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Contents contributed and discussions participated by pantanoma

pantanoma

Misinterpretation of a common language - 0 views

  • It is a commonly held belief that because we all speak the same language, we all share the same interpretation.
  • Wrong
  • nglish, and derivations of the language, may be the most commonly used language in the global business arena today; although time will perhaps tell whether at some point this is superseded by Mandarin,
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  • English remains a common language interpreted by all,
  • spoken by many, but truly understood by few.
  • Well, never is this more applicable than in the use of the English language. There seems to be an extraordinary level of assumptive behaviour which both precedes and follows it, most of which is based around inference and interpretation.
pantanoma

Chinese censorship is nothing new, but artists shouldn't trade freedom for money - The ... - 0 views

  • publishing industry to increase sales in China.
  • “whether certain topics were off limits for writers and if his publishing house adhered to government guidelines
  • ‘The censors felt that it did not portray Shanghai in a positive light, so that scene was removed from the movie,’ ”
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  • As I’ve noted elsewhere, what was fascinating about the “Mission: Impossible III” anecdote is that the Chinese censors weren’t always worried about heterodox ideas — a plea for freedom of speech or gay rights, say — but simply looking bad, losing face. The treatment of art as nothing more than a means of transforming the perception of China has a long and storied history under the communist regime.
  • “Likewise, [Hu] opposed the party’s dictum that ‘bright things’ be emphasized and elements of backwardness and darkness be de-emphasized,”
pantanoma

The Human Memory - what it is, how it works and how it can go wrong - 0 views

  • The popular image of memory is as a kind of tiny filing cabinet full of individual memory folders in which information is stored away, or perhaps as a neural super-computer of huge capacity and speed. However, in the light of modern biological and psychological knowledge, these metaphors may not be entirely useful and, today, experts believe that memory is in fact far more complex and subtle than that
  • This website, written by a layman for the layman, attempts to piece together some of what we DO know about the enigma that is...The Human Memory.
pantanoma

O'Malley announcement: Strong populist economics, heavy identity politics | WashingtonE... - 0 views

  • On one hand, his speech was nearly all about economic populism. On the other, the event itself, apart from O'Malley's address, was about identity politics. The combined effect was a presidential rollout that said the former Maryland governor can compete with any Democrat when it comes to taxing the rich and breaking up the big banks, and at the same time can outrun Hillary Clinton when it comes to gay marriage and immigration.
  • hen it came time for O'Malley himself to speak, the references to gay marriage and immigration were brief and perfunctory. T
pantanoma

Brain Basics: Know Your Brain: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke ... - 0 views

  • This three-pound organ is the seat of intelligence, interpreter of the senses, initiator of body movement, and controller of behavior
pantanoma

Scientists are Growing Tiny Cerebral Cortexes in Petri Dishes - 0 views

  • researchers have perfected a technique for growing miniature balls of cortical tissue—the key working tissue in the human brain—in a dish
  • As off-the-wall insane as this sounds, it isn’t just some mad science experiment. These tiny, 3D structures function much like the outer mantle, or cortex, of the brain of the person from which they were derived.
  • “While the technology is still maturing, there is great potential for using these assays to more accurately develop, test safety and effectiveness of new treatments before they are used in individuals with a mental illness,”
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  • ” These tiny balls of brain tissue include neurons supported by a cortex-like network of glial cells.
pantanoma

Introduction: The Human Brain - life - 04 September 2006 - New Scientist - 0 views

  • The brain is the most complex organ in the human body
  • It is in these changing connections that memories are stored, habits learned and personalities shaped, by reinforcing certain patterns of brain activity, and losing others.
  • While people often speak of their "grey matter", the brain also contains white matter. The grey matter is the cell bodies of the neurons, while the white matter is the branching network of thread-like tendrils - called dendrites and axons - that spread out from the cell bodies to connect to other neurons.
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  • The brain has bursts of growth and then periods of consolidation, when excess connections are pruned. The most notable bursts are in the first two or three years of life, during puberty, and also a final burst in young adulthood.
  • t is the most evolutionarily recent brain structure, dealing with more complex cognitive brain activities.
pantanoma

BBC News - Mathematics: Why the brain sees maths as beauty - 0 views

  • The same emotional brain centres used to appreciate art were being activated by "beautiful" maths.
  • The researchers suggest there may be a neurobiological basis to beauty.
  • neurobiological basis to b
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  • Neuroscience can't tell you what beauty is, but if you find it beautiful the medial orbito-frontal cortex is likely to be involved, you can find beauty in anything,"
  • "Given that e, pi and i are incredibly complicated and seemingly unrelated numbers, it is amazing that they are linked by this concise formula.
pantanoma

BBC News - Allen Ault: The day I sent a man to the electric chair - 0 views

  • He did not just order others to carry out executions, he felt it was his duty to be present at the executions himself.
pantanoma

BBC News - The people who want their language to disappear - 0 views

  • "He died last summer," says Trina quietly. "He was very involved in preservation. It concerned him that the next generation wouldn't have that connection. He used to teach the Maidu language, but most of the people who wanted to learn weren't those with Native American ancestors or any experience of it. They would have conversations but I couldn't recognize their pronunciation."
  • Language is a potent force - more than the words alone, it can communicate a community's mindset, attitudes and priorities.
pantanoma

Handwriting vs typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard? | Science | The Gua... - 0 views

  • But experts on writing do not agree: pens and keyboards bring into play very different cognitive processes. “Handwriting is a complex task which requires various skills – feeling the pen and paper, moving the writing implement, and directing movement by thought,” says Edouard Gentaz, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Geneva. “Children take several years to master this precise motor exercise: you need to hold the scripting tool firmly while moving it in such a way as to leave a different mark for each letter.” Operating a keyboard is not the same at all: all you have to do is press the right key. It is easy enough for children to learn very fast, but above all the movement is exactly the same whatever the letter. “It’s a big change,” says Roland Jouvent, head of adult psychiatry at Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris. “Handwriting is the result of a singular movement of the body, typing is not.”
pantanoma

BBC News - 'Curry my yoghurt': 'Pure ignorance' NI Assembly clash over Irish language - 0 views

  • Mr Campbell then asked the minister about a minority languages strategy.
  • "If it's anything to go by what you just did, we don't need a strategy for pure ignorance," said Ms Ní Chuilín.
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