Posts filed in ‘SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’
The neurons that shaped civilization
This short and stunning TED talk has neuroscientist VS Ramachandran tell us about recently discovered mirror neurons, or as he calls them Gandhian neurons, which allow us to learn complex social behaviours.
He claims that the Great Leap Forward was a Lamarckian evolution of a motoroneuron system which allowed emulation and imitation of another person’s actions. He suggests these mirror neurons supported the development of language and the understanding and interpreting of human behaviour.
Ramachandran has investigated motorneurons related to touch using electrodes to record the activity of specific nerve cells in the brain and has illustrated how 20% of motorneurons in the brain, relating to a specific area of the body, will fire when watching another person being touched in that same part of the body. This form of empathy is managed by touch and pain receptors which provide a feedback signal to veto the motorneuron signal so the brain knows that it isn’t your body being touched and you don’t get confused. However if you anesthesia that part of the body this feedback system is disabled thus dissolving the barrier between you and other human beings.
This suggests that all that separates you from other people is the organ of skin. We are all effectively connected by neurons so in fact there is no distinction between your consciousness and the consciousness of others just as the eastern philosophies has been telling us for millenia.
Campaign for Obama’s to line dry their washing
I adore this site. It has all the elements that make a successful campaign; beautiful design, wry humour and a clever concept linking a simple action to a global problem. Brought to us by the most fabulous design agency I shot him because I loved him damn him.
Your Call On Coal
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The Century Of The Self
Russian Anti-Coca Cola Calendar
Obama does Carnival
A worker cleans Barack Obama masks in the Mascaras Condal factory in Sao Goncalo, Rio de Janeiro. The new face of the White House is the hottest for this year’s Carnival in Brazil. Looks like we’ll be partying with thousands of masked, half-naked Obamas at the Carnival parades next month… because, yes we can.
(AP)
“Prop 8 - The Musical”
Watching this video makes me want to go into satirical musical advocacy. Jack Black as Jesus - genius.
N.B. Proposition 8 changed the constitution of the state of California to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.