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“ Most of science is actually part of the entertainment industry . . . in the end, the public pays the bills “
Prof. Steve Jones, University College London.
Bubbles On The Couch.
A novel technique for getting to grips with the intricacies and foibles of the stockmarket is being developed at the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, at University College London. (UCL)
Instead of the more usual mathematical and dynamic-systems approaches, the research team decided to look at trading-floor actions from a different angle – using Psychoanalysis.
The new method :
“ . . . argues that banks and financial institutions should be as wary of ‘ emotional inflation ’ as they are fiscal inflation. “
And the study also introduces the concept of ‘ Phantastic Objects ’ and their possible role in affecting ‘ the financial market’s Sense of Reality ’.
Further :
“ Market investors’ relationships to their assets and shares are akin to love-hate relationships with our partners.”
The new theory might encourage stock market analysts to incorporate neurobiological and emotional factors into future theoretical models.
Really Magazine is sticking with a simpler model though.
Preferring to view the stock market as an unadorned battle between Fear and Greed. Sometimes one wins, sometimes the other.
The UCL study is published in the latest edition of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis
29 APR 08 ( late edition )
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Meaning in Kentucky
The ‘ Laboratory for the Study of Meaning and Quality of Life ‘ at
the University of Louisville, Kentucky, has just published its research paper
into the meaning and quality of life.
In order to investigate the subject, the research team asked 122 participants ( students ) to complete ten poignant questions from the Meaning In Life Questionarre (MLQ ) ( developed by the paper’s lead author back in 2006 )
Subsequent mathematical investigation of the data ( using Aiken & West’s Single-Slope Analysis technique ) flagged up the following results :
“ Findings suggest that people lacking meaning search for it . . . “
though, sadly, perhaps :
“ . . . the search for meaning did not appear
to lead to its presence. “
؟ ؟ ؟
The paper is published in the latest issue of the journal ‘ Personality ‘
You can read it here:
29 APR 08
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RoboFolder
The Department of Computer Science, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH and the
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA have just
published details of their investigations into Origami
- as performed by robots.
It almost goes without saying that the challenges of creating a proficient origami-robot are manifold.
But the possibilities could be worth investigating, because manufacturers and retailers love flat-pack items ( they save on expensive warehousing space ).
More details of the research progress can be found here ( including a video showing robots trying their hand at folding a paper hat ).
Some way to go though to reach this stage
( over 1000 examples provided courtesy of origami.com )
26 APR 08
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Pick Your Own
A team from the Mobility Studio, Interactive Institute at Gõteborg
University, in Sweden, has recently completed their ethnographic fieldwork
on the social practice of designing and posting roadsigns.
The authors argue that :
“ . . . public road signs are important enabling intermediate interaction between communities. “
Not the official governmentally-organised road safety and directional signs – but
rather, the ad hoc home-made signs that local residents make themselves and
prop up by the roadside.
To examine the phenomenon, the researchers undertook a 4000km journey along Swedish roads, and recorded more than 2000 photographs of publicly made roadsigns.
They also conducted a series of interviews, both with the signs’ creators, and with road-inspectors ( using Kusenbach’s go-along technique. )
Keyphrases :
de-contextualisation
transparency of the setting
organisational procedures
material objects
modes of interaction
bridging, and, particularly,
intermediate interaction
Lively, informative, and sometimes humorous as they are, some might argue that irregular road signs could contravene the law, and the authors point out that the road inspectors can see their work as an ‘editing ‘ process.
But is it always clear what constitutes a ‘ sign ‘ ?
Is a mailbox a ‘ sign ‘ ? Is a tractor-trailer laden with apples and parked at a farm gate a ‘ sign ‘ ?
In the final analysis though :
“ We have shown how public signs can, and do,
provide liveliness to the roadspace. “
The research will be published
in a future issue of the journal Space and Culture.
24 APR 08
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Have/Want Survey results
In his 1954 book ‘ The real enjoyment of living. ‘ Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel claimed that, “ Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. ” - but just how right was he ?
A joint research project from Texas Tech University and Wichita State University recently decided to expose the pronouncement to the rigours of scientific scrutiny.
