Thursday, February 24, 2011

Secrets of a Memory Champion


Posted by samzenpus  

from the never-forget dept.
Hugh Pickens writes writes"We've all heard of people who claim to have 'photographic memories.' Now Joshua Foer writes in the NY Times magazine (reg. may be required) that a 'skilled memory' can be acquired and proves it by explaining how he trained his brain to became a world-class memory athlete winning first place in the speed cards competition last year at the USA Memory Championship bymemorizing a deck of cards in one minute forty seconds. According to Foer, memory training is a lost art that dates from antiquity. 'Today we have books, photographs, computers and an entire superstructure of external devices to help us store our memories outside our brains, but it wasn't so long ago that culture depended on individual memories,' writes Foer. 'It was considered a form of character-building, a way of developing the cardinal virtue of prudence and, by extension, ethics.' Foer says that the secret to supermemory is a system of training and discipline that works by creating 'memory palaces' on the fly filled with lavish images, painting a scene in the mind so unlike any other it cannot be forgotten. 'Photographic memory is a detestable myth. Doesn't exist. In fact, my memory is quite average,' concludes Ed Cooke who recently invented a code that allows him to convert every number from 0 to 999,999,999 into a unique image that he can then deposit in a memory palace. 'What you have to understand is that even average memories are remarkably powerful if used properly.'"

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Cell Phone Use Tied To Changes In Brain Activity


Posted by timothy  

from the hi-tara dept.
Takichi writes"The New York Times is reporting on research linking cell phone use and increased metabolism, with high statistical significance, in the areas of the brain close to the antenna. The study was led by Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and is published (abstract) in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The impact, good or bad, of the increased stimulation is speculative, but this research shows there is a direct relationship between cell phone signals and the brain that warrants further study."

Good quote from the Car Talk Podcast...

"The male brain is a delicate object, inherently prone to extremes, both of incompetence and of genius."


The quote is from a study comparing math SAT scores between the sexes and from this letter that provides more context.



Dear Tom and Ray,
I couldn't believe my eyes. There in the January 24th edition of the NY Times was an article talking about Gray Matter and the Sexes. As a result of Hahvahd President Laurence Summers noticing a difference between the minds of men and women, the scientific community has been in an uproar over "nature vs. nurture" to account for observed differences of the sexes. Which then led the NY Times reporters to notice the following:
"Among college-bound seniors who took the math SATs in 2001, for example, nearly twice as many boys as girls scored over 700, and the ratio skews ever more male the closer one gets to the top tally of 800. Boys are also likelier than girls to get nearly all the answers wrong.
"For Dr. Summers and others, the overwhelmingly male tails of the bell curve may be telling. Such results, taken together with assorted other neuro-curiosities like the comparatively greater number of boys with learning disorders, autism and attention deficit disorder, suggest to them that the male brain is a delicate object, inherently prone to extremes, both of incompetence and of genius."
THERE IT IS! A single sentence that explains both the brilliance we come to expect from you every week, AND the bogus effluent we hear spewing from our radios on Saturday mornings. "The male brain is a delicate object, inherently prone to extremes, both of incompetence and of genius."
What else can anyone say? It is no coincidence, I'm sure, that both of you and Dr. Summers reside in close proximity to each other. After all, birds of a feather flock together. We are left to sort the rare gems from the pile of manure weekly.
Ted Loewenberg
San Francisco


Speaking Foreign Languages May Help Protect Your Memory


ScienceDaily (Feb. 22, 2011) — People who speak more than two languages may lower their risk of developing memory problems, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 63rd Annual Meeting in Honolulu April 9 to April 16, 2011.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Has the Second Dotcom Bubble Started?


Posted by Soulskill  

from the bunch-of-bull dept.
An article at the Guardian asks whether the exceedingly high valuations of social tech companies signify the arrival of a second dotcom bubble. Quoting:"Every week, one of the new generation of internet firms seems to attract a sky-high valuation. Zynga, the social-network games company that has tempted millions to grow virtual vegetables in its FarmVille game, has been valued at $9bn (£5.54bn). Profitless Twitter is said to be worth $10bn. Groupon, vendor of online discounts, rejected a $6bn offer from Google and is considering a flotation with a potential valuation of $15bn. Tech-watchers say this is just the start: the real boom will come when Facebook, the head boy of the new dotcom frenzy, goes public, probably next year. ... The last dotcom boom really took off after the flotation of the internet software company Netscape in 1995. Patrick says this time it's likely to be Facebook that lights the fuse. So far, private investors have been locked out of the New Thing. But JP Morgan is setting up a fund, and Goldman Sachs recently tried to get its clients' money into Facebook."

Smithsonian To Feature Video Game History


Posted by Soulskill  

from the take-that-ebert dept.
RedEaredSlider writes"The Smithsonian American Art Museum has featured everything pop culture from Dorothy's ruby red slippers to Seinfeld's puffy shirt. Now it will exhibit a history of video games. An exhibit called 'The Art of Video Games,' will open to the public in Washington, DC on March 16, 2012. The exhibit will explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies."They're currently holding a vote to determine which video games should represent their respective eras.

Online Multiplayer Games On TI Calculators?


