Keeping the Memory

Memories. It’s something everyone would like to have when making his or her way through life. However, it seems that there are too many distractions that arise during these moments when the formation of memory is attempting to be achieved.

Why is this the case? It seems as though if one were aware of a time when they wish for a memory to be captured they would have no problems blocking out anything that may distract them. A new study states that this may not be as simple as previously thought.

Conducted by the University of San Francisco California, researchers have shown that even “prior knowledge of an impending distraction does not help to improve the working memory performance of older adults.”

A common complaint in many people, notably for this particular study and namely – adults, is the decline in the performance of one’s memory. Understandably so since as you age memories are the only thing that truly ties down a person to a particular setting and time.

Drs. Theodore Zanto and Adam Gazzaley studied 21 adults aged between 60 and 80 years while they performed a working memory task, which asked the participants to carefully analyze a random sequence of pictures, which had on them a face and a scene. At a given time the participants were asked to either remember strictly the faces in the pictures or strictly the scenes from the pictures.

The participants' brain activity during the tasks was recorded using electroencephalograms (EEGs).

In other researcher findings by this laboratory it was noted that brain activity in response to distractions occurs very soon after the distraction appears – roughly within 200 milliseconds of the onset of the distraction. Given this information it was suggested that older adults might benefit from prior knowledge of the impending distraction allowing their mind to bypass the unnecessary information being thrown at them. However, the results from the study show this not to be the case.

It seems that as people age it becomes more difficult to weed out unnecessary information. The ability to record memories becomes more difficult even after one is told of distractions.

Small Change For the Horizon

Space is the place reserved for the special few who spend their whole life in training waiting, hoping to become another person sent out to explore its vastness. This is what I used to believe until I heard of a man named Robert Harrison.

Harrison, of the United Kingdom, created a contraption using a standard digital camera attached to a helium balloon, which allows for capturing some amazing shots of Earth.

Harrison, on a budget of UK £500 (roughly $744.15 in US dollars), managed to send his home-made contraption 22 miles - or 116,160 feet - above the earth's surface from his back garden.

The standard digital camera is housed in a polystyrene and duct tape box. Besides the camera a small computer lies within the box along with a radio transmitter. The computer controls the camera making it take pictures every five minutes. The radio transmitter gives the altitude as well as location of the contraption. You wouldn’t want to take all these beautiful pictures if you couldn’t find where the box would end.

This was not Harrison’s first attempted in getting out of our atmosphere. His first attempt consisted of a remote controlled helicopter to take aerial shots. Fortunately Harrison wasn’t deterred by his initial failures.

He began investigating high altitude weather balloons following his helicopter attempts. This project has become to be called Icarus I, which started last October.

"My family and friends thought I was a bit mad at first but they were suitably impressed with the results," said the married father of three from Highburton, West Yorkshire.

The results are quite impressive. So much so that NASA has been in communication with Harrison. They couldn’t believe such amazing pictures could be captured through this medium.

Since his first success Harrison has sent up a dozen capsules into space to take more shots.

“People think this is something that costs millions but it doesn’t,” says Harrison.

This is a great showing of how sheer perseverance and desire can be rewarded. Failure with a helicopter only leads to success with a balloon. Man is determined to go where they are told they cannot and Harrison is no exception to this rule.

Boys Will Be Boys

It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a leisurely afternoon drive, and as I wave to a child riding his bike along side my car I was surprised to receive the middle finger salute.

However, this isn’t quite as surprising as anyone should think.

It seems as though risk-taking is preprogrammed within teenagers. In a recent study those who engaged in riskiest behavior were 14-year-olds. The child on the bike would have been, in my opinion, around the age of 12 to 14 years old.

Researchers said, "The reason that teenagers take risks is not a problem with foreseeing the consequences. It was more because they chose to take those risks.”

When I saw him flip me the bird I was in complete shock. My initial thought was to return the sentiment but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I continued on my drive watching the child speed away in my rear view mirror only imagining the high he just got off of our short encounter.

