- Where does the magic of imagination come from? According to researchers from Dartmouth College,
this mythical place within the human brain has been identified. The research
team’s results purport to answer several longstanding scientific questions,
namely what allows human beings the ability to create great art, pen
amazing literary works and perform amazingly intricate dances. According to the
researchers, imagination comes from a sweeping neural network, known as the
brain’s “mental workspace,” that deliberately shapes images, symbols, idea and
theories and equips people with the mental focus required to solve problems and
craft original idea. The researchers think that provides humans with determine
intricate problems and produce novel ideas. “Our findings move us closer to
understanding how the organization of our brains sets us apart from other
species and provides such a rich internal playground for us to think freely and
creatively,” lead author Alex Schlegel said. “Understanding these differences
will give us insight into where human creativity comes from and possibly allow
us to recreate those same creative processes in machines.” Schlegel, a graduate
student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth, and
his team believe that human imagination depends upon an expansive neural
network in the brain. Proof for this theory of a so-called “mental workspace” has been hard to
generate with existing techniques, which primarily look at brain activity in
isolation. To work around this problem, Schlegel’s team tried to determine how
the brain lets humans mold mental imagery. They asked 15 participants to think
about precise abstract visual figures and then mentally blend them into novel
more intricate forms or to mentally disassemble them into their separate parts.
Participants’ brain activity was monitored with functional MRI and the results
showed a cortical and subcortical network over a significant section of the
brain was responsible for their imagery moldings. Mapped out, the network closely
resembles that mental workspace that has been theoretical for so long.
Ironically, proving the source of imagination involved a whole lot of concrete
thinking and hard work……..
- A sad and desperate group gathered Monday in the EverBank Field
parking lot in Jacksonville. With their beloved Jacksonville Jaguars 0-2
through two games and unquestionably the worst team in the NFL, a group of 20
fans banded together for a rally that began at 3:16 p.m. ET to encourage the
team to sign free-agent quarterback Tim Tebow, a former Heisman Trophy winner
from the University of Florida who was cut by the New England Patriots in
training camp. A crowd of about 20 people – fewer than the number of media
members there to cover the rally – staged a rally that was scheduled to last
three hours and 16 minutes, with both the time and planned duration nods to a Bible
verse, John 3:16, which Tebow had inscribed on his eye black for the 2009 BCS
title game. The leader of one of the most pathetic “rallies” in a long time was
James Stewart, a 56-year-old Jacksonville native and Jaguars fan. He and his
group have organized volunteers to make signs and bumper stickers and have
someone to handle their Twitter account in an attempt to publicize its Tebow
campaign. We've accomplished what we had hoped for the first time out,"
Stewart said. Really? Was making yourselves a national joke and underscoring
just how inept your franchise is the goal? If so, mission accomplished.
Amazingly enough, Stewart said that Monday's rally likely would be the first of
many. The current plan is to have a rally every Monday afternoon. "The
Jaguars' season is really in the tank," Stewart said. "They don't
have a lot of promise. There's not a lot to watch. We're consumers and the
Jaguars are a product, and there's a lot of room for improvement. Tebow we
think would be value added if he were to be signed and given an opportunity at
quarterback. It's the perfect time in
our view to do a Tebow experiment. Whether you like him or not, I think
everyone would watch. It would be compelling." He may be right in that train wrecks, oil spills and
nuclear power plant meltdowns are all compelling to watch. Tebow as an NFL
quarterback is all of the above rolled into one, but then again, so are the
Jaguars and their 11 – ELEVEN! – point scored so far this season……….
- Everyone has their cross to bear. In the case of Texas
pastor Art Robles, bearing his cross meant he first had to build it. Robles has
embarked upon a journey of 1,673 miles from his home state to 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue. He is walking from the Lone Star State to the nation’s capital with the
hope of meeting President Barack Obama and praying for America’s elected
leader. "I may change my route fifteen times before I get there,"
Robles said. The Kerrville resident began his walk on Labor Day, leaving behind
his loving wife and his congregation for the trek ahead. "You know, I
can't walk one mile with a hundred pound cross without God's help," Robles
added. "So I know and I'm convinced in my heart God has called me to do
this." His walk arose from a belief that America is in trouble and the
confidence that praying for the country and its commander in chief is the right
thing to do.
