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Solar Flare Watch, Keep That Inner Child, Imaginary Dinosaurs, Gamers Beating Computers, Global Warming Benefits, Cultural Brain Wiring, And A Bit Of Artificial Intelligence.
Blow Out Your Flares and Make a Wish
The first solar flare of this cycle kicked off on Dr. Kiki’s birthday, August 1st. It continues, and earth’s magnetic field is still reverberating. It has sparked auroras as far south as Wisconsin and Iowa, so look out for increased auroral activity.
People Never Change
A study found that teachers assessments of certain personality traits in children remained true after four decades.
Triceratops Didn’t Exist
Scientists now believe that triceratops is actually just a younger version of a torosaurus.
Humans Are Still Smarter Than Computers
Fold it is an online game that uses humans ability to recognize patterns to solve the problem of how to fold proteins. A computer program is used to fold them, but the algorithm isn’t able to quite complete the protein, so this game was created to harness the power of people to get past the threshold of an algorithm’s ability.
Check out Monty Harper’s Kickstarter project!
Join the TWIS BookClub in reading this month’s book:
The Silver Lining
Justin looks at the ‘bright’ side of global warming by listing some animals that will benefit from its effects, including sharks, starfish, and jellyfish.
Culture Wires the Brain
A study looks a the way the collectivist nature of eastern cultures versus the individualistic nature of western culture has wired the brains of participants in that culture.
This Week in World Robot Domination: Digital Life
Avidians “live” in a computer world called Avida, and they replicate using strings of coded computer instructions rather than DNA. When “released” into a competitive “environment” they have been able to evolve memory. Could we possibly evolve a computer program to have artificial intelligence comparable to our own?
The Sponge In You
Sponges look, well… spongey. But, you have a lot in common with the absorbent creatures, and they may just divulge secrets from our ancient common ancestor.
Have comments on today’s episode? Response to Justin’s ideas about advertising and psychology? Make them below…
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I'm the host of this little science show. 
Dr. Wu (collectivist) wants me to put your Mom in a care home. Dr. Bellagorsky (Western individualist) says I can do better for her at home… Interesting.
How or where can I download the video-version of TWIS ?
I just listened to the podcast after being gone for quite some time. I see the show is now a trio, which may indicate how long I have been gone.
On the question of marketing, psychology, culture and values; a quick read that is some degree of intersection here would be “Amusing Ourselves to Death”. While this book may be over twenty-five years old, Neal Postman predicted the degree in which the media would drive the format and ultimately the content of what we see, think and seem to ‘care about’. It amazes me that this book pre-dates the internet and twitter.
I revel in the irony here, as I link to a comic that sums up this book that describes how media format will deplete content of its actual value: http://www.recombinantrecords.net/docs/2009-05-Amusing-Ourselves-to-Death.html
Again, I think there is more to the discussion and value in psychology; but there can be no doubt that media and values do regularly intersect.
Where East meets West in modern medicine?
I listen to TWIS every week for about a year or so on the podcasts. I have to admit that the information I get is about hit or miss as to how accurate it is much less the interpretation of that information from Jason. But at least he is fervent and excited about the topic, regardless of how far his emotion takes him into odd applications, he is at least entertaining. However, with Allie, the stories she reads she seems to have no comprehension of what they mean. she read with the last part of her sentences “up” in tone. this makes it sound like she is asking a question instead of reading a statement. she lacks confidence and her improvement over that past few months has been slow and unsteady.
I have worked in radio and one thing we did to improve our voice on the air was to listen to ourselves. If she is not doing that, I would highly recommend that she do that in order to sound better. When it was just Justin and Dr. Sanford, Dr. Sanford was a good balance for Justin’s deviation and help keep him in check. But with Allie added in, she actually distracts because you can tell how both Justin and Dr. Sanford really want her to do well and help her.