It is always interesting to see examples on how our minds work and how easy it is to link this behavior to our development and evolution in a logic way.

I believe that there is much truth to the saying: “The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know”
By getting educated you realize both how much knowledge there is in the world and how complex the world is. You realize that if you get a new idea or a theory, it is extremely likely that somebody have got the same idea before you and already tested it. If you never heard of the idea or theory before, it is extremely likely that it was false. Therefore you get in some way also skeptical when other people have ideas. I think therefore that it is not a coincident that skepticism increases with level of education.

Consider the question, “Why, given the fact that human beings have so much potential, so much intelligence… our cultures are so amazingly diverse and creative and our technology so advanced… Why are we committing species suicide by destroying the habitability of our planet?

Shermer’s lucid and highly relevant talk, using the powerful tool of scientific method as a means of examining the characteristics of our own mind and brain, give us a verifiable and objective answer to this question.

That answer is that human awareness is flawed and has become dysfunctional in the modern era. Sherner clearly delineates the nature of those flaws. Once we are aware of this, we can take action to ameliorate the destructive impact of those flaws in our awareness. This is liberation and freedom from ancient bondages and a small chance for our species to pull out of our nosedive before we drill a big hole.

In psychology, memory is an organism’s mental ability to store, retain and recall information. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing the memory. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grZuwo_YlY0

There are several ways to classify memories, based on duration, nature and retrieval of information. A basic and generally accepted classification of memory is based on the duration of memory retention, and identifies three distinct types of memory: sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory.

Memorization is a method of learning that allows an individual to recall information verbatim. Rote learning is the method most often used. Methods of memorizing things have been the subject of much discussion over the years with some writers, such as Cosmos Rossellius using visual alphabets. The spacing effect shows that an individual is more likely to remember a list of items when rehearsal is spaced over an extended period of time. In contrast to this is cramming which is intensive memorization in a short period of time. Also relevant is the Zeigarnik effect which states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.

In March 2007 German researchers found they could use odors to re-activate new memories in the brains of people while they slept and the volunteers remembered better later.

The best way to improve memory seems to be to increase the supply of oxygen to the brain, which may be accomplished with aerobic exercises; walking for three hours each week suffices, as does swimming or bicycle riding. One study found that eating frequently such as five small meals a day promotes a healthy memory by preventing dips in blood glucose, the primary energy source for the brain.

This is a Right Brain vs Left Brain test. Do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CEr2GfGilw

If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.

Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it. Personally I tried it and I can switch back between clock wise and anti clock wise. I focus on the feet and the shadow to do that.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

• uses logic
• detail oriented
• facts rule
• words and language
• present and past
• math and science
• can comprehend
• knowing
• acknowledges
• order/pattern perception
• knows object name
• reality based
• forms strategies
• practical
• safe 

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

• uses feeling
• “big picture” oriented
• imagination rules
• symbols and images
• present and future
• philosophy & religion
• can “get it” (i.e. meaning)
• believes
• appreciates
• spatial perception
• knows object function
• fantasy based
• presents possibilities
• impetuous
• risk taking

We’re predisposed, as pattern-seeking mammals, to find “causes” for things we can’t explain.This is why we’re all so riveted by stories of any kind – movies, TV shows, novels, theater. These big brains of ours love explication and resolution.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOMqDIXsLm8

We are a pattern seeking species. Through our ability to differentiate similar from dissimilar, we are able to produce complex environments like blogs for example. The language we use on blogs is a complex pattern of symbols, shapes, and sounds which we are able to make sense of through the processes of similar and dissimilar – the processes of visual and auditory discrimination.

If we think back to out tribal ancestors, this ability to form visual and auditory patterns of recognition would have been a survival advantage. Not only would it have helped mankind to be able to progress to more and more complex technological and cultural concepts – but it would have enabled many of our ancestors to survive, literally.

Not only are we pattern seeking animals, we are a species which is honed evolutionary for physical survival. The ancestor who was in the forest at night and saw a shape in the woods with which he/she was unfamiliar, would have probably quickly visually processed if the shape was friend or foe. If the shape could not be quickly identified as a friend, or as something harmless, it would have been advantageous from a survival point of view to assume that the shape was harmful. And as the natural world was distinctly more harmful to human survival than it is now for many of us – the wary individual would have been one who assumed harm.

We Love to be Scared. If you haven’t been inside a haunted house lately, you might be shocked to see how far they have come. The haunted houses of today have animatronics and Hollywood-quality sets and special effects designed to shock you and make you scream. Haunted houses keep trying to one-up each other with the latest technology and special effects.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig9dhC06nwU

When people get scared, their bodies automatically triggers the “fight or flight” response—their heart rates increase, they breathe faster, their muscles tense, and their attention focuses for quick and effective responses to threats.

If the brain knows there is no risk of really being harmed, it experiences this adrenaline rush as enjoyable, Rudd explained. The key to enjoying such thrills lies in knowing how to properly gauge the risk of harm.

Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze (”where we are looking”) or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movements.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbWu7GC5w3k

The most widely used current designs are video-based eye trackers. A camera focuses on one or both eyes and records their movement as the viewer looks at some kind of stimulus. Most modern eye-trackers use contrast to locate the center of the pupil and use infrared and near-infrared non-collimated light to create a corneal reflection (CR).

Since 2005 Eye tracking is used in Communication systems for disabled allowing the user to speak, mail, surf the web and so with only the eyes as tool. Eye control works even when the user has involuntary movement as a result of CP or other disability, those who wear glasses or many other characteristics that limit the effectiveness of older eye control systems.

More Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_tracking