A series of two experiments ( involving students ) applied :
• Schwartz et al.’s Maximization Scale,
• Ryff’s Personal Growth Subscale,
• the Purpose in Life Subscale of Ryff’s (1989) Multidimensional Measure of Psychological Well-being,
• Robitschek’s (1998) Personal Growth Initiative Scale, and
• Preacher and Hayes’ (2006) Bootstrapping Procedure
- to questionnaires regarding whether the students had things, wanted things, or both ( or neither ).
The things in question were ( for example ) a car, a bed, a cellphone, a microwave, tennis-shoes etc etc.
The researchers then “ calculated conditional probability scores in order to quantify the extent to which participants have what they want [i.e., p(have|want)] and want what they have [i.e., p(want|have)] “
The results ?
“ Results indicate that those American undergraduates who are happiest in this life are not necessarily those who amass great numbers of things. Rather, they are those who both have the things they want and want the things they have. “
Or, put another way :
“ Results indicate that Schachtel was both right and wrong. “
A free abstract of the study is published in this month’s issue of Psychological Science.
Or, you can read the full
research paper here.
23 APR 08
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Organizational Sensemaking – an extension
How can we make sense of ‘ Negative Entropy ‘ ( a.k.a.
Information ) within the framework of ‘ Ogananizations ' ?
One possible approach might be to employ Organizational Sensemaking Theory.
For readers who haven’t come across the concept of Organizational Sensemaking - here’s a 2002 Sensemaking Recipe from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Which explains how “ People in onganizations actively construct the environment that they attend to “
and indicating how they do so via :
• Enactment : • Selection : • Retention : • Expecting : • Manipulating and • Arguing .
( using a real-world example involving baloons, human voices, and the flow of electricty. )
Now though, the present understanding of Organizational Sensemaking has been extended - by an article entitled :
Extending the Present Understanding of Organizational Sensemaking - just published in the latest issue of the journal Administration & Society.
Despite this new clarification, readers should perhaps bear in mind :
" Our understanding of organizational sensemaking remains somewhat fragmented "
- and sadly, the full article is ‘ subscribers only ‘ .
But happily, readers can get a sense of the author’s drift in his doctoral thesis on the same subject - which sums things up like this :
“ Sensemaking is conscious meaning construction. ‘Meaning’ is bounded to the being of which it is meaning. ‘Meaning’ is also united with I for which it is meaning. ‘Meaning’ is ‘something’ that I have relative to the being ‘outside’. “
21 APR 08
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They ' are no longer accepting lunch orders ‘
Sadly, it’s one-day-too-late to visit the 2008 Astrobiology Science Conference in Santa Clara, California.
The good news though, is that they have posted online free-access .pdf abstracts of the entire conference programme.
Although many of the subjects under discussion are almost imponderable, that doesn’t mean that pondering shouldn't be attempted - and and authors from various academic institutions have spent considerable effort doing just that.
For example :
From the University of Hawaii,
Where did the Earth’s water come from ?
Unknown : but perhaps “ most of it probably accumulated with the latter half of Earth’s mass from wetter planetary embryos originating beyond 1.5AU “ ( in other words gravitationally scavenged from passing wet comets and space-ice etc ).
From Penn State University
Would it be possible to ‘ Modulate Moon’s albedo to create a calling-card detectable by any civilization pointing a TPF-like telescope in our direction ? ‘ Maybe, with the aid of giant flipping mirrors on the Moon’s surface say the authors.
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology
What might a search for ‘ Weird Intelligence ’ entail
? The authors ask : ‘ Is there a comparison to be made between
non-water solvents and unexpected media in which intelligence might exist
? ‘ And then
go on to speculate that “ the answer
might be no. “
Really Magazine's clear favourite though comes
from the University of California, Berkeley
Could a Douglas Adams’ Babelfish universal translator be a viable device for communicating with alien life-forms ?
The authors contend that evolved ‘ computational organs ‘ which might be able to support symbolic communication will inevitably tend to share processing constraints.
