imagination
carlyo | March 9, 2012This April, Jeff Lieberman, artist, scientist and host of Discovery Channel's "Time Warp", will be performing at the 2012 USA Science and Engineering Festival with his show "Beyond Your Imagination". In "Beyond Your Imagination", Lieberman will give you a tour like no other - a tour of yourself. Using advanced technologies and scientific discoveries, we will see just how amazing you are - beyond anything you could imagine! Lieberman explains that "Science doesn't just tell us about the world outside -- it also reveals a deeper understanding of who we are as human beings, and how we see the…
dgreen | March 18, 2011Jack Hassard wishes us well (and tasks us with being as provocative as we can) in his blog named after his book, The Art of Teaching Science (Oxford, 2004). Summarizing his own approach to science education, he credits Jacob Bronowski as his main inspiration, especially his belief that reasoning and imagination work closely together. Hassard quotes Bronowski at perhaps his most provocative: "You may have been told, you may still have the feeling that E=mc2 is not an imaginative statement. If so, you are mistaken."
Georgia Tech's Mark Guzdial, in his Computing Education blog, takes exception…
grrlscientist | July 15, 2010tags: When Ideas Have Sex, imagination, innovation, group intelligence, exchange of ideas, cumulative ideas, evolution, sexual reproduction, technological specialization, free trade, Matt Ridley, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
At TEDGlobal 2010, author Matt Ridley shows how, throughout history, the engine of human progress has been the meeting and mating of ideas to make new ideas. It's not important how clever individuals are, he says; what really matters is how smart the collective brain is.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference…
grrlscientist | May 20, 2010tags: Richard Feynman Explains Electricity, science, physics, imagination, hot, offbeat, Electricity, jiggling atoms, physical laws, Richard Feynman, streaming video
Physicist Richard Feynman visits the dentist and wonders about the amazing phenomenon of electricity.
From the BBC TV series 'Fun to Imagine' (1983).
grrlscientist | May 18, 2010tags: Richard Feynman Explains Rubber Bands, science, physics, imagination, hot, offbeat, rubber bands, jiggling atoms, physical laws, Richard Feynman, streaming video
Physicist Richard Feynman thinks more about the 'jiggling' of atoms, and about rubber bands and how they 'work'. "The world is a dynamic mess of jiggling things, if you look at it right", says Richard Feynman.
grrlscientist | May 17, 2010tags: Richard Feynman Explains Jiggling Atoms, science, physics, imagination, hot, offbeat, fire, jiggling atoms, physical laws, Richard Feynman, streaming video
Physicist Richard Feynman talks more about jiggling atoms and heat, and about what fire is.
From the BBC TV series 'Fun to Imagine' (1983).
grrlscientist | May 16, 2010tags: Richard Feynman Explains Jiggling Atoms, science, physics, imagination, hot, offbeat, cold, jiggling atoms, physical laws, Richard Feynman, streaming video
Physicist Richard Feynman thinks aloud about atoms and how they jiggle, and how we perceive that jiggling as 'hot' and 'cold'.
From the BBC TV series 'Fun to Imagine' (1983).
grrlscientist | May 15, 2010tags: Richard Feynman Talks About Doubt, Uncertainty and Religion, science, imagination, religion, god, doubt, uncertainty, beliefs, Richard Feynman, streaming video
Physicist Richard Feynman talks about the improbability of the existence of a god, and his thoughts about the mythologies that form the basis of religion.
edyong | November 12, 2009How would you fancy a holiday to Greece or Thailand? Would you like to buy an iPhone or a new pair of shoes? Would you be keen to accept that enticing job offer? Our lives are riddled with choices that force us to imagine our future state of mind. The decisions we make hinge upon this act of time travel and a new study suggests that our mental simulations of our future happiness are strongly affected by the chemical dopamine.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that carries signals within the brain. Among its many duties is a crucial role in signalling the feelings of enjoyment we…
neurophilosophy | June 15, 2009MEMORY, Blake wrote, enables us to "traverse times and spaces far remote". It constitutes mental time travel, with which we can recollect, in vivid detail, events that took place many years ago. We have known, for the best part of a century, that memory is reconstructive rather than reproductive. That is, recollection involves piecing together specific details of the event, and mixing these with our own biases and beliefs. While not being completely accurate, our memories are, in most cases, reliable enough.
It is because of the reconstructive nature of memory that we are able to travel…