Category: Zeitgeist

The blogging experience at a very early stage

I started this blog in early November, motivated somewhat to have a place to express my views and make comments on articles and posts around the web, without having to worry about space restrictions or about fickle or overbearing moderation.  I wasn't sure what to expect, or even if anyone would be at all interested … Continue reading The blogging experience at a very early stage →

Neanderthals and the Dead – NYTimes.com

Early in the 20th century, two brothers discovered a nearly complete Neanderthal skeleton in a pit inside a cave at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, in southwestern France. The discovery raised the possibility that these evolutionary relatives of ours intentionally buried their dead — at least 50,000 years ago, before the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe. … Continue reading Neanderthals and the Dead – NYTimes.com →

Think you know what a dinosaur looks like? Think again …

The discovery of soft-tissue comb remnants on a fossil could change the way we visualise dinosaurs. The findings, published today in Current Biology, concern the fossilised remains of an Edmontosaurus regalis skeleton excavated in Alberta, Canada. What makes this specimen notable is the presence of a cranial crest composed entirely of soft tissue — somewhat … Continue reading Think you know what a dinosaur looks like? Think again … →

Michael Graziano: The Spirit Constructed in the Brain

I perceive consciousness in myself. My brain constructs a perceptual model of a mind that thinks this and that, feels this and that and is aware of this and that; the mind is attributed to my own location. That model provides an organized, coherent way for me to understand myself -- to predict and help … Continue reading Michael Graziano: The Spirit Constructed in the Brain →

Awe Increases Religious Belief | Matthew Hutson

In February 1971, Lunar Module pilot Edgar Mitchell was on his way back from the Moon when he had an epiphany. Staring out the window at the stars, he realized that everything is connected. The experience was so \"puzzling and powerful,\" he told me, that upon touchdown he launched a quest into what it was … Continue reading Awe Increases Religious Belief | Matthew Hutson →

Stephen Cave: The 4 stories we tell ourselves about death

The other day I did a post about soothing the fear of death.  Stephen Cave in this TED talk, after discussing the age old stories we've traditionally used to sooth that fear, covers much the same ground that I did on the Epicurean insight into this fear. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB7xs7UpIfY Related articles TED: Stephen Cave: The 4 … Continue reading Stephen Cave: The 4 stories we tell ourselves about death →

Is There a Limit to One’s Learning Capacity? | Quora

When parts of the connection process become weak, a process known as synaptic pruning takes place to remove the old connections and strengthen the rest. Experience is the determining factor of which connections will be strengthened and which ones will be \"pruned\" - active connections will remain whereas those which are no longer active or … Continue reading Is There a Limit to One’s Learning Capacity? | Quora →