Or, to clarify :
“ These constraints reflect a domain of structural-functional influences that can neither be ascribed to nature nor nurture nor even to their interaction, and although not proof against radical divergence of content, this argues for the plausibility of translating not just extraterrestrial mathematics but also extraterrestrial language into a form humans can readily understand. “
Unfortunately, no-one in the Really Magazine office could readily understand it - so we put it through our round-trip tanslator :
" These ties to reflect an structural-functional dominion of infuences that can be chargeed neither to the nature neither to cultivate and not even to their interaction, and even if not test against radical divergence of content, for this supports the plausibilità translate not only extraland mathematics, but also extraland Language in a shape the man can easy understand. "
؟ ؟ ؟
Here's the index to the entrire collection ( scroll down )
18 APR 08
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Excellen$e.
In the second half of the 5th century BCE, particularly in Athens, the term ‘ Sophist ‘ came to denote a class of ‘ intellectuals ‘ who taught courses in ‘ excellence ‘ . . .
[ sound familiar ? Ed. ]
For this service they were in the habit of charging substantial fees,
[ sound familiar ? Ed. ]
and, because of this, have come in for criticism.
Now a new research article from the Department of English at Ohio State University, asks the disarmingly simple question :
‘ Why Shouldn't the Sophists Charge Fees ? ‘
The author argues that they may not have charged simply as a way of getting richer, but, instead -
“ . . . the sophists charged fees to demystify the ways in which gift-exchange made it possible to naturalize culturally established values and misrecognize power relations as relations of generosity and friendship. “
Really Magazine wonders if modern-day Excellence Consultants might
like to adapt the above paragraph and incorporate it into their invoicing
template ?
17 APR 08
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XXXchanges
A ' large Midwestern University ' ( the University of Michigan ) has recently completed its study into Reproductively Relevant Currencies.
475 students ( of introductory psychology ) were asked if they had ever been offered, or had asked for ‘ Nuptial Gifts ‘ [ ahem. Ed.] in exchange for some other type of service or goods.
Although the paper doesn’t specify any of that actual exchanges on offer, Really Magazine can reveal that they included :
Tickets to sports events
Studying assistance
Laundry services
Voice lessons, and
a Louis Vuitton™ bag.
Incongruous perhaps, as most of the students weren’t exactly in the grips of financial hardship. In fact 87% of respondents estimated that their family’s wealth was at or above the national average.
" We have seen many examples where people do this out of necessity, but we still see these tendencies in people who are already well provided for. "
The implication is that such behaviors might be hard-wired, and persist no matter how much wealth, resources or security people already have.
It should be noted however :
" The low success rate of exchange attempts may indicate that such explicit offers are not usually an effective strategy."
The article is published in the latest issue of Evolutionary Psychology
16 APR 08
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Darwin’s ideas about Haut ( an update )
Researchers from the Emotion and Self Lab at the University of British Columbia recently undertook ( what is believed to be ) the first scientific study to investigate whether the non-verbal expression of ‘ Pride ‘ is truly cross-cultural . . .
To test their ideas, investigators showed photographs of actors ‘ posing emotion expressions ‘ [ pride, happiness, surprise, contempt etc ] to rural villagers from ‘ a preliterate, highly isolated tribe ‘ near the city of Bobo Dioulasso, in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
The results showed that, although the villagers were almost entirely isolated from ‘ Western Culture ‘ they nevertheless consistently identified images attempting to portray ‘ Pride ’ - with an accuracy of 57%
The authors sum up :
“ . . . these findings suggest that, at least from a behavioral perspective, pride may be as much a part of human nature as any other emotion. “
And thus, the results are presented as “ . . . the first evidence in support of Darwin’s (1872) claim about pride. “
Here’s the claim - from Darwin’s The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872 ) chap. 11
“ Of all the above-named complex emotions, [ Jealousy, Envy, Avarice, Revenge, Suspicion, Deceit, Slyness, Guilt, Vanity, Conceit, Ambition, Pride, Humility, &c ] Pride, perhaps, is the most plainly expressed. A proud man exhibits his sense of superiority over others by holding his head and body erect. He is haughty (_haut_), or high, and makes himself appear as large as possible; so that metaphorically he is said to be swollen or puffed up with pride. A peacock or a turkey-cock strutting about with puffed-up feathers, is sometimes said to be an emblem of pride. The arrogant man looks down on others, and with lowered eyelids hardly condescends to see them; or he may show his contempt by slight movements, such as those before described, about the nostrils or lips. “
Read the lab's paper here, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Further research here :
Or, quoting from another
article, in the same issue of the Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology :
“ The human self is quite remarkably different from what is found
in most other species. “
؟ ؟ ؟
Notes :
1• The lab has developed its own Pride Nonverbal Coding Scheme to assist pride-researchers :
They suggest that pride-based cues might include :
‘ Head tilted back / up ‘
‘ Chest expanded ‘
‘ Hand on hips ‘
etc etc
2• The villagers also recognised ‘ happiness ‘ even more
consistently - with an accuracy of 84%.
