Los Linky Links: Cognition Edition
September 26, 2007 by Sara Ost
Filed under Los Linky Links, Misc., Psychology, Your Mind
Hey noggin nuts:
The Letter R Is…Purple?
Synesthesia is a condition where one sees a particular color in conjunction with a sound, scent, emotion, letter or number. For example, someone with synesthesia might associate the letter “R” with a color, such as purple. Or the sound of a specific instrument might trigger seeing the color orange. 1% of people are thought to have synesthesia, and scientists have identified some patterns. Cognitive Daily notes that both synesthetes and the other 99% of us assign a stronger luminosity of color to letters and numbers that are used more frequently.
For Your Own Personal Color, Take Drugs
Speaking of seeing colors, especially ones that don’t exist, here’s a fascinating little excerpt from Oliver Sacks via Mind Hacks.
10 Habits of Amazing Brains
It’s all about the neurons. Physical activity is one of the most important factors in stimulating neurogenesis, but so is thinking positively. Stress and anxiety actually kill neurons (really?). Prepare yourself for the metaphor: your brain is like a forest. It needs seeds and cultivation to grow and flourish and thrive and…well, just read the post.
Men with Deep Voices Have More Kids
And here we were just told by way of a speed-dating “study” that women don’t want the rugged guys when they’re looking for marriage material. The difference: this time researchers studied a hunter-gatherer tribe in Tanzania that likely reflects elements of our evolutionary past. The article also has some interesting snippets about divorce, monogamy, and reproduction. While the study was limited, it does appear to confirm previous studies that indicate women prefer men with deeper voices. (More testosterone = bigger, better hunter = more babies…you get it!)
(The photo belongs to Lady Bug)
Hello Sara,
I know, difficult to believe that stress can not only reduce the creation of new neurons but also contribute to the death of existing ones, but take a look at
- http://news-service.stanford.edu/pr/96/960814shrnkgbrain.html
- BBC article titled Stressful Event Kills Brain Cells
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6442001.stm
- Our colleague Caroline wrote recently about the science behind: http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2007/02/15/are-yoga-and-meditation-good-for-my-brain/
Enjoy
About the deeper male voice thing…interesting. It seems to be true, and they are more effective in sales than the high pitched whiners.
You should really think twice about stealing people’s photos AND not even giving them credit on your site. You didn’t even ask for permission. As it states on my flickr profile, Unless otherwise noted, all images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladybugsleaf/ are the property of the creator, Lisa Ruokis. They are protected under copyright laws and may not be used in any form without written permission. Do not distribute, publish, or share the images online or offline. Legal action will be taken against copyright violations.
ejczJO re re re
GAV GAV
Lm1T5y eeeerrrffddgggggggccccc