Metal Mental

About 2.5 million years ago, hominids started out with abrain weighing approximately 400-450 grams (approximately 1 pound), but around 200,000 to 400,000 years ago, our brains became much bigger than those of other primates [source: Kouprina et al.]. Now, we humans walk around with brains tipping the scales at 1350 to 1450 grams (approximately 3 pounds) [source: Kouprina et al.].

More work is needed on the role of ASPM, microcephalin and other genes involved in the growth of our brain, but one reason why scientists are so interested in brain size is that it has been linked with intelligence. Bigger brains might portend bigger IQs. So if the ASPM and microcephalin alleles are in fact causing our brains to evolve, what are the possible destinations? Will we be bigger-brained and smart enough to realize some amazing inventions? Or is mankind on a slippery slope down to Stupidtown?

There are still many facts about our brain that people would not mind to eliminate, such as depression, diseases, and so on. Many researchers suggested that human’s brain has reached a certain level that would not be needed to evolve, however some recent reports say it differently.

ASPM andmicrocephalin. When mutations in these genes occur, brain size is affected. Since ASPM seems to have evolved faster in apes than in creatures such as mice, it's possible that it may have something to do with how our brains evolved.

But wait, where is ASPM going with this?

But no one wants to imagine a future in which we become dumber, right? That means the next step for our brains may not be a natural evolution so much as a genetic engineering to ensure that our brains are the best possible brains they can be. Think of how our society already relies on antidepressants and other drugs to correct brain malfunctions. Eventually, we may be able to engineer defects out of existence.

We are going to become terminators

we'd become a species called Homo cyberneticus, a human species that's slightly assisted by some silicon enhancements. As this species proves successful, we'd use the practice more, to the point where our "brain" was entirely computer-based. This species would be known as Homo hybridus, as it would have a body similar to ours. But Pearson foresees one major flaw with Homo hybridus-- eventually, the organic parts of the individual would wear out and die. This will lead to the rise of Homo machinus; this species will be made entirely out of silicon and will essentially have immortality. The brain will be able to back itself up, and parts will be repaired or replaced.

And sure, there will probably be things we'll lose forever in this transition, some attributes that those computer brains can never have, like creativity. But really, one could argue that with the glut of reality shows that are already on the air, creativity may already have died.

http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/assets/img/brain-transplants/image-01-small.jpg

https://universalnotes.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/future_brain.jpg

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/brain-evolution2.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/antidepressant.htm

NAME A SONG!! What are you thinking right now?

I would assume that all of us have a “my song” that can hyper your entire day when you hear the song; I also think that I am not the only one who has some emotional connection with a certain song that can make a person cry like a baby or laugh without brain. I know it would be a beautiful day when I smell the soil in the air after raining; I think we all remember deep in our brain how the sunshine smell on the beach when we are having fun.

http://www.directionfirst.com/ourthinking/media/blogs/a/senseslarge.jpg?mtime=1389829841 for pic

BUT WHY?

Sights, sounds and smells can all evoke emotionally charged memories. A new study in rats suggests why: The same part of the brain that's in charge of processing our senses is also responsible, at least in part, for storing emotional memories.

For instance, the smell of turkey could conjure up a smile as it reminds you of a joyful Thanksgiving, while the sound of a drill could make you start in fear, since it may be linked to your last dental appointment.

Previously, scientists had not considered these sensory brain regions all that important for housing emotional memories, said study researcher Benedetto Sacchetti, of the National Institute of Neuroscience in Turin, Italy.

While the new findings are preliminary, they suggest these sensory brain regions might play a role in certain fear and anxiety disorders, Sacchetti said. For instance, dysfunction in these areas might make it hard for someone to differentiate between sights, sounds and other stimuli that they should and should not be afraid of, resulting in generalized fear and anxiety.   

https://thenakedlistener.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/senses.jpg pic.

The researchers have done the experiment on rats to accord their reaction to events and how the rats memorize them. The reactions suggest that human have the similar reaction as rats which memorizing certain stimulation significantly such as images, music, and smells.

Emotional memories

Rats startle when they first hear a sound, regardless of whether it's linked to a scary event. But eventually, in a process called habituation, they grow accustomed to it. The team wanted to find out if these sensory memories that didn't involve fear were still stored in the secondary cortices. So they habituated the rats to a sound with no electric shock. One month later, lesions were made on the rats' secondary cortices for all senses. The lesioned rats still didn't startle upon hearing the sound, suggesting the secondary cortices only store memories if the stimulus is tied to an emotion. These sensory memories must be stored in another brain region, the researchers figure.

Lesson to be a Genius

Prodigies are always attract everyone’s eyeballs in the way of presenting unexpectable wonders. Why can those people be called “Prodigies” but not others? Let’s

Link of Introduction: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/kinser/Structure1.html

http://people.howstuffworks.com/genius1.htm

The Cerebrum: The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections,

• Frontal: speech, thought and memory
• Parietal: sensory input from your body
• Temporal: auditory information from your ears
• Occipital: visual information from your eyes

The Cerebellum: The cerebellum, or "little brain", is similar to the cerebrum in that it has two hemispheres and has a highly folded surface or cortex. This structure is associated with regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and balance.

