I'm a horrible, horrible, horrible person. Feel free to tell me how bad this idea is and hate me for a set amount of time for it. Maaaan.
Disclaimer: I don't actually think homosexuality is weird. It would probably be even weirder to write heterosexual love stories about your friends. Slashfiction, though, tends to be thrillingly "forbidden", which is why it would have a higher fun factor.
Disclaimer: I am not actually a pervert. Seriously.
Disclaimer: I don't actually think slashfiction is perverted.
Disclaimer: I can't even talk about this subject without potentially offending people. I am so awesome for getting this idea. Worship me forever starting immediately.
One thought led to another, and I got the worst idea I've had in a long, long time - possibly ever: Writing slashfiction about your friends. Seriously. It weirds people out, potentially grosses them out, potentially offends them, and add to that that they're your friends and will be totally confused about why you think it would be a good idea for them make kisses with another friend. I am so fascinated with how stupid this is, I can't believe it.
It would be such a horrible idea.
I dare you all to try it. Write about the senpai-kohai relationship between Love and Björn in a ninjutsu context. Elaborate on the stormy passions between Anton and myself, started by an apple core kiss on a truth-or-dare session so many months ago. Make poetic descriptions of Madde and Da-Ryuns long forgotten love affair, that still burns under the surface, hidden away for so many years.
I'm a horrible, horrible, horrible person. Feel free to tell me how bad this idea is and hate me for a set amount of time for it. Maaaan.
Disclaimer: I don't actually think homosexuality is weird. It would probably be even weirder to write heterosexual love stories about your friends. Slashfiction, though, tends to be thrillingly "forbidden", which is why it would have a higher fun factor.
Disclaimer: I am not actually a pervert. Seriously.
Disclaimer: I don't actually think slashfiction is perverted.
Disclaimer: I can't even talk about this subject without potentially offending people. I am so awesome for getting this idea. Worship me forever starting immediately.
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