omnibrain | January 22, 2007Normally I'm all for ripping PETA a new one, but there are all sorts of problems with this ad, which (among others) has appeared in Time Square and in the NYT.
It seems that the Center for Consumer Freedom, who is sponsoring the ads and bills itself as a grass roots organization, is actually a front for big tobacco and the fast food companies.
From Wikipedia:
The group defines its mission as fighting against "a growing cabal of food cops, health care enforcers, militant activists, meddling bureaucrats, and violent radicals who think they know what's best for you, [who] are pushing against…
omnibrain | January 22, 2007
It's kinda an intense picture don't you think? I found this on a relatively generic article about Steven Pinker from the Toronto Star.
omnibrain | January 22, 2007I ran across this blog which has all sorts of optical illusions, and they are not limited to the ones in psychology text books.
Check it out!
omnibrain | January 22, 2007Interesting...
State prison inmates, particularly blacks, are living longer on average than people on the outside, the government said Sunday.
Inmates in state prisons are dying at an average yearly rate of 250 per 100,000, according to the latest figures reported to the Justice Department by state prison officials. By comparison, the overall population of people between age 15 and 64 is dying at a rate of 308 a year.
For black inmates, the rate was 57 percent lower than among the overall black population - 206 versus 484. But white and Hispanic prisoners both had death rates slightly above…
omnibrain | January 21, 2007Here's another video for you guys to figure out if it's real or not!
From the YouTube profile:
An old British kids show that never aired on tv. Watch and you will see why.
Talk about innuendos ;)
omnibrain | January 20, 2007So... is the next step wireless neurons? just sayin...
A "data cable" made from stretched nerve cells could someday help connect computers to the human nervous system. The modified cells should form better connections with human tissue than the metal electrodes currently used for purposes such as remotely controlling prosthetics (see Brain implant enables mind over matter).
Here's the original article
And here's some more randomness:
As I'm sure those of you who work for the government (or a public university in my case) know - you often have to take these ridiculous ethics training…
omnibrain | January 20, 2007Ok... this is just silly ;)
I guess the wikipedia people think so as well - spoil sports!
omnibrain | January 19, 2007Oooo... I like this :)
Some people seem to continually have their heads in the clouds. Perhaps they are pondering during their drive to work the next pickle 24 protagonist Jack Bauer will find himself in. Or maybe they are assessing while buttering toast the Indianapolis Colts' chances of finally making it to the Super Bowl. Or considering where they will dine that evening as they tap out an e-mail. The question is: What makes their minds veer from the task at hand?
Researchers at Dartmouth College may have the answer. They found that a default network of regions in the brain's cortex--a…
omnibrain | January 19, 2007More psychic pets! Wooo... aren't you excited? I uhh... am?
by Craig Hamilton-Parker
Does your pet read your mind, see into the future, know the time or can find you wherever you are? Professional TV psychic, Craig Hamilton-Parker, believes many pets have psychic powers. Here he reveals the evidence and has designed some simple experiments to test your pet's paranormal potential.
Hmm... It's almost like he's one of those people who calls himself by his own name... weird. But not quite as weird as
the whole pet psychic idea to begin with.
Scientific research is slowly beginning to…
omnibrain | January 18, 2007Ok... not really - but I see some lawsuits coming on who can research the wild girl ;)
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A woman who disappeared in the jungles of northeastern Cambodia as a child has apparently been found after living in the wild for 19 years, police said Thursday.
The woman - believed to be Rochom P'ngieng, now 27 years old - cannot speak any intelligible language, so details of her saga have been difficult to confirm. "She is like half-human and half-animal," said Mao San, police chief of Oyadao district in Rattanakiri province. "She's weird. She sleeps during the day and stays…
omnibrain | January 17, 2007It looks like there are a couple of interesting articles/TV shows out there in the last couple days highlighting some Omni Brain topics of the last few weeks.
You know how I love the mind control people, It looks like the Washington Post has a great article on it...
Mind Games
New on the Internet: a community of people who believe the government is beaming voices into their minds. They may be crazy, but the Pentagon has pursued a weapon that can do just that.
And of course you all remember the severed dogs head! National Geographic is producing a show about the Russian research that came up…
omnibrain | January 16, 2007Ohh boy... I've seen this kind of thing before - but it's always shocking anyway.
I know they must interview a whole bunch of people and only put the biggest idiots in - which you could do in any country, but still... idiots! haha
-UPDATE Below the fold-
Thanks entitlement for this funny video :) More evidence that people in the U.S. are stupid...
omnibrain | January 16, 2007It seems that if you win the Nobel prize you can live for 2 more years! Screw exercise and eating right - I'm gonna win the NOBEL PRIZE!!!!!
Anyone have any good research ideas? Just think you can be responsible for me living TWO MORE YEARS!
The average life span for this group was just over 76 years. Winners of the Nobel Prize were found to live 1.4 years longer on average (77.2 years) than those who had "merely" been nominated for a prize (who lived on average for 75.8 years). When the survey was restricted to only comparing winners and nominees from the same country, the longevity gap…
omnibrain | January 16, 2007Thanks to Coturnix from a Blog Around the Clock:
Yes! It is finally here! What you have all been waiting for, impatiently, for three weeks! The Science Blogging Anthology is now for sale. Go to Lulu.com by clicking here (or click on the picture of the book to your right) and place your order! You can choose to buy a PDF to download (but do you really want to print out 336 pages!?) or order the book with its pretty cover - it takes only a couple of days to arrive at your doorstep.
I've ordered it? Have YOU!?
omnibrain | January 15, 2007Well since we're on the library card thing lately - here's a funny article from the onion:
In another salvo in the ongoing civil-rights battle, the Gay And Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation announced the formation of a broad new campaign supporting full library-card privileges for homosexuals.
omnibrain | January 15, 2007Just look at what it can cure!
Skin Diseases
Cancer
Heart Diseases
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Male Sexual Disorders
Aids
Hypertension
Therapy
Diabetes Mellitus
Blood Disorders
Respiratory Disorders
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Endocrine Disorders
ENT Disorders
Gynecological Disorders
Opthalmic Disorders
Psychiatric Disorders
Urological Disorders
Aids
Cold & Cough
Heart Problem
Blood Pressure
Asthema
Sugar Problem
Kidney Shrinkage
Liver Problem
Skin Disease
Cancer
Stomach Problem
Poor Sight
Gynic Problem
Woman's Problem
Chest Pain
Did they leave out anything?
So how does this cow urine work…
omnibrain | January 15, 2007I always find it interesting when advertisers use basic psychological research to sell their products - In this case Mountain Dew uses an RSVP task.
Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) is a technique in psychology (it's also being used for more practical things like displaying text on small displays) used to study a number of topics like attentional blink, temporal masking and repetition blindness. This ad doesn't quite fit into that mold since you don't know what the target is before hand, but the basic idea is there - show a bunch of pictures (or words) in rapid succession and your…