"The force of a photograph is that it keeps open to scrutiny instants which the normal flow of time immediately replaces."
-Susan Sontag (1933-2004), from "On Photography" (1977)
April 13, 2010
on snapshots
April 12, 2010
Surprise! [on genetic control of connectivity & anatomy]
The brain's grey matter contains the cell bodies of the brain's neurons. Using MRI, we can ask two questions about the grey matter at a particular location in the brain – a question about structure, and a question about connectivity:
- HOW MUCH grey matter is there?
- HOW CONNECTED is it to other grey matter regions?
The first is called grey matter density; it is measured using high-resolution anatomical imaging. The second is called functional connectivity; it is measured by assessing synchronization of slow fluctuations in functional MRI signals, typically during rest.
While everyone's brain has the same rough anatomy and connectivity, we are not identical – people differ, in anatomy and in connectivity. How are such differences related? I would have thought that they were very closely linked, because grey matter that's "beefier" is likely "better connected" as well – the two being, so to speak, two sides of the same coin.
A recent study assessed grey matter density and functional connectivity in 333 people belonging to families whose genetic pedigrees have been established, to look for genetic control over anatomy and connectivity. That is, the authors did not look at differences between people in general; they used what's known about the genetics of these people to ask to what degree the differences in their brains were related to the differences in their genes. They did this for grey matter density, and for functional connectivity. Again, I would have thought that these would be very closely linked.
Surprisingly, however, the results suggest that "genes involved in connectivity are different from those involved in brain anatomy."
Now, this is a first study, and further research is necessary. But I would call this a happy surprise, because – like many scientific surprises – it suggests that we have more to learn.
April 11, 2010
News Flash: Earth Not Superfrigid!
From the corrections printed in today's New York Times:
"Because of an editing error, an article last Sunday about the Large Hadron Collider referred incorrectly to the cooling effect of the Big Bang. It was the universe — not the Earth — that the Big Bang caused to cool from billions or trillions of degrees to superfrigid temperatures today."
The average is irrelevant.
More brilliant and practical advice from Seth Godin:
When in doubt, disaggregateThe typical American buys precisely one book a year.
Ouch.
Of course, this isn't true, because when it comes to books, there is no typical American. There are a lot of Americans who buy zero books for pleasure each year. And then there are people like me who buy 400. The average is irrelevant.
When you can't figure out the best way to treat all your customers, the best way to price things, the best thing to offer, realize that the problem is almost always this: you're trying to treat everyone the same. Don't. Break them into groups with similar attributes, and suddenly the path becomes a lot more clear.
This applies to communication as well. Leaders often think it is best to address the most people at one time. This leads to large assemblies; long, legally-vetted press releases and speeches; and disturbingly flat videos. They think this results in true transparency: "Hey, I told everyone the same thing. It's their fault if they don't get it."
The thing is, people hear information filtered through their own experiences. There are as many ways to hear and make meaning of information as there are people in the room.
It's advantageous to speak with people in "small groups with similar attributes". There are many ways to say the same thing; smart leaders deliver the same message while at the same time engaging in two-way, customized communication. This kind of sincere, empathetic communication compliments and engages your listeners, and is more likely to deliver on your communication goals.
April 9, 2010
End-of-the-week fun-fact!
Did you know that Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., & President Barack Obama were not the first & second African-Americans to receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
They were the second & third.
The first African-American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize was Dr. Ralph Johnson Bunche (1904-1971), who received the prize in 1950 for brokering the 1949 Armistice Agreement in the Middle East.
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the..."
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
- William Shakespeare (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ca. 1594)
"The activity in the brains of 17 subjects who were deeply in love was scanned using fMRI, while they viewed pictures of their partners, and compared with the activity produced by viewing pictures of three friends of similar age, sex and duration of friendship as their partners. The activity was restricted to foci in the medial insula and the anterior cingulate cortex and, subcortically, in the caudate nucleus and the putamen, all bilaterally."
April 8, 2010
"Relay #70, Panel F"
The first computer bug was identified by Rear Admiral (then Lieutenant) Grace Murray Hopper (1906 - 1992) on September 9th, 1945.
April 6, 2010
Britton Chance & Shoko Nioka
[ Note (added late November, 2010): In memoriam, Britton Chance (1913 - 2010) ]
April 3, 2010
six is the first perfect number
Because there is strong evidence that those who consume alcohol in moderation live longer and healthier lives than those who don't drink, I have strived to conquer my natural aversion to intoxication and my fear of immoderate & inadequate drinking and aspired to drink moderately. Namely, having a beer with dinner.
However, when I looked into the matter, I found that "moderate drinking", for men, means two drinks per day. This was upsetting. Was I underdrinking when I had one beer with dinner?
Was that bottle of beer just half-a-serving?
I became more confused after a summertime visit to Munich, where we sat in beer gardens and drank beer in one-liter mugs, which is about as much as three American beer bottles. So, was my bottle of beer really just one-third-of-a-serving?
Two good insights; two good concerns. Was that one beer one-half, or one-third, as much as I needed to drink healthily? I decided not to disagree with either insight, and instead to resolve the matter diplomatically:
- 2 drinks = moderation;
- 1 drink = 3 bottles;
- 2 x 3 = 6 ;
- 6 bottles = moderation.
To moderation!
[title refers to this]
April 1, 2010
SCIENTISTS REPORT BRAIN CENTER BRAIN CENTER; ANNOUNCE CENTER CENTER CENTER.
NeuroCooking NewsService, Kensington Maryland, 1 April 2010: In an announcement of stunning importance, leading neuroscientists today reported the discovery of the brain center dedicated to subserving belief in dedicated brain centers, and the founding of a research center devoted to study of the newly-discovered brain center for brain centers.
"Those functional neuroimaging reports of dedicated brain centers for things like pinball, banjo music, and knitting? Some people believe that stuff, and some don't," said Dr. Wan Ker of Bigger University, who led the study. "We asked why only some people believe it, and used functional brain imaging to answer the question. We found, in the subicular insula, a region that 'lights up' only in people who believe that stuff, and only when they believe it. So, we have found the brain center that subserves belief in brain centers."
Capitalizing on their findings, Prof. Ker and colleagues also announced the establishment of the Center for the Study of the Center for Centers (a.k.a. the Center Center Center) as well as plans to file for related patents. They have already filed a patent on using fMRI to select people with especially active center centers for journal editorial boards. No word on whether Center Center Center candidates will have their center centers assessed.
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