In the 1950s, geologist Marie Tharp turned depth measurements into detailed maps of the ocean floor. It led to her discovery of the Mid-Atlantic rift.
In The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain (public library), Annie Murphy Paul explores the most thrilling frontiers of this growing understanding, fusing a century of scientific studies with millennia of first-hand experience from the lives and letters of great artists, scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs. Challenging our cultural inheritance of thinking that thinking takes place only inside the brain, she illuminates the myriad ways in which we “use the world to think” — from the sensemaking language of gestures that we acquire as babies long before we can speak concepts to the singular fuel that time in nature provides for the brain’s most powerful associative network.
Paul distills this recalibration of understanding:
Thinking outside the brain means skillfully engaging entities external to our heads — the feelings and movements of our bodies, the physical spaces in which we learn and work, and the minds of the other people around us — drawing them into our own mental processes. By reaching beyond the brain to recruit these “extra-neural” resources, we are able to focus more intently, comprehend more deeply, and create more imaginatively — to entertain ideas that would be literally unthinkable by the brain alone.
The universe naturally gravitates towards disorder, and only through the input of energy can we combat this inevitable chaos. This idea is encapsulated in the concept of entropy, evident in everyday phenomena like ice melting, fires burning, and water boiling. However, zentropy theory introduces an additional layer to this understanding.
This theory was developed by a team led by Zi-Kui Liu, the distinguished Dorothy Pate Enright Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State. The “Z” in zentropy is derived from the German term “Zustandssumm,” which translates to the “sum over states” of entropy.
Alternatively, Liu said, zentropy may be considered as a play on the term “zen” from Buddhism and entropy to gain insight on the nature of a system. The idea, Liu said, is to consider how entropy can occur over multiple scales within a system to help predict potential outcomes of the system when influenced by its surroundings.
This is the third part in a series on deep brain stimulation for depression. Read from the beginning.
Early in the morning on August 22, 2022, Jon’s medical team told him that neurologist Helen Mayberg would check in with him just before his deep brain stimulation surgery.
The newly upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory successfully produced its first X-rays, and researchers around the world are already lined up to kick off an ambitious science program.
The upgrade, called LCLS-II, creates unparalleled capabilities that will usher in a new era in research with X-rays.
Scientists will be able to examine the details of quantum materials with unprecedented resolution to drive new forms of computing and communications; reveal unpredictable and fleeting chemical events to teach us how to create more sustainable industries and clean energy technologies; study how biological molecules carry out life’s functions to develop new types of pharmaceuticals; and study the world on the fastest timescales to open up entirely new fields of scientific investigation.
For centuries now science has unlocked ever more mysteries, but could we one day run out of discoveries or abandon further research?
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At the 2015 Conference of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, held 3 Apr 2015 at the Salt Lake City Public Library, speakers addressed the themes of Mormonism, Transhumanism and Transfigurism, with particular attention to topics at the intersection of technology, spirituality, science and religion. Members, friends and critics of the association have many views. This is one of them. It is not necessarily shared by others.
Apple’s new “State of Mind” feature in the Health app is more than a tech update; it’s Apple’s foray into helping us understand our emotions. Beyond tracking physical activity with the Apple Watch, the company is now capturing our moods. This, combined with insights from a new Journal app (which Apple says will be woven into our life’s events and multimedia tapestry), aims to give a full picture of our daily experiences, both in body and mind.
Here’s how Apple envisions this feature will play out in real life.
Imagine a vacation in an unfamiliar city. At the start of your day, the Health app prompts you to record your mood. You describe it as “Very Pleasant” and indicate to the app that… More.
Continue reading “The Science Behind Apple’s ‘State Of Mind’ Feature, Explained By A Psychologist” »
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and their partners have unearthed new findings about healing and aging by studying a tiny sea creature capable of regenerating its entire body using just its mouth. They analyzed the RNA
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule similar to DNA that is essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. Both are nucleic acids, but unlike DNA, RNA is single-stranded. An RNA strand has a backbone made of alternating sugar (ribose) and phosphate groups. Attached to each sugar is one of four bases—adenine (A), uracil (U), cytosine ©, or guanine (G). Different types of RNA exist in the cell: messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and transfer RNA (tRNA).
A former physics teacher says America could lose its technological edge if it doesn’t do a better job of teaching quantum information science – starting in high school.