The study was conducted at University College London (UCL) and involved 86 boys and men ages 9-35. The participants were asked to play computer games that rewarded with points attained by the decisions made within the course of the game.

It seems that, although these teenagers are aware of the consequences of their possible actions, it’s the high they get off coming close to a negative outcome but still coming out on top. Or as these researchers call when the teen has a “lucky escape.”

I analyzed the risk factor involved with my predicament. I could have reacted as I would when I see anyone give me the finger: get angry and verbally aggressive. However, this would not be a smart choice. Harassing a child for acting like a child would lead to worse consequences for myself. I understood the risks before me.

"This is the first evidence from a lab-based study that adolescents are risk-takers,” said Dr Stephanie Burnett from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, and the lead author of the study. “We are one step forward in determining why teenagers engage in extremely risky behaviors such as drug use and unsafe sex."

Follow the Eyes to Find the Lies

Poker players and those who attempt to hide their age beware: There is a new way to figure out the numbers on your mind.

Picking numbers at random is no longer quite as simple as it sounds. A recent study has shown that it is “virtually impossible” to produce a truly random sequence of numbers.

In the study participants were asked to state the numbers between one and 30 in a random sequence. While doing this participants’ eyes were closely recorded to note the changes while listing the numbers. Based on the movement of the eyes, from the left to the right and up and down, scientists were able to find predictability in the randomness of number selection.

What researchers from the University of Melbourne, Austrailia noted was that people’s eyes could faithfully reflect the thoughts of the mind. Smaller numbers were associated with a subtle glance to the left while larger numbers were noted by a glance to the right.

The movement of the eyes up or down also gave information to researchers when attempting to find predictability in the random. A glance upward would be telling that the next number would be higher then the previous one mentioned; downward told the number would be lower. Additionally to the extent the eyes looked up or down gave the researchers a clue into how much higher or lower the next stated number would be.

But what is all of this really telling? What will this study bring about?

Perhaps at this point it’s too early to say specifically what this research will help with. However, it is important to consider the importance of what has been found. Our eyes have always worked to help display what is happening in the world around us but now our eyes are being looked at as going one step further: they can be observed to show the inner workings of the mind. The mind works with the space around us. It is associative and by observing the eyes researchers are closer to map out this correlation.

Eyes may be associated as windows to the soul but now it’s certain they can be noted in workings of the mind.

Times They Are A Changin'

Dreams

It curious to know what happened to dreams.

People used to walk tall in this town.

In a few moments time will have passed and the moment will have done the same. I want to find some sense of understanding but I've exhausted my resources. I'm not a terrible person I"m simply an asshole who doesn't bother learning how to fit into society in an acceptable way.

Procrastination

Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha.

Oh it goes on 26 times over in this progression. I've heard of laughter being the best medicine but dry humor can kill. No one is truly laughing. Everyone is either embarrassed or completely apathetic. The group of university students seems split. I go as far to say that girls are the embarrassed ones while the guys just don't give a shit. Class is out at 12:20p, I can last another 45 minutes of this. As I rest my head on the stomach of some girl, I can't help but be happy that I chose a fat girl. Her soft belly made my eyes heavy but I couldn't fall asleep on her - well I probably could (but that would be rude).

The group of girls who led today's class did a nice job of taking their time with the presentation while not going above and beyond. The class is able to exit 10 minutes earlier then usual. The bus is three minutes late. "I need to be at my next class in 13 minutes." The bus finally arrives.

What's on the agenda for today? Well I get to "learn how to be a journalist" for two hours today. That'll help me. I wonder in which class this piece is being written. The main table - a commercialized Middle Ages dining table - has diminished in population since the start of the year. It seems that students have begun to favor the outer walls. It's not for the Apples, they all maintain a darkened appearance. Perhaps is just the next case of apathy that isn't prejudice to gender.