15 APR 08
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Dunking in Winnipeg
If you’re going to be in or around Winnipeg, Canada, on wednesday, May 21, 2008 , the Department of Food Science at the University of Manitoba is offering you the opportunity to attend their second lecture in the series -
" So, food in Canada is the safest in the world, eh ? "
Room 130, Agriculture Building, Carolyn Sifton Lecture Theatre,
3:00 pm
( Coffee and doughnuts will be served )
14 APR 08 (midday)
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Shopping pains
A new consumer-behaviour evaluation tool has been made available. A research team from the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University has ‘ validated ‘ a new scale :
The ‘ Spendthrift-Tightwad ‘ scale ( ST-TW )
( a measure of individual differences in the pain of paying. )
They decided to create the new scale after observing that :
“ Consumers often behave differently than they would ideally like to behave. “
The investigators queried more than 9000 individuals regarding their attitudes to financial questions. Subsequent mathematical analysis of the data revealed their levels of what the team are calling spendthriftiness and tightwaddism.
It became clear that :
“ Spending differences between tightwads and
spendthrifts are greatest in situations that amplify the pain of paying
and smallest in situations
that diminish the pain of paying. “
It should be noted however, that ( almost by definition ) the large majority
of consumers do not fall at the two extremes of the new scale.
They are called : The Unconflicted.
؟ ؟ ؟
• Spendthrifts can view the report in the current issue of the Journal of Consumer Research for US $10.00
• Tightwads can read it
here for nothing.
14 APR 08
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Olympictograms
Some of the pictograms designed to represent the various sports of the
imminent Olympic
Games in Beijing are
very straightforward and easy to understand :
Others however . . .
1
2
3
4
Is it just us, or are some of them a touch cryptic ?
Reader Carmelita reckons they might mean
1 - Calligraphy competition
2 - Ecstasy-fuelled rave
3 - Marathon tree-planting
4 - Conjoined twins exhibition
12 APR 08
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Towards furthering assertorics and F-ness
The Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), has just published their paper on ‘ Vague
Representation ‘ in the journal ‘ Mind ‘.
The 55 page essay covers Vagueness ( a.k.a F-ness ) in substantial depth, examining in detail philosophical constructs such as :
[ When does a person with a healthy head-of-hair become ‘ bald ‘ – if you were to remove one hair at a time ? ]
And : Stalnakerian descriptions of Assertoric Practices
[ If an individual asserts “ I live in a blue house “ how can we be sure that it really is blue ? Perhaps it could be blue-grey, or blue green , or pinkish-grey, or even purplish ? ]
The paper goes as far as to touch on the thorny issue of ‘ High-Order Vagueness ‘ - which some F-ness theorists have contended does not truly exist.
[ see: Really Magazine Aug 07, 2006 ]
In conclusion, the author advises that the only possible way that F-ness can be fully understood is via a thoroughgoing ‘ bottom-up ‘ approach – in stark contrast to the ‘ top-down’ methodology so often preferred by vagueness theorists.
؟ ؟ ؟
The Mind article is ‘ subscribers only ‘ – but the probabilities are high that you may be able to access a copy here
؟ ؟ ؟
We are providing a free ' F-ness ' template as an aide-de-penser for our readers.
