omnibrain | February 7, 2007Can someone tell me if this site is for real?
Here's a demo:
Off topic
Heres is a not probable, but possible theory of future humans. Aliens are evolved Asian people. A colleague of mine stated that Asian people have bigger brains than others. This got me thinking and I was thinking of this for a while now, even before he told me this and what he said confirmed this. Depictions of aliens look a lot like asian people, just with bigger heads.
This makes me want to be asian
posted by George Christodoulou at 10:21 PM 0 comments
Is this just a blog to gather advertising dollars or what?
omnibrain | February 7, 2007Are you looking forward to the paper? You know you are.... an fMRI study of scene processing...
Almost through the review process...I'll post the abstract very very soon....you excited yet???
Ok... fine here's a sampler...
Humans and animals use information obtained from the local visual scene to orient
themselves in the wider world. Although neural systems involved in scene perception
have been identified, the extent to which processing in these systems is affected by
previous experience is unclear.......
omnibrain | February 7, 2007Direct from the Horses Mouth:
NEURO-KINETIK NEURO-KINETIK NEURO-KINETIK NEURO-KINETIK NEURO-KINETIK
Parapsychology/"psychic research" is presently not having sufficient number of man hours devoted to it. Yet, this field of endeavor can be a significant part of mainstream science. Via a conceptual overlap in subject matter, even laboratories connected with experimental psychology, physical anthropology, etc. could (via the enabling technology of brain imaging) locate the neuroanatomical basis for the generation or reception of parapsychological/psychical energies.
The main obstacle to…
omnibrain | February 6, 2007In association with Credentialix and our friend Brian, Omni Brain is offering online degrees!
IT'S YOUR FUTURE OF TOMORROW, TODAY!
In today's fast-paced society, it's hard to know what jobs you are or are not certified to perform. That's why I've come to tell you about a fantastic new online service, Credentialix (from the creators of Netflix)!
Our service is simple: By paying our monthly fee, you will be entitled to any degree of your choice. Feel free to keep it as long as you like, with NO PUBLICATIONS NECESSARY! If you feel like a change of career is in order, simply return your degree…
omnibrain | February 6, 2007I'm proud to report that Ted Haggard is no longer gay since he underwent three whole weeks of very intensive counseling. He was so impressed with his counseling that him and his wife are going to attend university and get their masters degrees in psychology (I'm psyched he's joining me in my chosen profession!). It sounds like they'll be going to Phoenix Online University or somewhere similar and hopefully counseling people to ungay themselves just like he was so successful in doing! All praise Rev. Haggard!
The Rev. Ted Haggard emerged from three weeks of intensive counseling convinced…
omnibrain | February 6, 2007Via BoingBoing
What it's about:
BLOGUMENTARY playfully explores the many ways blogs are influencing our media, our politics, and our relationships. Personal political ... all » writing is the foundation of our democracy, but mass media has reduced us to passive consumers instead of active citizens. Blogs return us to our roots and reengage us in democracy. Shot in candid first-person style by director Chuck Olsen.
Find the whole video below the fold.
omnibrain | February 5, 2007I'm sure you remember all the articles last week telling us how people with strokes causing damage to the insula have reported that they no longer feel the urge to smoke. In this weeks New York Times health section Sandra Blakeslee explores the insula in depth, examining both the possible treatment options as well as the many other functions it serves.
Here's a good snipit from the article:
If it does everything, what exactly is it that it does?
For example, the insula "lights up" in brain scans when people crave drugs, feel pain, anticipate pain, empathize with others, listen to jokes, see…
omnibrain | February 5, 2007Does this seem very outlandish? I can't imagine in a million years that someone at MIT would be denied tenure because of their race. Especially in todays P.C. academic environment. Does anyone in his field know what his qualifications were and whether he probably should have gotten tenure?
A black MIT professor began a hunger strike Monday to protest the university's decision to deny him tenure, which he claims was based on race.
James Sherley, a stem cell scientist, said he tried for two years to persuade administrators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to reverse the…
omnibrain | February 5, 2007It's always a shame when cool visual illusions are destroyed - especially historic ones :(
LAKE DELTON, Wis. - In a wooded ravine tucked away from the water parks, restaurants and mega-resorts that dominate this tourist town, a piece of history is quietly dying.
