Thanks to bookofjoe for pointing us to these stunning medieval tomb sculptures from the Court of Burgundy.
Daily Archives: 30 Mar 10
Large Hadron Collider Goes Live
‘Europe’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has produced record-breaking high-energy particle collisions.’ (BBC)
(And the speculation that the Higgs boson is, via an effect transmitted back from the future, sabotaging the operation of the LHC to prevent its own discovery appears to have come to naught.)
Magnetic manipulation of the sense of morality
‘When making moral judgements, we rely on our ability to make inferences about the beliefs and intentions of others. With this so-called “theory of mind“, we can meaningfully interpret their behaviour, and decide whether it is right or wrong. The legal system also places great emphasis on one’s intentions: a “guilty act” only produces criminal liability when it is proven to have been performed in combination with a “guilty mind”, and this, too, depends on the ability to make reasoned moral judgements.
MIT researchers now show that this moral compass can be very easily skewed<. In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they report that magnetic pulses which disrupt activity in a specific region of the brain’s right hemisphere can interfere with the ability to make certain types of moral judgements, so that hypothetical situations involving attempted harm are perceived to be less morally forbidden and more permissable.’ (Neurophilosophy)
Does this scare you?
Some may fear this word
‘A Language Log reader named metanea points out to us that the Urban Dictionary claims aibohphobia is a technical term for the irrational fear of palindromicity. The etymology will raise a smile. Just stare at the word for a few seconds, and it will reveal itself to you…’ (Language Log)