Limbic System: The limbic system, often referred to as the "emotional brain", is found buried within the cerebrum. Like the cerebellum, evolutionarily the structure is rather old.

Brain Stem: Underneath the limbic system is the brain stem. This structure is responsible for basic vital life functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure. Scientists say that this is the "simplest" part of human brains because animals' entire brains, such as reptiles (who appear early on the evolutionary scale) resemble our brain stem.

Analysis

Cortex

A genius’s brain is heavily biased towards long or short connections. Short connections indicate an aptitude in one interest, while long connections suggest aptitude in many interests and the ability to see problems from new perspectives.

Frontal cortex

Geniuses have a denser concentration of mini-columns than the rest of the population – it seems that they simply pack more in. Mini-columns are sometimes described as the brain’s ‘microprocessors’, powering the thought process of the brain.

Dopamine receptors

Research shows that geniuses have fewer dopamine receptors in the thalamus. Dopamine inhibits neuronal signals, cancelling out information it deems worthless. The shortage of such receptors in geniuses might mean they can consider unusual solutions to a problem normal brains disregard.

Parietal Lobe

Einstein’s brain was smaller than normal, but his maths-processing parietal lobe was enlarged. Developing a skill over time that relies heavily on one area seems to cause enlargement and strengthening. That is why the word “nerd” was created, only because they think in the way that majority of people do not.

The differences between the government rules about music videos in Syria and America.

In Syria you have no freedom of speech at all so you can’t speak about the government because you will be in jail and then you will get killed so be careful, it is illegal. For example, Sam Covin, in a CBS News article—a reputable American news website, stated, "We were tipped off that people in Syria were being tracked online, and that information was being used to hunt down protesters."

SOURCE; www.dailymail.co.u

 

In America you can do whatever you want because it is a free country where almost everything is allowed to. So it is fine if you said that the government is bad no problem, but for us in Syria it is really bad so I really prefer not to talk at all about the government. It doesn't matter nice or bad just don't talk about it and if somebody asked you about it try to change the topic because they could tell on you even if you said nice things they will say you said bad stuff. Just don't talk about the government.

Personally I hate the government even though I am a teenager. At school our teachers always teach us how nice the government is and how helpful it is and we should be very thankful for it. The teachers also tell us to never go against it because we are not strong enough and it is not possible to be against our government except if you really want to die. The Syrian government is very strong. For example, according to the United States Commerce Department, U.S.-origin Internet filtering devices" are being used by the Syrian government "to block pro-democracy websites and identify pro-democracy activists as part of Syria's brutal crackdown against the Syrian people."

There is a purpose in art !?!?

Many of us don’t realize that art is everywhere. The computer you are using, the pen you are holding, color of your clothes, the chair and desk you are using… all of these were designed by someone; the colors were carefully chosen for a reason. Although that many of us don’t see giant canvas paintings that often anymore, art is still living with us in another form. We see art and use art all the time. Even when you don’t realize, you are making art too.

“When new visual ideas are first introduced by the artist, they are often seen as shocking, and perhaps even as incomprehensible. However, with time the best and most effective of these ideas are accepted. There is nothing harder than trying to grasp what was shocking or illuminating about certain images, or ways of making images, once the shock is gone, and we have all absorbed this bit of visual data into our own vocabularies.”

        As an art student, I understand this shock feeling. Looking at art pieces, especially abstract ones, I found it is extremely hard to understand its meaning from lines and geometric shapes. I often stare at the piece for a very long period of time trying to figure out what the artist is trying to say. Sometimes the reason is just the maniacal desire of the shape, or sometimes it can take the artist days or even longer to come up with the idea; sometimes, the painting is about social issues or irony.

“Artists show us new ways to see familiar things, and how to interpret new situations and events through various kinds of visual shorthand.”

        Through art, some issues in our lives that we are so used to that we ignore are enlarged by the artist to make us be aware of the problem. Also through learning art, one thing that I thought can be considered “deceitful” is when looking at an art piece the audience is controlled by the artist. It is not what you want to see, it is what the artist wants you to see.

Many artists create for different reasons; most of them can be generalized to the following:

Arts are created on religious rituals.

As I mention in my last post, start from Middle Age, art in western world did a great job on spreading Christianity. Even in today, when you go to churches, many of the crosses were created by artists. Stained glass windows are also a way of making religious art. This type of window is usually seen in the older churches. When the light hit through the window, it often gives people a holy feeling. This type of art evokes people’s feeling to the religion and is also a way of worshipping the God.

www.italianfrescoes.com

Art is created for a record of the history.