11 APR 08
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Regions of Attractiveness
The Question :
‘ Are there Gender Differences for Specific Body Regions When Looking at Men and Women ? ‘
Has, for the first time, been comprehensively Answered . . .
In the June 2008 edition of the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior.
Experimenters from the Lehrstuhl für Biologische und Klinische Psychologie, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germay -
[ motto : Thinking without Limits ]
- showed experimental subjects ( 13 males, 14 females ) photos of ‘ young, fit, and attractive ' ( fully clothed ) men and women – and recorded their eye movements with an iView gaze-tracker.
Would there be any differences in which parts of the body the men and women chose to look at ( and for how long ? )
Yes . . . there was.
To examine the study in fine detail, go here .
؟ ؟ ؟
p.s. The researchers have plans to fine-tune their investigations :
“ Future research might further aim to provide
data on the attractiveness of different body regions and the attractiveness of these areas as a function
of age of the persons depicted and of the viewers. “
10 APR 08
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Re-remembering Tape 342
First Rewind to 1973 . . .
Tape 342 became (in)famous at the time after it was discovered that 18 ½ minutes of secret recorded conversations between President Richard Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H.R.Haldeman ( and various aides ) had been 'accidentally' erased - after five or so attempts.
Thirty years, and several high-court convictions later, the US Government’s National Archives Public Affairs dept. issued a press-release stating that, despite their best of efforts, a team of experts had failed to recover any of the wiped conversation - and the contents of the recording remains unknown to this day.
The press release ended, however, with the following teaser ;
“ We will continue to preserve the tape in the hopes that later generations can try again to recover the this vital piece of our history."
Now, a newly published research article from the University of London, UK, has re-activated the debate – contending that :
“ . . . the tape-gap is already pre-emptively inscribed within the mnemonic archive of the machine and is in fact not silent but fully enunciatory. “
Has the tape been physically and forensically re-examined at the UofL ?
Well, not as such – the article is more of a philosophical enquiry into the possibilities of enlightenment.
The piece, in the latest issue of the journal Memory
Studies is ‘ subscribers
only ‘ . . . but
readers can get a feel for the direction which has been taken in an
article on the
same
subject,
by the same author, back in 2006.
Here we learn that advances in digital audio technology and cosmological theory may offer some hope in one-day recovering the lost data. The author points to current ‘ big-bang ’ theory where, most scientists agree, the exact physics of the first second or so in the life of the universe is still largely unknown.
“ If this intensive and compressed space between nothing and something can facilitate the profound transformation of negative gravitational energy into positive matter-energy [the universe] than surely the interval of the digital sample regardless of it hyperbolic frequency rate could also theoretically contain information that the process of interpellation simply over-writes. “
Really Magazine certainly hopes so.
09 APR 08
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Big Bangs for Big Bucks
The University of Texas at Austin has succeeded in firing up what they are calling “ the highest powered laser in the world “
According to today’s press release, the laser will be used to create “ mini-supernovas, tabletop stars and very high-density plasmas that mimic exotic stellar objects known as brown dwarfs. “
As the director of the programme explains :
“ We can learn about these large astronomical objects from tiny reactions in the lab because of the similarity of the mathematical equations that describe the events ”
In these days of budgetary constraints, it’s amazing perhaps that cash to build such a mega-machine has been made available to the university to study the pure-science of such far-off cosmological entities. We can assume that the biggest laser in the world doesn’t come cheap.
Although the press release doesn’t mention the actual cost of the project, it does detail where the cash came from though :
The National Nuclear Security Administration ( NNSA ), an agency within the U. S. Department of Energy.
But why would the NNSA be interested in financing research into brown dwarfs ?
They’re not.
Really Magazine's investigations have determined the laser was built as part of the Inertial Confinement Fusion Ignition and High Yield Campaign –
The real function of which is succinctly explained on the official govt. website :
‘ The program develops laboratory capabilities to create/measure
extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, and radiation, approaching those
in a nuclear explosion and conduct weapons-related research in these environments. ‘
Budget ? So far, more than half a billion ( taxpayers ) $ - and counting . . .
For some reason, the press release didn't mention that . . .
