HURRY!!!
Skrat’s friend Cat took this… thank you Cat.
Seriously, though, hurry.
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Few thoughts on pareidolia
Pareidolia is the name given to our tendency to find significance in random stimuli – most commonly our tendency to see faces and people where there are none. Richard Wiseman’s huge collection of ghost pictures is largely a celebration of this fascinating phenomenon, and it also seemed to be a sensible – and often obvious – explanation behind a collection of ghost pictures I was shown recently as part of a documentary. Of course, for evolutionary reasons, we are hard-wired to veer towards the ‘false positive’ of seeing faces or people where there are none, as it is helpful to be over-sensitive to the presence of a possible predator. For this reason, we might mistake shadows for a burglar, but rarely a burglar for shadows. Also, it only takes a couple of dots and a line underneath for us to see a face and respond to it as one; hence the easy emotional grammar of smilies. Imagine trying to portray a church, or even a flower, or anything other than a face, with a couple of punctuation marks.
So here’s my favourite example, which a few enthusiasts amongst you might know. We see a sort of huge Jesus-face between the man and woman in the photograph, and it’s very hard to snap out of it and see the actual subject: a Victorian toddler in a white bonnet being held by her father. The vegetation in the background appears to be hair in the foreground, and we’re seduced by our evolutionary preference for seeing a face. Have a look and work it out:
Aside from how fun it is to have our minds toyed with in this way, it’s a great lesson in how this kind of thing can fool us. In this picture, we know it isn’t a ghost. Partly this is because no-one’s saying it’s a ghost, but also we understand what the real subject is supposed to be, because when we eventually work it out, we have a solid alternative figure – and a far more plausible one – looking back at us in its place. Yet, had the illusion been created not by a little girl, but by the interplay of branches, shadows, light, water ripples and so on, (which would be just as likely to happen), there’d be no clear alternative emerging figure to ‘prove’ the illusion wrong. And thus, a ghost-believer might laugh off the picture above as an optical illusion (caused by the light and shadow of a little girl) while insisting another is real evidence for the supernatural (caused by light and shadow of a noisy background).
Another point worth remembering is that out of the millions of photographs or pieces of footage taken where these illusions are present, there will naturally emerge a few which are as convincing as the one above. That has to happen – as some have to be better than others, and a few have to be the best. So just because some ghost pictures are very striking, and where the suggestion of random light and shadow forming a face might sound like the most blinkered cynicism, this does not mean you have to throw up your hands and admit a ghostly presence. It might be a ghost of course, in the same way it might be digital manipulation or a missed real-life intruder into the frame, but there’s nothing wrong with it just being one of those have-to-occur great instances of pareidolia too. Logically, there have to be some very convincing ones out there. Start with enough photographs being taken, and you’ll end up with a small number of absolute doozies.
More importantly, though, these are huge fun. Do check out Richard Wiseman’s ever-changing online collection if you haven’t already.
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Article on spanking, bondage and s&m feat. Professor Richard Wiseman
SPANKING is stressful at first, but it could bring consenting couples closer together. That’s the implication of two studies of hormonal changes associated with sadomasochistic (S&M) activities including spanking, bondage and flogging.
Brad Sagarin at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and colleagues measured levels of the stress hormone cortisol in 13 men and women at an S&M party in Arizona, before, during and after participating in activities. During S&M scenes, cortisol rose significantly in those receiving stimulation, but dropped back to normal within 40 minutes if the scene went well. There was no change in those inflicting the activity.
Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, UK, adds that almost any shared activity is likely to promote interpersonal closeness. “It doesn’t have to be tying up your partner or placing clamps on their nipples, it could be something as simple as cooking a meal together or even doing the housework as a duo,” he says.
New Scientist (Thanks Katherine)
Womens brains vs Mens brains
Clearly women are more advanced – at least I think thats what he’s saying….!
