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Failure: Why Science is so Successful

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Those who practice science know that research is full of wrong turns, cul-de-sacs, mistaken identities, false findings, errors of fact and judgement, and only the occasional success. Firestein, the author of the highly praised Ignorance, argues that the view that science is infallible originates in an education system that teaches nothing but facts and is proliferated by media who report on discoveries but almost never on process. Continue reading “Failure: Why Science is so Successful”

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Rethinking the BRAIN

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By Julia Turan

BRAIN. No longer just a word to describe the three-pound hunk inside your skull. As of April 2013, “BRAIN” is also a White House initiative- Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. What exactly are researchers hoping to discover and how are they going about this? Chicago Council on Science and Technology hosted a panel discussion on the BRAIN Initiative this fall, and in it they set out to tackle these questions, and consider the current landscape of neuroscience research.

Continue reading “Rethinking the BRAIN”

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#Isis vs The US The Battle of Hypothalami #parisattacks

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This repost seems acutely relevant given the recent Islamic State attacks on targets in Paris France. My basic (though wildly oversimplified take is that US military recruiters appeal to young men’s “inner comic book superhero”. US military marketing videos attempt to stimulate, in the hypothalamus, the production of testosterone. In contrast ISIS recruiting vids lean heavily toward th warm and fuzzy in big to entice young jihadi brains to produce oxytocin.