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Well, I woke up this morning sometime around 8:00 am, although my bedside clock was claiming it was 3:00 am. I dunno what happened, but its UI is such that its possible to reset the time by accident while trying to turn off the buzzer -- typical. Then again, I don't remember hearing any buzzer this morning. Paint me puzzled and call me a door stop.
Nov. 26th, 2004
Someone at the Pentagon has a brain?
Nov. 26th, 2004 02:33 pmIt would seem that at least someone at the pentagon has a few brain cells, as a recently declassified report makes clear. I wonder if this is a sign that internal resentment at being asked to conduct an unwinable war is starting to make itself known.
Sensory Augmentation.
Nov. 26th, 2004 03:00 pmFor a while now I've been seeing the headlines for this story in my various science newsletters and ignoring it. After all, it may be physically possible to translate the signal from a video camera to an 'imager' that traces a low-res image on your tongue, but how practical is that, really? You wouldn't be able to read, and you couldn't talk when using it. Actually reading the article was a surprise though. The people who get this done to them don't end up feeling shapes with their tongues, as I imagined, but actually get the sensation of seeing. And, if different sensory information is encoded, like sound or balance signals, then the body interprets that as coming from the appropriate sense. In the case of something like touch, the brain will even interpret the signal as if it is coming from the patch of skin that should be feeling that sensation.
This is a far higher level of brain sensory plasticity than I ever imagined was possible, and opens up many possible avenues of not just restoring lost senses, but augmenting them. If you used this technique to convey magnetic flux detection (for example), could you get the sensation of 'seeing' magnetic field lines? Can we somehow allow people to hear in the ultra or subsonic with this technology? Suddenly, I'm very interested.
This is a far higher level of brain sensory plasticity than I ever imagined was possible, and opens up many possible avenues of not just restoring lost senses, but augmenting them. If you used this technique to convey magnetic flux detection (for example), could you get the sensation of 'seeing' magnetic field lines? Can we somehow allow people to hear in the ultra or subsonic with this technology? Suddenly, I'm very interested.
As first Nature and now Scientific American have reported, the restrictions against doing research into the medical benefits of marijuana are absurd, especially considering the evidence that very useful drugs could be derived from it.
I still say is the Mafia's lobbying that has kept it illegal. After all, what better way to keep up their business they built during prohibition?
I still say is the Mafia's lobbying that has kept it illegal. After all, what better way to keep up their business they built during prohibition?
Stand up for your Cognitive Rights.
Nov. 26th, 2004 03:24 pmThe freedom to think as you wish is not currently provided by any of the worlds various constitutions. Up till now this has been a moot point since it was rather difficult to interfere directly with someone's thought processes. As our understanding of the brain grows though, some folks are beginning to say that constitutional ammendments need to be enacted to guarantee basic cognitive freedoms.
Humans as long-distance runners.
Nov. 26th, 2004 04:16 pmI've been saying for years that humans are better long-distance runners for horses, but I've had precious little evidence to back up this claim when challenged. Searching via Google never did any good, but suddenly it a hot topic and I found a list of notable references today:
_________________________________________________________________
01. Faster Than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special , Science
Excerpts: To identify adaptations for running, the researchers have put people and animals on treadmills and measured the activity of various muscles and ligaments, along with the forces a running body generates. (...) "It's an elastic band that has repeatedly evolved in animals that run. Apes don't have it," says Bramble. He and Lieberman hypothesize that the nuchal ligament helps keep an endurance runner's head from bobbing violently. "Every time your heel hits the ground, your head wants to topple forward," says Lieberman.
* [4] Faster Than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special, Carl Zimmer, 04/11/19, Science : 1283
[4] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5700/1283
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01.01. Scientist: Early Humans Ran Wild , The Harvard Crimson
Excerpts: Adaptations designed to make humans better runners were crucial in differentiating humans from other primates.
Their work is so original because most researchers had assumed that humans were relatively bad runners and focused on walking, (...).
"Humans are really poor sprinters, and when people think of running, they think of sprinting," Lieberman said. "A beagle could probably out-sprint a human."
(...) many distinguishing features of the human anatomy, such as our large rear ends (...), were designed for running and have little bearing on walking ability.
* [5] Scientist: Early Humans Ran Wild, Adam M. Guren, 04/11/19, The Harvard Crimson
[5] http://www.thecrimson.com/today/article504623.html
_________________________________________________________________
01.02. Distance Running 'Shaped Human Evolution' , Nature News
Excerpts: Humans may have spent millions of years honing their distance running. c Punchstock
Long-distance running was crucial in creating our current upright body form (...). Our poor sprinting prowess has given rise to the idea that our bodies are adapted for walking, not running, says Lieberman. Even the fastest sprinters reach speeds of only about 10 metres per second, compared with the 30 metres per second of a cheetah. But over longer distances our performance is much more respectable: horses galloping long distances average about 6 metres per second, which is slower than a top-class human runner.
