Derren Brown's Blog, page 90

The Magic of 150

"Your brain is hard wired to pay attention to about 150 people. Try to have a relationship with any more than that, and your life will turn to pure crap. Just ask the Military, Gore-Tex, or Krippendorf's tribe. They'll all tell you the same thing. One fifty is the way to go. They've known for hundreds of years that people work best in groups of 150 or less. Now it's your turn.

The human cortex, responsible for complex thought and reasoning, is overgrown in humans when compared to other...

IBM scientists create most comprehensive map of the brain's network

"We have successfully uncovered and mapped the most comprehensive long-distance network of the Macaque monkey brain, which is essential for understanding the brain's behavior, complexity, dynamics and computation," Dr. Modha says. "We can now gain unprecedented insight into how information travels and is processed across the brain.

"We have collated a comprehensive, consistent, concise, coherent, and colossal network spanning the entire brain and grounded in anatomical tracing studies that is ...

Camera Software Lets You See Into the Past

"Computational rephotography is a fancy name for photos taken from the exact same viewpoint as an old photograph. Actually, that's just rephotography. The "computational" part is when software helps out.

I'm a sucker for photos of old street scenes. Seeing familiar parts of your city as they were many decades ago is fascinating, and if people are good enough to snap a new version, you can enjoy the differences of places you have never seen. At Flickr and a site called Historypin, you can see t...

Music may harm your studying, study says

"If you're studying for a test, putting on background music that you like may seem like a good idea. But if you're trying to memorize a list in order – facts, numbers, elements of the periodic table – the music may actually be working against you, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, United Kingdom, looked at the ability to recall information in the presence of different sounds. They instructed 25 participants between ages 18 and 30 try to...

'Mind Meld' Enables Good Conversation

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"Why does human conversation come so easily? A new study chalks it up to a sort of "mind meld" between participants. Researchers have found that the brains of speakers and listeners become synchronized as they converse and that this "neural coupling" is key to effective communication.

Scientists have traditionally considered talking and listening to be two independent processes. The idea is that speech is produced in some parts of the brain, including a region known as Broca's area, and...

Us lot at Airkix

One of the highlights of the tour this year was indoor skydiving at Airkix in Milton Keynes. This is quite something. An enormous structure which is in essence an inverted wind tunnel, circulating air through a central chamber. Jump in and you're airborne. We received the essential lowdown from Sean, our cool and perky trainer, and then each got a go in the flight chamber with Sean helping us along. It is extraordinary, exhilarating, and SO much fun. The team there looked after us very well a...

Why Money Makes You Unhappy

"Money is surprisingly bad at making us happy. Once we escape the trap of poverty, levels of wealth have an extremely modest impact on levels of happiness, especially in developed countries. Even worse, it appears that the richest nation in history – 21st century America – is slowly getting less pleased with life. (Or as the economists behind this recent analysis concluded: "In the United States, the [psychological:] well-being of successive birth-cohorts has gradually fallen through time.")

Ne...

Poachers kill last female rhino in South African park for prized horn

"South African wildlife experts are calling for urgent action against poachers after the last female rhinoceros in a popular game reserve near Johannesburg bled to death after having its horn hacked off.

Wildlife officials say poaching for the prized horns has now reached an all-time high. "Last year, 129 rhinos were killed for their horns in South Africa. This year, we have already had 136 deaths," said Japie Mostert, chief game ranger at the 1,500-hectare Krugersdorp game reserve.

The gang...

Tweeting car possibly not massive waste of time

"Ford, looking for a way to make themselves look modern and interesting, have rigged up a Fiesta with sensors and made it post messages on Twitter as it drives.

It refers to itself in the third person as AJ, following the science fiction rule that low-grade artificial intelligence can't work out pronouns. Run low on petrol and it announces to the world: 'AJ is about to die! (Fuel level is 14%)'. Leave the windscreen wipers off and the 588 people who are following it are informed that 'No rain ...

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