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Human Evolution & Intelligence StudiesTrending Away From Reductionism

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:58:35 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

How strong are your genes? How smart are you? People have traditionally estimated answers to these questions based on genetic surveys and IQ Tests, which can provide valuable answers, but stop well short of factoring in the system(s) surrounding us.

Right now, we may be on the verge of a perspective shift that will help us to fill in a few more gaps and better our systems definitions. Both human intelligence and evolutionary studies appear poised for a due emphasis shift from reductionism (the focus on individual human agents and single brains) to a more holistic (the focus on large groups and the surrounding bio/info/tech structures) approach.

a new model, which demonstrates that environmental factors play a much larger role in the evolution of cognition than previously thought.

“industrialization’s rising cognitive demands

could in fact be the kind of widespread

changing environmental factor that could account for the higher IQ scores across so many nations.” (cont.)

Tags: evolution, human intelligence, cognitive development

the Next Civil Rights Battle Will Be Over the Mind

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:34:59 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: "To a certain extent, memories are societal properties," says Adam Kolber, a visiting professor at Princeton.
"We really need to articulate a moral code that governs all this," warns Arthur Caplan, a University of Pennsylvania bioethicist.

Clip Source: www.wired.com

We think of our brains as the ultimate private sanctuary, a zone where other people can't intrude without our knowledge or permission. But its boundaries are gradually eroding. Hypersonic sound is just a portent of what's coming, one of a host of emerging technologies aimed at tapping into our heads. These tools raise a fascinating, and queasy, new ethical question: Do we have a right to "mental privacy"?

"We're going to be facing this question more and more, and nobody is really ready for it," says Paul Root Wolpe, a bioethicist and board member of the nonprofit Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics. "If the skull is not an absolute domain of privacy, there are no privacy domains left." He argues that the big personal liberty issues of the 21st century will all be in our heads — the "civil rights of the mind," he calls it.

But this isn't just about reading minds; it's also about bombarding them with messages or tweaking their chemistry

Tags: civil rights, mind, privacy, ethics

The £60,000 beach hut made out of driftwood

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:12:51 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

A floating "beach hut" set in remote marshland has been put on the market at a guide price of £60,000.

The Ark, in Burnham Overy Staithe, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, measures just 16ft 5in (5m) by about 6ft (1.8m) and is owned by Dutch artist Lucas Kuys.

Built on a raft using reclaimed timber, driftwood and the roof of a grocery van, the cabin has space for two people to sleep and a small table and chairs.

It has stood on the mud flats for more than 50 years.

"Some people who see it say 'that's a lot of money for a beach hut'.

"Others say it's incredibly good value and 'where else would you find something like that?'. You wouldn't get permission to build it now.

"It's such an important natural area for bird migration and it would be very inspiring for a writer or artist, as it has been for the present owner."

Max Sowerby, of Norfolk-based Sowerby's estate agents, said: "We're getting strong interest already - generally from people who have second homes in the area.

Tags: homes, houses, architecture

Blogging to an Early Grave?

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:50:58 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: blogs.pcworld.com

Blogging may join the ranks of coal mining and Alaskan crab fishing as one of the most dangerous jobs, according to a recent report from the New York Times.

The danger factor results from high levels of stress that come with 24-hour, nonstop, sedentary reading and writing. In the world of blogging, time means everything. If you can be the first one to find, analyze, and post the news, then you can reap the rewards of the traffic it will produce, and therefore make more money, as many professional bloggers are paid per click or per post.

Some bloggers have seen the stress that comes alongside blogging to have a substantial health effect. The New York Times notes three whose stress may have contributed to heart attacks: tech blogger Russell Shaw, 60, and Marc Orchant, 50, who died recently. Om Malik, a well-known tech blogger, survived a heart attack as well. He is only 41.

Tags: blogging, stress