* [6] Distance Running 'Shaped Human Evolution', Michael Hopkin, 04/11/17, Nature News
[6] http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-9.html
_________________________________________________________________
01.03. The Evolution of Endurance , Science Now
Excerpts: Physiologic adaptations may have made humans better runners Last week's New York City Marathon may have been a demonstration of athletic excellence, but according to a report this week in Nature, it was also a display of a key innovation in human evolution. New research suggests that the ability to run long distances emerged 2 million years ago, possibly enabling our ancestors to become better scavengers. The findings may also help explain why our bodies are so different from those of other primates.
* [7] The Evolution of Endurance, 04/11/17, Science Now
[7] http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2004/1117/3?etoc
_________________________________________________________________
01.04. Evolution Made Humans Marathon Runners , New Scientist
Excerpts: We are born to run. According to new research, our bodies are highly evolved for running long distances, an ability that allowed our ancestors to conquer the African savannahs.
Proponents of the theory say that long-distance running may be an even more significant evolutionary adaptation than bipedal walking, an ability which may
have emerged with the appearance of the first hominids some 6 million years ago.(...)
Our legs are full of tendons that are not present in other primates,?says Lieberman. You dont use your Achilles tendon when you walk,?...).
* [8] Evolution Made Humans Marathon Runners, Jeff Hecht, 04/11/17, New Scientist
[8] http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996681
_________________________________________________________________
01. Faster Than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special , Science
Excerpts: To identify adaptations for running, the researchers have put people and animals on treadmills and measured the activity of various muscles and ligaments, along with the forces a running body generates. (...) "It's an elastic band that has repeatedly evolved in animals that run. Apes don't have it," says Bramble. He and Lieberman hypothesize that the nuchal ligament helps keep an endurance runner's head from bobbing violently. "Every time your heel hits the ground, your head wants to topple forward," says Lieberman.
* [4] Faster Than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special, Carl Zimmer, 04/11/19, Science : 1283
[4] http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5700/1283
_________________________________________________________________
01.01. Scientist: Early Humans Ran Wild , The Harvard Crimson
Excerpts: Adaptations designed to make humans better runners were crucial in differentiating humans from other primates.
Their work is so original because most researchers had assumed that humans were relatively bad runners and focused on walking, (...).
"Humans are really poor sprinters, and when people think of running, they think of sprinting," Lieberman said. "A beagle could probably out-sprint a human."
(...) many distinguishing features of the human anatomy, such as our large rear ends (...), were designed for running and have little bearing on walking ability.
* [5] Scientist: Early Humans Ran Wild, Adam M. Guren, 04/11/19, The Harvard Crimson
[5] http://www.thecrimson.com/today/article504623.html
_________________________________________________________________
01.02. Distance Running 'Shaped Human Evolution' , Nature News
Excerpts: Humans may have spent millions of years honing their distance running. c Punchstock
Long-distance running was crucial in creating our current upright body form (...). Our poor sprinting prowess has given rise to the idea that our bodies are adapted for walking, not running, says Lieberman. Even the fastest sprinters reach speeds of only about 10 metres per second, compared with the 30 metres per second of a cheetah. But over longer distances our performance is much more respectable: horses galloping long distances average about 6 metres per second, which is slower than a top-class human runner.
* [6] Distance Running 'Shaped Human Evolution', Michael Hopkin, 04/11/17, Nature News
[6] http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041115/full/041115-9.html
_________________________________________________________________
01.03. The Evolution of Endurance , Science Now
Excerpts: Physiologic adaptations may have made humans better runners Last week's New York City Marathon may have been a demonstration of athletic excellence, but according to a report this week in Nature, it was also a display of a key innovation in human evolution. New research suggests that the ability to run long distances emerged 2 million years ago, possibly enabling our ancestors to become better scavengers. The findings may also help explain why our bodies are so different from those of other primates.
* [7] The Evolution of Endurance, 04/11/17, Science Now
[7] http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2004/1117/3?etoc
_________________________________________________________________
01.04. Evolution Made Humans Marathon Runners , New Scientist
Excerpts: We are born to run. According to new research, our bodies are highly evolved for running long distances, an ability that allowed our ancestors to conquer the African savannahs.
Proponents of the theory say that long-distance running may be an even more significant evolutionary adaptation than bipedal walking, an ability which may
have emerged with the appearance of the first hominids some 6 million years ago.(...)
Our legs are full of tendons that are not present in other primates,?says Lieberman. You dont use your Achilles tendon when you walk,?...).
* [8] Evolution Made Humans Marathon Runners, Jeff Hecht, 04/11/17, New Scientist
[8] http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996681
No LJ Notifications.
Nov. 26th, 2004 07:27 pmFolks have been posting comments in my journal today, but I haven't gotten a single notification yet. I wonder whats up?