Category Archives: Linkage

2013-05-03 Spike activity

May 4, 2013 – 12:41 pm

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: I can’t recognise my own face! In my case, it’s because the Botox has worn off but for person described in the New Scientist article it’s because of prosopagnosia. The Guardian reports that the UK Government’s ‘Nudge Unit’ is set to become a commercial […]

By vaughanbell | Leave a Comment

Mind and brain podcast radio rush

May 4, 2013 – 11:35 am

Several new mind and brain radio series have just started in the last few weeks and all can be listened to online. The two ‘All in the Minds’ have just started a new series. BBC Radio 4′s All in the Mind has just started a new series with the first programme including end-of-the-world hopefuls and […]

By vaughanbell | Comments (5)

2013-04-27 Spike activity

April 27, 2013 – 8:39 am

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: Psychiatry needs its Higgs boson moment says and article in New Scientist which describes some interesting but disconnected findings suggesting it ‘aint going to get it soon. Wall Street Journal has an overenthusiastic article on how advances in genetics and neuroscience are ‘revolutionizing’ our […]

By vaughanbell | Comments (2)

A new horizon of sex and gender

March 20, 2013 – 11:06 pm

If you only listen to one radio programme this week, make it the latest edition of BBC Radio 4′s Analysis on the under-explored science of gender. The usual line goes that ‘sex is biological while gender is social’ – meaning that while genetics determines our sex, how masculine or feminine we are is determined by […]

By vaughanbell | Comments (5)

2013-03-08 Spike activity

March 9, 2013 – 6:21 pm

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: Brain freeze from a slurpee was blamed for a five car pile up in Texas according to Jalopnik. Salon takes a nuanced look at hook-up culture. It’s a culture? I thought it was a hobby. Housewives, tranquilliser use and the nuclear family in Cold […]

By vaughanbell | Comments (3)

2013-03-01 Spike activity

March 3, 2013 – 11:39 am

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: Providentia overs the curious history of Japan’s suicide volcano. Skepticism about ‘social priming’ is driven by a long-history of doubt about subliminal priming of behaviour. Good piece on Daniel Simons’ Blog. The New York Times has an amazing video about technology to enhance the […]

By vaughanbell | Comments (2)

2013-02-22 Spike activity

February 23, 2013 – 9:16 am

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: The Lancet asks how we can help children cope with trauma? The unfortunate answer is we don’t really know. “If you don’t share my beliefs, it’s because your brain isn’t working properly”. Excellent piece on the ‘defective brain’ fallacy from the Cultural Cognition Project […]

By vaughanbell | Leave a Comment

2013-02-14 Spike activity

February 15, 2013 – 4:34 pm

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: “Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I’ve started seeing it everywhere”. Genius line from a Jon Ronson blog post. The Dana Foundation research showing the genetic risk for psychiatric conditions can be seen early in development. The fantastic Neuroskeptic blog has moved to […]

By vaughanbell | Comments (4)

2013-02-08 Spike activity

February 9, 2013 – 11:07 am

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: The New York Times covers the recent upsurge of robots-taking-over-the-world anxiety. To the bunkers! The dodgy practice of psychologists trying to patent therapeutic techniques is covered by Neuroskeptic. The Humanist discusses the explosion of the unhelpful concept of sex addition. Forensic psychology nerds: In […]

By vaughanbell | Comments (6)

2013-02-01 Spike activity

February 1, 2013 – 8:42 pm

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: Do amusing titles affect the perception of research? Some initial findings from Rolf Zwaan. The New York Times celebrates fifty years of The Feminine Mystique. Feminist classic or Britney album? You decide. Humans are flocking everywhere notes Wired Science. With a particular flocking tendency […]

By vaughanbell | Leave a Comment

2013-01-25 Spike activity

January 25, 2013 – 5:29 pm

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: The interesting concept of a ‘possession trance disorder’ diagnosis is discussed by Neurocritic. BBC News video reports on how Brazil is considering a law to forcibly remove crack addicts from the street into rehab. Goodbye PDD-NOS, hello Social Communication Disorder. A sneaked-out DSM-5 change […]

By vaughanbell | Also posted in Attention, Uncategorized | Comments (1)

2012-01-18 Spike activity

January 18, 2013 – 9:10 pm

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: Yes, it’s the return of Spike Activity. As I no longer spend time in the jungle (no not that one) and 140 characters are just not enough for respectable levels of sarcasm, the weekly roundup is back. Cross-dressing meth priest liked sex in rectory, […]

By vaughanbell | Comments (4)

BBC Future column: why your brain loves to tune out

May 18, 2012 – 12:58 pm

My column for BBC Future from last week. The original is here. Thanks to Martin Thirkettle for telling me about the demo that leads the column. Our brains are programmed to cancel out all manner of constants in our everyday lives. If you don’t believe it, try a simple, but startling experiment. The constant whir of […]

By tomstafford | Comments (15)

BBC Future column: Does the internet rewire your brain?

May 2, 2012 – 11:35 am

My column for BBC Future from a few days ago. The original is here. Mindhacks.com readers will have heard most of this before, thanks to Vaughan’s coverage of the Baroness and her fellow travellers. Being online does change your brain, but so does making a cup of tea. A better question to ask is what […]

By tomstafford | Also posted in Inside the Brain | Comments (11)

BBC Future column: earworms

April 29, 2012 – 6:23 pm

From a couple of weeks ago, my column from BBC Future, about everyday brain quirks (as I’ve mentioned previously). Thanks to Maria Panagiotidi for help with this one. “Earworms”, some people call them. Songs that get stuck in your head and go round and round, sometimes for days, sometimes for months. For no apparent reason […]

By tomstafford | Also posted in Hearing and Language, Remembering | Comments (20)

BBC Future column: Personal superstitions

April 23, 2012 – 7:32 pm

I’m writing a fortnightly column for BBC Future, about everyday brain quirks (as I’ve mentioned previously). My marvellous editor has told me I can repost the columns here, with a three day delay. There’s a bit of a backlog, including Why can smells unlock memories?, Why you’re bad at names and good at faces, and […]

By tomstafford | Also posted in Learning | Comments (3)
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,627 other followers