Before camera was invented, people record the history with their pens and folk stories, however that was not enough. People would like to see things in visual. A lot of ceremonies, weddings, and famous people were painted, and these paintings become an important resource of the historians to analyze the ancient world.

en.wikipedia.org Marie Antoinette

Art is created for advertising.

Back in time, when there wasn’t Internet. When the government has something wants to tell people, it use propagandas to inform and motivate people. We learned about these posters in the East Asian unit; China used propagandas to motivate people to trust Mao and join the communist party. This type of art played a significant role in the politics back in the days.

www.artflakes.com

Art is created for the beauty.

Sometimes artist just want to have fun with their brushes. They just want to create what they think is the beauty or something they believe in. Several blog posts before, I said that the Greek was a big fan of perfectionism. Perfection of the body was one of their beauty standard, therefore they tried to praise perfection in every way they can.

evyjokhova.co.uk

To sum these up, art is created to interpret things in a new way. Looking at the art that you are making grows better inch by inch is a enjoyable process. New ideas developed through the process and it might be completely different from what your original idea was, but that is completely fine. These ideas will make you the only you in the world; it’s amazing to see how you are different than the others. Making something is a whole new experience from just seeing it, you would think more about the thing you are making; artists do not just use their eyeballs, but also more important, the brain.

Why is Parkour popular among teenagers?

Why and How popular are they? How do they attract people? Is parkour a fad? “Parkour has surpassed some of the biggest action/extreme sports in Google search volume. By 2006, parkour had become more popular than mountain biking and rock climbing. In May 2010, parkour surpassed skateboarding”. ( http://apexmovement.com/blog/is-parkour-a-fad/ ) I think parkour and free running are really attractive for boys. At least I have been attracted by them. The reason why I started parkour is to have fun. We are free to use our imagination and be as creative as we wish, doing parkour.

History of Parkour

In Western Europe, a forerunner of parkour was French naval officer Georges Hébert, who before World War I promoted athletic skill based on the models of indigenous tribes he had met in Africa. He noted, "their bodies were splendid, flexible, nimble, skillful, enduring, and resistant but yet they had no other tutor in gymnastics but their lives in nature." His rescue efforts during the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée on Saint-Pierre, Martinique, reinforced his belief that athletic skill must be combined with courage and altruism. Hébert became a physical education tutor at the college of Reims in France. Hébert set up a "méthode naturelle" (natural method) session consisting of ten fundamental groups: walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, balancing, throwing, lifting, self-defense, swimming. During World War I and World War II teaching continued to expand, becoming the standard system of French military education and training. Thus, Hébert was one of the proponents of "parcours", an obstacle course,which is now standard in military training and which led to the development of civilian fitness trails and confidence courses.

                                                            Georges Hebert

Nature and Human Being

          Human being different from other living thing because we know how to create tool by ourselves and use it to change the environment around us into the environment that was good for us to live. According to Susan Patterson, a freelance writer, Human affect the environment thought out the evolution. Susan Patterson is reliable because she is a person that take part in many different charity about protect the Earth and change the environment.

             It's interesting to note that modern humans have been around for a very long time and lived for much of it without causing much irreparable damage to the environment. However, over exploitation and pollution have started affecting the environment negatively over the last few centuries.

Nature created Human Being, this special organism that not only know how to change themselves to fit into the environment. Human Being also know how to change the environment both in good and bad ways. Based on the education web Green Living Love to know. According to the replay that was online, some of the people think the population did not have any relationship with the situation that the environment become worse and worse.

“An increase in population makes excessive demands on natural resources, and increases the demand on agriculture and livestock. There are many negative impacts associated with population explosion.”

Because of the population of human was keep growing bigger and bigger, human change the environment by many ways so we can have enough good for living. Such as, removing trees and other plants to increase the areas of human living, keeps the cost of nature good low, but it reduces biodiversity and negatively impacts the resource.

Tricks of parkour

• In this post I will argue that parkour and free running are popular because there are easy, medium and hard tricks.
• What kind of tricks are in parkour and free running? Which trick is the easiest, simplest, hardest, riskiest  and trickiest? The easiest and simplest trick could be “Arm Jump”, which is a jump with both hands on the top of an obstacle and both feet on an obstacle. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPJIcZlLoWI (Arm Jump)  
• Describe the video:
• The hardest trick could be many, because people who do parkour can do anything they want with so many kinds of tricks by combinating them. Here some great parkours, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRy1J6lO_RM   and some parkours look the most dangerous.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQe01rxUisk     

As the last two videos I posted on #2, there are so many dangerous and risky moves in parkour. Most parkour can’t be done without injury to learn or to master. What are common injuries in parkour? 1.Foot and hand bruises that occur when you take too big of an impact using improper form. Learning a proper technique is the most important thing to do before trying any tricks. 2.Shin hits. This can be the most common injury. 3.Ankle sprains. This one is a common injury too.