Free Stanford videos about the brain
Stanford University posted seven video lectures from professors whose research explores the frontiers of human health, specifically the brain. A good place to start is Brian Knutson‘s fascinating explanation of how brain scans are illuminating the neurology of desire, financial decisions, and mental health. Stanford videos: The Future of Human Health
via Boing Boing
Shoot ‘em up video games are good for your eyesight
Doctors may start prescribing a dose of violent conflict, if a trial confirms evidence that computer gaming improves eyesight.
Six years ago Daphne Bavelier at the University of Rochester, New York, exploded the myth that gaming is bad for your eyes by showing that expert gamers outperform non-gamers at a variety of visual tasks. Now she has demonstrated that playing action-packed video games improves a person’s ability to perceive contrast, a skill we rely on in dark conditions.
The finding raises the prospect that people with amblyopia, which affects contrast perception, could be treated with games. A trial has begun to test that theory.
Amblyopia, sometimes known as “lazy eye”, affects around 3 per cent of people in western populations and happens when the brain fails to correctly register signals from one eye. It can be treated in children but often goes undetected until adulthood, when there is no established fix.
Bavelier’s team randomly assigned 13 healthy young adults, who did not previously play video games, to play either action games like the first-person shooter Unreal Tournament or more sedate titles such as The Sims for 50 hours over nine weeks.
Complete Kant
Cathal Morrow has spent a year not telling a lie (his ‘Kantian Oath’), and his book, The Complete Kant, will be out soon. It will undoubtedly get a lot of attention, in that ‘Yes-Man’ kind of way. It looks fascinating, and can be explored and dipped into here.
On the subject of books, a favourite author of mine, Alain de Botton, has just launched his latest work, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. Embarrassingly, I’ve had it in my possession now for a couple of weeks, and still haven’t read it, which is a first for me when it comes to his work. It is supposed to be his finest yet. If you do not know him, his work is eclectic and whimsical, but bound by a deep and philosophical interest in everyday living. Elsewhere on this blog I have mentioned his School of Life, for which I will at some point, when I get a sodding moment, give a ‘sermon’.
Rehearsals continue, along with the biennial paranoia that the new show won’t be as good as the last one. However, it’s not all stress and panic. Andy took this picture during rehearsals a couple of days ago:
This is how hard we’re working to give you value for money. And at least you can see that we’re treating ourselves to a glamorous rehearsal space.
Right, must get on with it. No rest for the wicked.
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Newswipe – Charlie Brooker
If there is a God then he’s Charlie Brooker. Every word that spills from this mans mouth is sheer genius and utterly hilarious. To disagree with him is futile and for doing so you should be shot – several times.
His latest series from the BBC is now available from the iPlayer here and a multitude of other places. Go watch it now and then come back and tell me just how brilliant he is and that you love him and also want to have his babies – now!
Ancient Jewish magicians promote Satanism via Harry Potter
Apparently the Jewish Kabbala contained theories of ancient Egyptian magicians that promote the idea of Witchcraft and Satanism – today this is spread throughout the world via the medium of DVD and film and it’s Harry Potter (the “promised messiah”) that is as the forefront of this evil propaganda. Tin hat anyone?
This Is Your Brain on Religion
Gus was not a “meditation type of guy.” He was more of a Joe Sixpack, a Philadelphia mechanic not much interested in religion. He hauled himself into Andrew Newberg’s clinic for one reason: His memory was failing.
A neuroscientist argues that God can change your brain.Newberg, a neuroscientist and memory expert, has a special interest in spirituality; he has scanned the brains of worshipers ranging from Franciscan nuns to Pentecostals speaking in tongues. So why was he bothering with Gus? Well, Newberg explains in “How God Changes Your Brain,” his studies (with coauthor Mark Robert Waldman) had convinced him of a link between spirituality and cognitive health: The neurochemical changes that he observed during meditation and prayer appeared to improve brain function. But Newberg had studied mostly devotees with years of spiritual training; he wanted to see whether a novice might benefit, too.
