Month: March 2021

Brain, Health, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

Scientists Implant and Then Reverse False Memories in People

Fernando Kaskais

by Sofia Quaglia Researchers have demonstrated just how easy it is to trick the mind into remembering something that didn’t happen. They also used two very simple techniques to reverse those false memories, in a feat that paves the way for a deeper understanding of how memory works. Our brains are far from perfectly functioning recorders of our life events. The human memory system is fallible and malleable, so much so that it is possible—and even quite common—for people to possess false memories. Memory glitches can lead to all sorts of wider social implications, especially in the legal and forensic field. But now, for the … Continue reading Scientists Implant and Then Reverse False Memories in People

Curiositys, Living, Media&Culture, Psychology, SexLeave a comment

Study: Does the label “straight” worsen perceptions of gay people?

Fernando Kaskais

A new study explores how using positive labels to describe a majority group may negative impact perceptions of minority groups. by Stephen Johnson  In a recent study published in The Journal of Sex Research, heterosexual people were asked to rate their impressions of fictitious men. Some of the fictitious men were described as “heterosexual,” the others as “straight.” Across multiple studies, participants reported worse impressions of gay men after being exposed to the word “straight,” but only if the participants were highly religious. It’s no surprise that using negative language to refer to a minority group can produce negative effects … Continue reading Study: Does the label “straight” worsen perceptions of gay people?

Big Pharma, Freak U.S.A, Globalization, Health, PoliticsLeave a comment

The Antiscience Movement Is Escalating, Going Global and Killing Thousands

Fernando Kaskais

Rejection of mainstream science and medicine has become a key feature of the political right in the United States and, increasingly, around the world By Peter J. Hotez  Antiscience has emerged as a dominant and highly lethal force, and one that threatens global security, as much as do terrorism and nuclear proliferation. We must mount a counteroffensive and build new infrastructure to combat antiscience, just as we have for these other more widely recognized and established threats. Antiscience is the rejection of mainstream scientific views and methods or their replacement with unproven or deliberately misleading theories, often for nefarious and … Continue reading The Antiscience Movement Is Escalating, Going Global and Killing Thousands

Brain, Buddhism, Curiositys, Living, PsychologyLeave a comment

Has Mindfulness Made Me a Bitch?

Fernando Kaskais

First there is confusion, then there is a smug bitch, and then—there is nothing. By Laurie Fisher Huck Recently, on a Buddhist-based news feed I follow, where people diss each other to an alarming degree, someone complained about the “I’m better than you because I’m so spiritual” vibe prevalent in some circles. Then the complaint came closer to home: A friend told me she found me to be “too Buddhist and aloof.” The proximity of these two events gave me food for thought: Has mindfulness made me a bitch? “Bitch” is a very popular word in our colloquial lexicon these days. … Continue reading Has Mindfulness Made Me a Bitch?

Brain, Esoteric, Matrix, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

META-MASTERY: TRANSCENDING BELIEF

Fernando Kaskais

Gary Z McGee, Self-inflicted Philosophy Waking Times “Now I am nimble, now I fly, now I see myself under myself, now a god dances within me.” ~Nietzsche To go Meta. To transcend. To surpass, eclipse, excel. To rise above and go beyond the limits. Meta-mastery is the uncommon ability to overcome all beliefs. To allow that which does not matter truly slide. “To entertain a thought without accepting it.” To go Meta over all answers. A meta-master is an existential ninja injecting a Buddhist nonattachment into all things. A meta-master is the personification of the bird’s-eye view, perched upon the Branch … Continue reading META-MASTERY: TRANSCENDING BELIEF

Africa, Animals, Eco, Money, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

What pastoralists know

Fernando Kaskais

Pastoralists are experts in managing extreme variability. In a volatile world economy, bankers should learn how they do it Ian Scoones is professor at the Institute of Development Studies, and co-director of the ESRC STEPS Centre, both at the University of Sussex in the UK… Edited by Sam Haselby What are the connections between a banker working on a trading floor in London and a pastoralist herding animals across the grasslands of East Africa? More than you’d think. Let me explain how they’re connected; and why they can both learn from each other. Both bankers and pastoralists must, as a matter … Continue reading What pastoralists know

Brain, Curiositys, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

HOW DOES THE BRAIN THINK?

Fernando Kaskais

INSIDE THE MIND Our brains can’t thoroughly analyze everything. Here’s how they think through it all anyway. BY TYLER DANIEL ANDERSON-SIEG A ROARING SOUND FILLS THE AIR and a small object zips through the sky. People in a crowd look up, and three voices shout, “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “It’s Superman!” It’s the same object, the same sky. It’s even the same roar. So why do three people witnessing the same event reach different conclusions? The answer to this question lies in how our brains are hardwired to think. We experience and interpret the world around … Continue reading HOW DOES THE BRAIN THINK?

Curiositys, Eco, Health, Planet, PoliticsLeave a comment

The Amazon Rainforest Now Emits More Greenhouse Gases Than It Absorbs

Fernando Kaskais

Climate change and deforestation have transformed the ecosystem into a net source of planet-warming gases instead of a carbon sink By Alex Fox The Amazon rainforest may now emit more greenhouse gases than the famously lush ecosystem absorbs, according to new research. Long considered to be a bulwark against climate change because of its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, a new study suggests rising temperatures, increasing drought and rampant deforestation have likely overwhelmed the Amazon’s ability to absorb more greenhouse gases than it emits, reports Craig Welch for National Geographic. The sobering findings appear in a new study published earlier this month in the … Continue reading The Amazon Rainforest Now Emits More Greenhouse Gases Than It Absorbs

Brain, Health, Living, PsychologyLeave a comment

NARCISSISM COMES FROM INSECURITY, NOT INFLATED SENSE OF SELF

Fernando Kaskais

POSTED BY JAMES DEVITT-NYU Narcissism is driven by insecurity, and not an inflated sense of self, finds a new study by a team of psychology researchers. Its research, which offers a more detailed understanding of this long-examined phenomenon, may also explain what motivates the self-focused nature of social media activity. “…THESE NARCISSISTS ARE NOT GRANDIOSE, BUT RATHER INSECURE, AND THIS IS HOW THEY SEEM TO COPE WITH THEIR INSECURITIES.” “For a long time, it was unclear why narcissists engage in unpleasant behaviors, such as self-congratulation, as it actually makes others think less of them,” explains Pascal Wallisch, a clinical associate professor in … Continue reading NARCISSISM COMES FROM INSECURITY, NOT INFLATED SENSE OF SELF

Curiositys, Media&Culture, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

PHYSICISTS ARE ON THE BRINK OF REDEFINING TIME — STUDY

Fernando Kaskais

Time is a construct — and it’s made of atoms. by SARAH WELLS AROUND THE WORLD, we are all controlled by the same, invisible force that tells us when to wake up, when to work, and even when to socialize: time. After this past year, the concept of time may seem less real than ever, but according to a team of physicists in Colorado, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The team used three different elements to measure the length of a second. To date, atomic clocks (which absorb and emit photons at regular frequencies to keep time) are the most accurate way … Continue reading PHYSICISTS ARE ON THE BRINK OF REDEFINING TIME — STUDY