[In case it needs to be said: I don't agree with every word of everything I link to. --L.]
- Japanese probe Hayabusa returns from space with a fistful of asteroid dust [Space Porn]
- Today the space probe Hayabusa returned to Earth after seven years in space studying an asteroid. Already it has sent back hundreds of pictures, and has splashed down near Australia bearing chunks of the small asteroid Itokawa.
- R.I.P. Al Williamson, legendary galactic artist [Obituary]
- The illustrator who made his bones illustrating classic titles like Creepy and Eerie before continuing Alex Raymond's genre-defining work on Flash Gordon and bringing Star Wars to comics has died at 79, leaving a vibrant legacy.
- More Trouble for Brain Training
- [NeuroLogica Blog]
Brain training is the idea that training in a specific task will improve brain function for a type of skill that will then transfer more broadly to other tasks. For example, a memory task with improve your overall memory and therefore improve your performance on a different memory task. There is now a multi-million dollar industry based upon this concept.
But as is typical, for-profit commercial claims tend to race ahead of the science. The evidence for this generalizability effect is weak at best. Those who play video games have some performance advantages over those who do not. There may be benefits to engaging in novel cognitive activities. But brain training products either do not work or have a minimal effect below the resolution of research to detect.
Now a recent study published in Nature add further evidence for lack of efficacy to brain-training products. They report [blah blah blah]
I admit, however, that this does not entirely make sense to me – which means that the research is somehow misleading, or my concept of how the brain works is not accurate. It seems that skills should transfer. My concept, which is probably common, is that working out the brain is similar to working out a muscle.
…Assuming [this research] is accurately reflecting underlying reality, it could mean that learning is very specific. The mechanism of memory and plasticity are such that they apply to a very narrow range of activity, not generic skills. Perhaps generic skills, like how good your memory is, are more inherent and not subject to training. But applying those base skills to a specific task is all about training.
- The wingnut anti-soccer lie machine, or how teabaggers determined England is in South America
- [Pandagon - Amanda Marcotte]
…the fact that all the right wing pundits have organized around hating on the World Cup is pretty much proof positive that they believe that what their audience wants is an endless stream of haterade.
[...] This shores up a concern I’ve had that soccer is increasingly becoming a touchstone for racists who target their hatred at Mexican-Americans, alongside other cultural markers like Cinco de Mayo and even, amazingly, the eating of salsa. There’s already reports of racist incidents that center around soccer, such as this Texas teacher who flipped out on a student who was wearing the jersey of a Mexican team. Considering that World Cup is touching down during a time of aggravated racial tension in the Southwest, I fear that these kinds of associations will just get stronger. Already you’re getting some pundits trying to work that implication in.
[...] This is an argument that depends on defining huge numbers of Americans as not real Americans… if you’re talking about “we” as in “Americans”, we do in fact love fucking World Cup.
- For American Muslims, Choosing to Wear the Veil Poses Challenges – NYTimes.com
- She is not a Muslim Everywoman; it is not a role she would ever claim for herself. Her story is hers alone. But she was willing to spend several days with a reporter to give an idea of what American life looks like from behind the veil, a garment that has become a powerful symbol of culture clash.
The Link(s): Sun, Jun 13th, 1pm to Mon, Jun 14th, 12pm by Lee Salazar, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Terms and conditions beyond the scope of this license may be available at leesalazar.com.