“I’m not going there to complain. I’m not going there to fight,”
Robles explained. “I’m going there just to pray for him.” His walk is no
short-term endeavor, as it took him 12 days merely to walk from Kerrville to
the intersection of Blanco Road and Loop 1604 in San Antonio. The ginormous
cross, which weighs more than 100 pounds "fully loaded” – Robles added a
small wheel in the back to help lessen the burden – and accompanying American
flag don’t help his speed. The cross also has a built-in compartment on the
side where he keeps snacks and a Bible. A bag affixed to the cross
contains toothpaste, deodorant and a cell-phone charger to help Robles stay in
touch with his family back home. He stops each night without knowing where he
will stay and relies on the kindness of strangers to find places to sleep………
- Iggy Pop is a punk rock legend. Renowned for his insane
live performances that often find him rolling around on a stage covered in
broken glass or stage-diving into a rabid crowd even though he is now on the
wrong side of 60, Iggy is one of the pioneers of a genre that has lost its way
over the years and still has some of the most iconic songs in punk history with
“Lust For Life,” “Search and Destroy” and “The Passenger.” His new gig won't add
to that legacy, but it will expose him to a whole new demographic. Pop will
voice The
Caterpillar in ABC’s new spinoff of its hit series “Once Upon a Time,” a show
imaginatively titled “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.” Legendary The Who
frontman Roger Daltrey voiced The Caterpillar in a previous episode of “Once
Upon a Time,” but was unavailable for the spinoff due to the ever-troublesome
scheduling conflict. That opened up the door for producers to solicit the
services of another rock legend who would seem to have little or no place in a
show based on a popular children’s book. The years and years of drunken,
drug-fueled and sexually tinged lyrics and antics Pop has been a part of don’t exactly
jive with the world of Wonderland, but the good news is that very few people
watching the show will have any idea who he is or how raw and rough his musical
past is. “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” will stay on the shelf longer than
most shows for the fall season and won't have its much-hyped debut until Oct.
10 at 8 p.m. on ABC………
- Good times are rolling at the International Criminal Court in The
Hague, Netherlands. The sources of the yuks and laughs is the trial of Kenya's
deputy president, who is accused of a multitude of crimes against humanity. To
kick off the trial, the first witness took the stand and described how a mob of
youths torched a church where 2,000 people had sought refuge from postelection
violence. The torching of the Kenyan Assemblies of God church in the Rift
Valley village of Kiambaa remains one of the most notorious incidents in the
violence that left more than 1,000 dead across Kenya after the 2007 national
vote and commission of inquiry found that 28 people were killed in the fire. The
men on trial for the incident and other crimes are Deputy President William
Ruto and radio broadcaster Joshua Arap Sang, both of whom have pleaded not
guilty to charges of murder, persecution and deportation for allegedly orchestrating
violence after the election. An unnamed female witness, identified in court
only as witness P0536, took the stand to share her story. To keep her identity
hidden amidst claims of widespread intimidation of witnesses before the trial, her
face and voice were distorted in video images. Identified or not, her tale of thousands
of youths from the Kalenjin tribe, armed with spears, machetes and arrows,
surrounding the church and setting it on fire was harrowing. The witness
recalled a local political candidate in the mob carrying a jerry can, the mob
barricading the church doors shut with bicycles and firing projectiles at the
building before setting it afire torched the building on Jan. 1, 2008. "We
were all trying to find a way to escape," she told judges. "I was
carrying my small child and I tried to escape. I threw the child out of the
window." At one point, the witness was overcome with emotion and the trial
was delayed for 90 minutes so she could regroup. The rest of the trial should
be equally explosive………
No comments:
Post a Comment