Comments for Mind Hacks

Comment on Did the eyes really stare down bicycle crime in Newcastle? by Voldemort

Voldemort — Sun, 19 May 2013 06:21:58 +0000

My guess is that such signs do have an effect, but once they get common, they will become ineffective.

Comment on Test yourself for synaesthesia by abigail

abigail — Sun, 19 May 2013 05:26:58 +0000

it very much could be related to your synesthesia. i have the same thing go on. do you enjoy your synesthesia? i wouldn’t give it up for all the money in the world! it makes me unique.

Comment on Did the eyes really stare down bicycle crime in Newcastle? by I’ve got your missing links right here (18 May 2013) – Phenomena: Not Exactly Rocket Science

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:00:02 +0000

[…] eyes really stare down bicycle crime in […]

Comment on Test yourself for synaesthesia by Christine C.

Christine C. — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:36:12 +0000

i totally see numbers as a “map” as well. mine is made up of straight lines. that don’t intersect. dates are the same as numbers for me. for the month i think of a square and depending what time of year it is, is where i am in the square, looking at the other months. i can move around it too, if i want to.

i don’t think of things in color, but i do assign genders to everything.. numbers, letters, utensils, etc. always have.

Comment on A world of swearing by amelie

amelie — Fri, 17 May 2013 01:15:06 +0000

Really interesting. Would perception of the word determine “where” it lands in the brain? Some people I know who work with the public learn to swear in different languages, but the word obviously wouldn’t be sectioned off if they didn’t know what it meant, or maybe a word isn’t considered offensive depending on which country you’re in.

Comment on Did the eyes really stare down bicycle crime in Newcastle? by amelie

amelie — Fri, 17 May 2013 01:11:39 +0000

Wasn’t there…..on some TV program a feature of a study where kids were given temptation to cheat at a game with or without a set of eyes watching them? Maybe it was a doll or a scarecrow, or maybe I’m confusing part of the study with Children of the Corn. Anyway……

Comment on Did the eyes really stare down bicycle crime in Newcastle? by expansivepsychology

expansivepsychology — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:26:50 +0000

Good points on what might be driving the effect. The idea that the thieves are making a rational choice makes sense – especially if, as I think, the signs make people think there is CCTV/security staff etc. Similar signs are used with CCTV cameras, but if and when thieves realise they’re not really being watched, the effect might disappear. The signs are like Batesian mimicry in the natural world – like a hoverfly to a wasp!

Comment on Disaster response psychology needs to change by Blottermonkey

Blottermonkey — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:45:59 +0000

Reblogged this on AlmostHumor By BlotterMonkey and commented:
This reminds me of the story I was told by elders as a child ( I don’t remember word for word & haven’t found it on the internet yet) but it went something like this ‘short version’:
There was a preacher who had a heart of gold who was traveling to save the world. He had never seen the beach until one day he found himself at the shore…
Later they found him at the beach in a panic surrounded with dead fish lying everywhere on the shore. When they asked him what was happening he frantically exclaimed he had found all these fish drowning in the ocean. He keeps pulling them out of the water & they are still alive gasping for air when he places them safely out of the water so they can breath. But every-time he is just too late because they all keep dying.. He says help me, help me save these fish from drowning! there must be thousands of them.
I think you get the idea & I would love the parable if anyone knows it.
Sometimes the best intentions can be the most harmful instead of helpful.
- BlotterMonkey (RW)

Comment on The ‘unnamed feeling’ named ASMR by Chris Noone

Chris Noone — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:33:08 +0000

The effect you describe experiencing while learning new things requiring a lot of concentration is might be Flow, a unique physiological and mental state which can occur when one’s skills are being pushed to the limit by their current challenge. Its that feeling of being in the zone. Lots of interesting research on it, pioneered by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi. Meditation has been suggested as an effective way of increasing the likelihood of experiencing flow but few studies have directly examined this.

Comment on The ‘unnamed feeling’ named ASMR by Bill

Bill — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:25:08 +0000

I’m betting that there are more unnamed feelings than there are named ones. Humans like to name things so they can refer to them someday, but to do that the feelings have to be useful somehow. Something like logic makes a connection between recognition and usefulness so it’s remembered under several titles. If it doesn’t have a couple of references, it evaporates because there’s no way to get to it. To prove this hypothesis, I’m naming it “Blugh”, and it’s useful for making >1 point connections.