TEDxGlasgow - Gary Wilson - The Great Porn Experiment

In response to Philip Zimbardo’s “The Demise of Guys?” TED talk, Gary Wilson asks whether our brains evolved to handle the hyperstimulation of today’s Internet enticements. He also discusses the disturbing symptoms showing up in some heavy Internet users, the surprising reversal of those symptoms, and the science behind these 21st century phenomena.

Really interesting talk on the psychological, sociological and neuro-scientific studies on and around the effects of porn use.

jtotheizzoe:

Paralyzed Woman Controls Robotic Arm With Her Mind

The world is just freaking amazing. Imagine being trapped in a body with barely functioning motor control for 15 years. This woman has lived that life, after having a stroke.

Thanks to Leigh Hochberg’s team at Brown University, a tiny chip implanted in her brain now lets her control a robotic arm. It’s called BrainGate2. She can reach out, grab, and manipulate objects with no more effort than her thoughts. The same effort that each of us make when we move our own arms.

This is such a heartwarming example of dedicated, hardcore scientific research affecting lives for the better. Just look at her face as she sips from the thermos (it’s at about 1:55, and you might get some dust in your eye).

Sure, space is an amazing frontier for inspiration. But if that doesn’t work out, we’ve got a whole lot of lives to change down here. And science is getting a great start.

Previously: A paralyzed man controls a prosthetic arm with his mind, high fives his girlfriend for the first time in years. (Additional face-water warning)

(via Wired Science)

This is pretty much the field I want to study in someday.

jtotheizzoe:

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Space Exploration is Good for Our Culture

We had fins on our cars, and fins on our rockets.

Neil deGrasse Tyson gave the keynote at the 28th National Space Symposium. It’s nearly an hour of inspiration, a reminder of how exploring science is not just about knowledge, but also imagining tomorrow. It wasn’t until we looked at our planet from the Moon that we truly discovered it, without borders, blue and beautiful.

From the 1950’s to today … it’s been quite a scientific ride in space and on Earth. We must call from the mountaintops that funding NASA, and science in general, is the seed that grows into technology and culture.

Science is inspiration. Here’s your evening entertainment, courtesy of Dr. Tyson and his dream. The good stuff starts around 14:00 in.

(↬ Open Culture)

wowgawd:

No god is required to have a moral compass—it’s all within us.

8 hugs a day keeps the love doctor away! But in all seriousness, interesting look at the molecules behind morality.

Sam Harris on “Free Will” (by MichaelShermer)

I’m going to admit its very hard to wrap my head around the facts presented here. Everything Harris says makes sense, yet there’s still a part of me that can’t believe I don’t have free will, whats this part of me? Why can’t I freely change it’s mind? I guess that is exactly the point Harris is proving. I am going to have nightmares about this, haha.

thisistheverge:

Dr. Tyson on the gear he carries around and measurements: “I have a not exactly legal laser I carry around with me.”

Watch the full episode at http://on.theverge.com

I love this man. Also he mentions one of the reasons why psychology has yet to become a “mature” science. Definitely something to think about.

YouTube science champion charlieissocoollike explains randomness and mentions it’s especially important role in life.

Adam Savage at the Reason Rally