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You may have heard of the butterfly effect, or maybe you have even seen the movie by that name. This week I apply the concept to thinking, to show how widely and creatively we can think, and how far we can stray from the truth. I think you'll find it an interesting and useful article.
The "butterfly effect," is more technically known as "sensitive dependence on initial conditions" in chaos theory. It refers to the idea that the flapping of a butterfly's wings could cause the slightest change in the wind or atmosphere (the initial conditions), which through a chain of events could result in major changes in the weather thousands of miles away. A weather system that moves slightly one way or the other, for example, could mean a rainy day or a continued drought for a particular town.
Another example comes from my time in the woods. I try to follow a map and use my compass, but if I head for a particular spot in the woods that is six miles away, and I'm six degrees off course, I'll miss the spot by a third of a mile! I get lost a lot, as a matter of fact...
Continued here:
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/butterfly-effect.html
- The oldest known encyclopedia comes from Greece about 2,000 years ago, and the word comes from two Greek words meaning "a circle of learning."
- In 1898 Morgan Robertson published the novel "Futility,"
in which the "Titan," a huge "unsinkable"
British passenger liner, hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic
and sinks. The real boat, the "Titanic" did just that
14 years later.
- The first credit cards were the Diners Club and American Express
cards, first put into use in 1951 in New York.
As reported in the April-May edition of Scientific American Mind, anesthetics may cause the same changes in the brain as Alzheimer's disease. It has been noted that some senior citizens have experienced a significant cognitive decline after surgery with anesthetics. Pravat K. Mandal of the University of Pittsburgh is investigating how some anesthetics interact with small proteins or peptides in the brain to cause cognitive problems.
Alzheimer's involves the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain, which occur when amyloid beta peptides clump together. Research has shown that mixing anesthetics with amyloid beta peptides in a test tube results in the peptides sticking together more easily than they normally would. It was found that the inhaled anesthetic, halothane, can cause clumping of peptide molecules, and two other anesthetics - isoflurane and propofol - also cause clumping, but not to the same extent. Thiopental did not cause clumping in the tests, because its large molecule doesn't fit inside the peptide's pocket.
It isn't clear if the same thing is happening in the brains of those using anesthetics, but if you are older and facing surgery, you may want to consider thiopental, non-anesthetic options (if possible), or decreased dosages of whichever anesthetics are used. Protect that brainpower!
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The number of minutes since noon is 35 times the number of minutes until midnight. What time is it?
(Answer is below)
Research shows that the quality of your sleep affects the
quality of your thinking - no surprise there. How do you get
better sleep? There are a lot of different things that work for
different people. Experiment on yourself a little to see what
works for you. Try chamomile tea or a hot shower before bed.
Reduce the light in the bedroom. Exercise in the evening. Eat
a small snack before sleeping. Whatever you try, keep a sleep-diary
to see what works best.
Creative thinking is a potential power you are born with. If you don't use that power fully, it is probably because you don't know or apply the simple principles for developing it. You can remedy that situation right now, if you like.
Two Basic Principles of Creative Thinking
1. There are methods and techniques for thinking creatively.
2. When you make these methods and techniques a part of your mental habits, creative thinking is easy and automatic.
Entrepreneurs see the potential profit in a situation, because their minds are trained for that. Lawyers see the potential problems, because that is how their minds are trained. The ways in which you repeatedly think become habit, and...
Continued here:
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/creative-thinking.html
Want to listen to a CD, and have it transport you easily and quickly to a meditative state? Do you like the idea of getting all the proven benefits of meditation, without the self discipline and work normally required? I do, and I've tried the new brain wave entrainment products. Guess what? They work!
You've probably read how brain wave frequencies vary according to mental state. Daydreaming and light meditation take place in the "Alpha" range of frequencies, for example. So if you listen to music containing beats at a frequency...
And the winner of the meaning of life is...
I just entered a contest for the best article on the meaning
of life. I am fairly certain that I won't be one of the winners.
The judges are probably looking for some feel-good ideas about
how we are meant to love one another or grow as humans. My slant
is a bit different. Here it is.
The idea of "the meaning of life" implies a designer who had some purpose in mind when he, she or it made the world in general and life in particular. Such a "god," for lack of a better word, has never been proven to exist of course, but even if it did, why would we be so presumptuous as to think we know its purposes? But we are, and let's look at what happens when we are so presumptuous.
Let There Be War!
Many people may think that humans like violence, that they like to kill each other. But put a man on an island with another and he will generally have no reason nor desire to attack or kill him. It is easy to see the advantages of being at peace with each other. To feel the need to attack, he needs a motive, and to overcome his discomfort with killing, he needs a justification.
Accepting a meaning and purpose beyond ourselves gives us that motive and justification. Whether a "tribe" a "nation" or the "will of God," we look to purposes and authority beyond our individual minds, and these authorities tell us...
Continued here... http://www.999ideas.com/meaning-of-life.html
Until next time,
Riddle Answer: 11:40 (700 minutes since noon, 20 minutes until midnight)
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