brains, wives and hats

I read it again, and I was fascinated like the first time 20 years ago. By the stories, the reflections, and by the deviant definition we use of "normality" or "genius". The triviality with which we dismiss weird behaviour as an indication of deficit rather than a window over the potential of our scattered perception of the universe.

I'm especially fascinated by the "savants", those people with the exceptional abilities to draw, remember, reproduce, and much more "see" the beauty and harmony of music and numbers.

Their stories, paired with those of the people who have lost the ability to recognise objects, or faces, or the existence of left altogether, hint that our selective faculties for perceiving the world may have left out a lot of possibilities, which may be selectively developed where other faculties are underdeveloped. 

Is that not fascinating? The only thought of a whole new way to perceive the world, of a series of "haha" moments beyond our reach is tantalizing. 

The closest I remember having come to those moments has been associated with suddenly "seeing" stereograms of 3D pictures by crossing my eyes. Can't even start imagining what perceiving music and numbers as a whole means. And going beyond, what sensing new facets of the world would be. 

amazed by education

Are you not amazed by the beauty and power of education? Since I was young, I always thought what a pity it is when people cannot have the wonderful chance I have been given to go to school, learn, read, and now access the internet and watch documentaries and educational lectures, and of the sort I simply adore British ones. Because they seem to be done for the listener to be able to grasp and learn, rather than for the speaker to show off.
This is not a common concept in the Italian system, and surely not in the Italian television. And if it has ever been, not any longer, after the ridiculous decline provided by the media empire of a ridiculous middle class dwarf empowered by mafia collusion and black money.
Maybe not in some parts of the world, maybe not in younger generations, but in Italy, and amongst people of my age, and sure amongst older people, television is still the main source of information, or I should say opinion, cheap entertainment, and trash.

Enjoy some quality lectures here: http://www.richannel.org/

redefining reality

Beau Lotto's illusions and his street science somehow redefine what is reality, and how being part of the ecology of the systems we observe, we can't really separate ourselves from them. These are powerful examples of how much our past shapes our perceptions and therefore our judgments. I'm thinking of using some of these examples for either the lesson on Situation Awareness or a new lesson on Cultural influences.

subconscious clues

I love my subconscious. I've been looking for the name of a website which offers online movies. My memory did not want to remember its name. All it did remember was that there was a word that has something to do with movies, an x and a .to. My mind wandered about words like film, movie, picture, cinema, theatre ... without really finding the link. And then I suddenly had the urge of looking up if the original movies theathre in Cologne has its own app. And there I found myself looking for Metropolis KINO ... and there it was ... at last, the word I had been looking for just popped out from my fingers, and made it to my consciousness. Kinox.to ... that's the site.

Isn't it fascinating, how our brain is able to give us clues, while giving us the impression it's been us who have sorted it all out ? Brilliant !

musical brains

Aren't we cooperative beings, just in need of an inspiring director?