After more than half a century of wowing tourists (and causing probably more than a few cases of nausea), the Wonder Spot, a mysterious cabin where people can't stand up straight, water runs uphill and chairs balance on two legs, is no more.
Owner Bill Carney has sold the iconic attraction to the village of Lake Delton for $300,000.…
omnibrain | February 2, 2007I'm really surprised when I run across something I've never ever heard about before. This is one of them.
BIID or body identity integrity disorder is when a person feels a compulsion to remove one or more body parts (arms, finger, legs, toes and I can't image what else). Below is a snippet from a very personal article from the Guardian about someone with this disorder.
I was six when I first became aware of my desire to lose my legs. I don't remember what started it - there was no specific trigger. Most people want to change something about themselves, and the image I have of myself has…
omnibrain | February 2, 2007Check out this site for the most common mispronounced words in the English language.
This of course if one of my favorites:
Old-timer's disease instead of Alzheimer's disease. While it is a disease of old-timers, it is named for the German neurologist, Dr. Alois Alzheimer.
I'm not really sure I've ever heard this one before, but it's entertaining anyway.
Heineken remover instead of Heimlich maneuver (or manoeuvre, Br.). This term is mispronounced many different ways. This is just the funniest one we have heard. This maneuver (manoeuvre) was named for US surgeon Henry Jay Heimlich (1920- ).
omnibrain | February 2, 2007Watch as Max sneezes out his brain and tries to figure out what to do!
This cartoon is AWESOME :) I give it 4 astrocytes or something like that...
See more videos below the fold.
Here's one of the most pointless - poorly drawn - boring you tube videos I've ever seen! I love it!
It's a girl drawing a neuron and all its parts :)
This should really be over at Retrospectacle... in any case - here's a pretty cool parrot doing crazy sound effects.
omnibrain | February 1, 2007The Guardian has started publishing a column by Marc Abrahams who is editor of the bimonthly magazine Annals of Improbable Research and organiser of the Ig Nobel Prize. Check it out! The first article is called "Fizzy Logic" which covers the Coke vs. Pepsi debate. He also has a blog here.
Here's a little sample of the column in the Guardian:
The nagging question of which is better, Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola, sprang from an earlier, more basic question: Can anyone tell the difference?
Professor Nicholas H Pronko and colleagues at the University of Wichita, Kansas, conducted a series of…
omnibrain | February 1, 2007You're kidding me right?
Kabbalists have attained them all. But don't take Perceiving Reality's word for it... Test the method of Kabbalah upon yourself, and discover the higher states of consciousness for yourself.
But wait... it gets better - they prove their point by using a random dot stereogram saying it comes from a higher dimension or something nonsensical.
Enjoy the video below the fold...
What a waste of 4 minutes... haha..
omnibrain | January 31, 2007Here's the basic story...
New work by a team of researchers has shed light on why hallucinogenic compounds cause altered states in creatures. It has long been known that hallucinogenic compounds have a high affinity for a certain receptor in the central nervous system (5-HT2A, or 2AR), and that when these receptors are blocked, the hallucinogenic side effects are mitigated. What has remained a mystery is why other non-hallucinogenic compounds with a similar affinity for these 2ARs do not produce similar side effects.
How do you know a mouse is tripping balls? It's not like you can show them…
omnibrain | January 31, 2007A team of researchers from UCLA has created a model of how the brain could potentially tell time and has also tested a part of the model on human subjects.
"If you toss a pebble into a lake," he explained, "the ripples of water produced by the pebble's impact act like a signature of the pebble's entry time. The farther the ripples travel the more time has passed.
"We propose that a similar process takes place in the brain that allows it to track time," he added. "Every time the brain processes a sensory event, such as a sound or flash of light, it triggers a cascade of reactions between brain…
omnibrain | January 31, 2007Hah... if you haven't already - head on over to the NYT's for the new Tierney Lab Blog. He has an interesting post today about why people find Graceland so appealing.
I went to Memphis this past weekend seeking a scientific understanding of Graceland. I was there for a meeting of social psychologists, and I wanted to drag a few a few of them out to Elvis Presley's home so they could explain its appeal.
Fortunately, I didn't have to. A team of researchers already had data from Graceland to present at the meeting.