08 APR 08 ( late )
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A tax by any other name.
It goes without saying that merchants ( and consumer researchers ) have long known that simply changing the name given to a product can very significantly affect the amount that customers are willing to pay for it.
Now the department of economics, at Göteborg University, Sweden has added a new twist to the story - with a very timely investigation into whether the name given to a specific tax affects consumers’ willingness to pay it.
They set up experiments which asked a group of potential customers ( students ) how happy they were about having to pay either :
‘ Gasoline tax ‘
or
‘ CO2 tax on gasoline ‘
Although the amounts were identical, there was more than a 25% preference in ‘ willingness to pay ‘ if the tax was called by its greener moniker.
Really Magazine predicts with some confidence that when news of this research reaches governmental spin-gurus the world over, the names given to unpopular taxes will shortly be revised.
e.g. Tax on beer might become ‘ Methane Reduction Contribution ‘
etc etc etc
The research is published in the latest issue of the journal Applied Economics Letters ( subs only )
Or you can read the full paper here.
08 APR 08
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Towards Unravelling Complexity
If you’re a US taxpayer, you have a constitutional legal right to know how your contributions are being spent.
Unfortunately though, having a legal right and being able to exercise it are two very different things.
Instead, you might like to take a look at a recently released book :
The Complex : Mapping America’s Military Industrial Technological Entertainment Academic Media Corporate Matrix.
- which will go some way towards explaining where a large proportion of your cash goes.
From the publishers ( Macmillan ) :
" From iPods to Starbucks to Oakley sunglasses, historian Nick Turse explores the Pentagon’s little-noticed contacts (and contracts) with the products and companies that now form the fabric of America. Turse investigates the remarkable range of military incursions into the civilian world: the Pentagon’s collaborations with Hollywood filmmakers; its outlandish schemes to weaponize the wild kingdom; its joint ventures with the World Wrestling Federation and NASCAR. He shows the inventive ways the military, desperate for new recruits, now targets children and young adults, tapping into the 'culture of cool' by making 'friends' on MySpace. "
Like it or not, your contributions ( currently totalling more than half a trillion dollars per year ) are helping to construct and maintain the biggest war-fighting apparatus the world has ever seen.
Put another way, the current tax-spend on the US military is roughly ten times the education budget. ( source )
• If you’re unhappy about that, click here.
• If you are happy, click here.
[ Many thanks to reader Carmelita for the tip ]
07 APR 08
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Waterside properties – the ups and downs.
The Question : If your house is at risk of flooding, does that make it worth less ?
Has recently been Answered by the Department of Economics at East Carolina University.
The research team used a Semiparametric Hedonic Price Function Model combined with Geographic Information System data on National Flood Insurance Program flood zones to evaluate hazards in the coastal housing market of Carteret County, North Carolina.
The results were clearcut :
“ . . . location within a flood zone lowers property value. “
The paper is presented in the latest issue of the Journal of Risk & Insurance.
Before jumping to any financially-significant conclusions though, property owners and buyers might like to see a previous study - from the same author.
For, back in 2005, the research team carried out another somewhat similar research project - again examining the effects of proximity to water on property values.
“ The results indicate that proximity to open
water wetlands has a positive association with property values . . . “
It was published here.
05 APR 08
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GSOH
Nowadays, language researchers have a number of powerful tools and concepts at their disposal to aid in their enquires.
For example :
• Sinclair's model of fictional worlds
• Ivanic and Weldon’s identity theories
• Routledge and Chapman's account of truth-commitment
• Grice's co-operative principle
• Text World Theory
• Levinson's concept of uptake and
• Austin's notion of felicity
As an example of how such theoretical constructs can be put to work, see two recent research articles from the School of Languages & Social Sciences, at Aston University, Birmingham, UK which employed them in the linguistic analysis of the Guardian newspaper's dating ad column, ‘ Soulmates '
04 APR 08
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“ Understanding Madmen “
Exactly defining ' madness ' is necessarily a matter of mutual
agreement between reasonably stable large groups of people who consider themselves
to be sane. Perhaps one way of clarifying the details would be to analyse
the behaviour
of easy-to-spot individuals who are self-evidently extremely disruptive
and dangerous– say,
for example,
Adolf Hitler.
