Quotes from the Nov 17th edition of New Scientist (which I read yesterday for 3 hours when I should have been working :X ). The 50th anniversary one, discussing science's answers to the 'Big Questions'.

"The point of writing is to take charge of the voice in someone's head. This is what I am doing. My words have taken posession of the language ( Read more... )

This week is the Protect the Human week for Amnesty International. So the Amnesty Society at uni is running a few events. The first of which is a Comedy Night this Tuesday, to which we've invited some semi-professional comedians.

John, who is the main organiser for the night, went away and came back with these posters, which make me chuckle :p


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Theodore W. Gray

"What's the best style for addressing the youth of today? Should you try to use their language? Only if you're the same age as they are, otherwise it sounds stupid. The way to reach anyone of any age or generation is to speak directly, clearly, and in your own voice about things you know and care about."

"Oliver Sacks describes ( Read more... )

( When it's rational to have a reputation for being irrational (Game theory - mostly for me but if you want to read, go for it.) )

I went to a seminar last week given by Normal Freeman from the University of Bristol. I came across my notes for it today as I was tidying up, and decided to share this snippet since I think it's interesting ( Read more... )

I participated in an auditory learning experiment today, in an fMRI scanner at Nottingham University. I spent 2 hours in the scanner as well as some resting time between scans, so it was fairly long, but I got paid £40 at the end. Anyway, the lady doing the scan printed out some little pictures of my brain at the end (she's going to send me a ( Read more... )

"What was leadership, after all, but the blind choice of one route over another and the confident pretence that the decision was based on reason?"

"The natural impulse of men is to follow, he thought, and whoever has the strongest sense of purpose will always dominate the rest"

Friedrick Nietzsche, a German philosopher, wrote a story in his book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" about a person walking on a mountain trail. Along the trail, a troll suddenly jumps out and kills the person. The person, however, is immediately reborn to the same parents, is given the same name, and lives the same life as before. Then one day, again ( Read more... )

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Being as no one wants to employ me for any useful work... I've been participating in these experiments in the psychology department which pay you for your time :P I earnt £25 ($42) today :D I don't think I'm very good at them though. Today I was doing an experiment which involved me staring at a computer screen, on which was randomly displayed ( Read more... )