Posted by Soulskill  

from the where-were-you-when-i-was-in-sixth-grade dept.
An anonymous reader writes"A calculator enthusiast has managed to allow TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus graphing calculators to connect to the Internet with the help of an Arduino board. It is called Global CALCnet 2.2 and there is already a chat program demonstrating it. Multi-player games for gCn such as a Scorched-Earth clone are currently in the works. Maybe in the near future we will be playing some variant of Ztetris against our friends on the other side of the world?"Somebody also took the time to port Doom to a TI-Nspire calculator. A YouTube video demonstration is available.

UN: Krishna reads Portuguese minister's speech

United Nations: In a public gaffe, India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna inadvertently read out the speech of his Portuguese counterpart at a UN Security Council meeting, but quickly corrected it after India's chief diplomat at the UN pointed it out to him.
Krishna read out Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado's speech for full three minutes at a debate on security and development on Friday before India's Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri pointed it out.
The initial part of the Portuguese minister's speech related to general issues about the UN, development and security.
Finally, it took a reference to Portuguese-speaking countries to alert Puri, a former ambassador to Brazil, that something was amiss.
"On a more personal note, allow me to express my profound satisfaction regarding the happy coincidence of having two members of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Brazil and Portugal, together here today," Krishna had said, reading verbatim from the initial portion of the Portuguese minster's speech.
Krishna, said officials, could have said this as Brazil holds the current presidency of the Security Council.
The external affairs ministry, however, downplayed the faux pas, saying the "the initial parts of all formal addresses contain salutation and courteous references."
"While addressing the UNSC yesterday (Friday), the external affairs minister used such expressions from the address of the previous speaker before moving to his prepared text for substantive remarks," Vishnu Prakash, the spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, said.
The minister went on to make a well-received statement where he highlighted the relevance of the Indian success story to international efforts to meet the challenges of development, peace and security, the spokesperson said.
In an important speech, Krishna called for a reform of the international structure for maintaining peace and security and peace-building and offered Indian expertise for the global community.
"Global power and the capacities to address problems are much more dispersed than they were six decades ago. The current framework must address these realities," Krishna said at the UN Security Council for the first time since India became a non-permanent member of the top UN decision making body.
However, the official explanation did not cut much ice with chief opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which said the faux pas had embarrassed India at an international forum.
"This is bound to happen when we have people who read speeches rather then deliver them," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said in New Delhi.
Sitharaman added that Krishna's gaffe has embarrassed India at an international forum.
"Today, the level of incompetence has reached to its optimum," she said.
With inputs from IANS

'Harry Baals Government Center' unlikely

FORT WAYNE, Ind., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Officials in Fort Wayne, Ind., said their new government center will "probably not" be named after former Mayor Harry Baals, despite support in an online poll.
Fort Wayne Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy said the building will "probably not" be named the Harry Baals Government Center after the city's longest-serving mayor, the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal-Gazette reported Wednesday.
"We love Fort Wayne, too," she said. "We're not going to make any decisions that look bad."
Malloy said Baals, who died in May 1954, was a popular mayor, but officials fear putting his name on the building could cause embarrassment due to the sound of the moniker.
Baals' name had gathered 6,792 votes as of Wednesday on the city's Web site, www.feedbackfortwayne.org, far ahead of the nearest competitor, The Anthony Wayne Government Center, which had only 408 votes.


Read more (include vid clip): http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/02/09/Harry-Baals-Government-Center-unlikely/UPI-83251297281467/#ixzz1Egt2E0af

Online Multiplayer Games On TI Calculators?


Posted by Soulskill  

from the where-were-you-when-i-was-in-sixth-grade dept.
An anonymous reader writes"A calculator enthusiast has managed to allow TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus graphing calculators to connect to the Internet with the help of an Arduino board. It is called Global CALCnet 2.2 and there is already a chat program demonstrating it. Multi-player games for gCn such as a Scorched-Earth clone are currently in the works. Maybe in the near future we will be playing some variant of Ztetris against our friends on the other side of the world?"Somebody also took the time to port Doom to a TI-Nspire calculator. A YouTube video demonstration is available.

25 German Firefighters Risk Lives To Rescue Swan


Munich Firefighters staged a dangerous night time rescue to save a swan stuck in a frozen pond - only to find it was a plastic decoy. Passers-by had dialled 999 when they saw the swan - left there by fishermen to scare away other birds - apparently stuck fast in the ice in Straubing, Germany......
   More Details >>       

Mystery irritating noise turns out to be parrot imitating smoke alarm

An escaped parrot had a mother in a real flap when it spent several days outside her house mimicking her smoke alarm.

Monday, February 21, 2011

The Legend of Zelda Turns 25


Posted by Soulskill  
from the it's-dangerous-to-go-alone-take-this dept.
harrymcc writes"The Legend of Zelda originated 25 years ago today, when Nintendo released the original game for its Famicom console in Japan on February 21st, 1986. Benj Edwards is celebrating with a look at some of the franchise's odder sidelights, from a version broadcast by satellite to the unexpected true story of where the game got its name."If you're in the mood for more nostalgia, 1Up has a collection of articles delving into the past two and a half decades of Zelda. And since it's cool, here's a link (sorry) to a guy who hacked an oscilloscope to display Gameboy games, using 1993's Link's Awakening as a demonstration.