A recent research project from the Psychology Department, at the University of Colorado has done just that.
It applied a battery of standardised psychological tests to Hitler’s personality - as described by witnesses and historians ( and by himself in his written works ).
Results :
No overruling diagnosis emerged from the findings – but Hitler scored very highly on the ‘ Anger and Dangerousness ‘ scales.
He was also possibly schizophrenic, and a sufferer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) [ he was amongst the victims of a mustard-gas attack in 1918.]
The research is not just of historical interest though. As the author points out :
“ . . . it might be of value to use the present methods of informant ratings to determine whether common psychological traits are associated with murderous national leaders. “
“ Perhaps, an international group of mental health professionals could identify, assess, and monitor the activities of dangerous current world leaders, and the analysis of previous dangerous leaders, such as Hitler, might be a fruitful place to begin. “
Any suitable candidates spring to mind ?
03 APR 08
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Is an fMRI worth a thousand words ?
Maybe
. . . according to new research from Colorado State University and
the University
of California - which tested whether the inclusion of a ‘ brain
image ‘ in
a deliberately flawed and fictitious ‘ scientific study ‘ would
persuade people as to the study’s scientific validity.
It did.
As the authors point out -
“ . . . brain images have been portrayed in the media as localizing brain areas associated with a wide range of cognitive, emotional, and spiritual functions, including lying, being in love, and believing in God, among other things “
See :
Seeing is believing:
The effect of brain images on judgments of scientific reasoning featuring
in the latest issue of the journal Cognition
More disturbing fMRI related news here
02 APR 08
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Geoglyphic Ideograms in Southern Britain
The Astropragmatics dept at Kang-mere College, Hyisanjin-li , PDRK is about to publish details of an extraordinary discovery. Really Magazine has obtained pre-publication details of what the research team is suggesting could be alien geo-workings in the south east of the UK.
The workings - whiich are clearly visible via the G**gle satellite image mapping system [ see links below ] have, astonishingly perhaps, lain un-discovered until now.
In an exclusive interview with Really Magazine, ( via e-mail ) Prof. Shiu-tinren Jez describes his team's findings . . .
“ With the aid of high altitude satellite-based optical imaging technology we have discovered two sets of geoglyphic ideograms in Southern Britain which we postulate could be markings left by alien visitors.
It is evident that the clearly delineated markings were made by creatures possessing at least the rudiments of intelligence.
There are indeed some similarities with the so-called ‘ landing strip ‘ markings in Nazca, Peru.
In our opinion though, it is extremely unlikely that these geoglyphs ( or the ones at Nazca ) were intended, as some have suggested, to be used as ‘ landing strips ‘. We are confident that any alien civilisation capable of building trans-universal spacecraft would be very unlikely to adopt the ‘ air-assisted planed-gliding ‘ approach to landing that our current aircraft require.
Both sets of makings can be clearly seen with the aid of the G**gle mapping system.
Cick to view the relevant satellite image.
Example 01
Example 02
We conclude therefore that the markings are probably informational in nature.
From ground level, the patterns are almost impossible to make out. Given their size ( covering roughly 100,000 square metres in both cases ) they were clearly designed to be seen from above – perhaps at very great distances ( given access to the correct optical imaging technology ).
As yet our computer-based probabilistic conforming algorithms have been unable to derive any exact meanings for the glyphs. We postulate though, that there could be information encoded in the markngs, dependant on the angles in which the lines cross, possibly correlated with their length as well.
We also observe that the soil structure at the location is rather sandy in nature – so the markings must have been made fairly recently ( our estimate is within the last 50 years ) and our calculations show that they will probably have disappeared ( due to natural erosion ) within another fifty or so.
This leads us to two conclusions.
If aliens built the glyphs, they will be returning to make use of them ( or perhaps to update them ) within 50 years.
Or, perhaps they were never meant to be of lasting value – we must face the possibility that they are simply the equivalent of ‘ graffiti ‘ made in an exuberant moment by some visiting intelligence. “
01 APR 08
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