Social robots

Social robots
http;//www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203101153.html
Social robots are now being designed to more closely resemble humans
to help children with autism learn social behavior and to help stroke
patients with their physical rehabilitation exercises. The biggest
challenge is to get the robots to match the needs and expectations of
the human mind. Recently three pioneers had a roundtable discussion
to discuss social robots. Professor Maja Mataric, the director of USC's
Center of Robotics and Embedded Systems, discussed the importance
of the robot's facial expressions and body language and designing the
right personality for the user. Ayse Saygin of the Kavli Institute of
Brain and Mind and professor at the University of California San Diego
stressed that making the robots more humanlike in appearance didn't
work well unless it was equally equipped with humanlike behavior.
If the robots didn't behave like a person, humans noticed the
mismatch and didn't respond as well. Making them less humanlike
might actually work better if the robot's mannerisms and facial expressions
aren't close enough. Andrea Thomaz, professor at Georgia Institute of
Technology and director if its Social Intelligent Machines Laboratory,
stressed the importance of building robots designed to learn from humans
the same way a person would. Their lab has actually built this social
intelligence into their robots. The robots learn from other people's speech,
through observations, demonstrations, and from social interaction.
The entire discussion can be read at: http://www.kavlifoundation.org/
science-spotlights/ucsd-recipe-social-robot
It's amazing how far robotics has advanced and that people will be able
to actually have a robot to match their personality and that has facial
expressions and humanlike body language. This can be a huge
advantage for therapy for stroke victims and to help autistic people to
learn social cues and interactions. But it's kind of creepy because it
reminds me of the movies where the robots can think on their own and
then want to take over the world like Al.

golden gate to the brain's memory mainframe

Electric shocks to brain may boost memory: Study
By
Monica DyBuncio

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57373857-10391704/electric-shocks-to-brain-may-boost-memory-study/

This new study shows that it may actually be possible to give your brain a jolt. The study had patients with epilepsy play a video game where they had to remember the location of certain stores in the game, they had small electrodes implanted in their brains to help deal with seizures, and the results showed that they remembered where to go better after getting a shock from the electrodes. When the electrodes went off they stimulated a “brain site called the entorhinal cortex, considered the doorway to the hippocampus - which helps form and store memories.”
The entorhinal cortex is like the “golden gate to the brain's memory mainframe.” When the entorhinal cortex was stimulated by the electrodes the patients showed that they recognized landmarks better and could navigate to the stores easier, they also started taking shortcuts, showing that their spatial memory increased as well.
This could help many people with memory problems function easier and maybe even help find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, or at least help people deal with it better.

Genetic Link To Depression

Summary: Scientists say they have discovered the first solid evidence that variations in some peoples' genes may cause depression -- one of the world's most common and costly mental illnesses.

And in a rare occurrence in genetic research, a British-led international team's finding of a DNA region linked to depression has been replicated by another team from the United States who were studying an entirely separate group of people.

Critic: This will save taxpayers loads of money if they can find a permanent solution

Impact: Many people can be cured.

Reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/16/genetic-link-to-depressio_n_862329.html

Nintendo Wii Can Affect Arms and Heart

A short but intense test that had people play the Nintendo Wii for a period of time has shown that it can be a good cardiovascular workout, increasing blood flow to the arms and improving over all heart-health. The peak heart rate associated to playing sports, on the game console, was increased by 18% when playing golf, and 39.8% when playing tennis. This can be very beneficial to post-stroke patients as one of the associated issues is loss of motor abilities, so the Nintendo Wii can act as a form of fun physical therapy.

Metaphors and the Brain

Have you ever been told by someone that they had a rough day, and then have had some sensation of sandpaper on your fingers? It has been found that the brain may replay sensory experiences to assist in the understanding of metaphors. MRI brain imaging has shown that a specific region of the brain important for sensing textures, through touch, called the parietal operculum, is activated when the patient is given a sentence with an implemented metaphor. Basically, this means that the area of the brain involved with recognizing and memorizing touch is active when the words describing a texture are used. This makes me wonder if having experienced the texture of which the metaphor uses can be detrimental to the understanding of the metaphor itself.

Could chewing your gun really make other people rage?

Reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06annoy.html

Summary: Some people have a condition that some scientists call misophonia. Which can be bad for them if they hear someone else chewing, chomping, slurping, or gurgling. Because it can make them feel a "rage panic, fear, terror and, all mixed together." said Adah Siganoff. Because other small sounds such as gum chewing, footsteps, and humming can make them feel very angry towards that person. This can very hard for them to handle, especially if your a child. Because people such as the children's parents tell them that they can control it. But they are unable to control it, and they can't outgrow it.

Critique: People should be more aware of this condition, because of the harm it can cause.

Because if people continue to make the noises to annoy the person, they might get more angry. It could also make people not want to go to school even more, which would be bad for their education.

Impact: This could change the way people act around other people. Because know that it could annoy someone if they had to deal with this condition during school. Which most people have to deal with, which can be hard for them to focus in school. Because if they try to avoid all the noises, that means they, aren't learning and they might not be making friends.

Keep Your Heart Wide Open

Reference: http://www.psychology.com/articles/?p=323#more-323 - Put No One Out of Your Heart

Your heart is a war zone. People feel it’s always best that when someone is giving you a challenge by being them, shut them out of your heart and life. However, according to this article, closing people out doesn’t feel to good. As well was when you keep and open heart towards everyone, you’ll feel better, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Physically is warmth and relaxation, emotionally is empathy, compassion, and even keel, mentally is keeping things in perspective and wishing others well. It helps you feel and be stronger. It is also very helpful to having good nurturing relationships. When, you constantly keep your heart open, more people will seem to work to you and the ones who truly don’t belong in your heart, will stand out most and leave, like abusers. Keeping your heart open will allow people to truly be able to rattle you, but given time, it becomes harder to upset you. Put your heart towards everyone by being expansive and inclusive. Also, when starting to be whole and open hearted, those who you have once shut down, think, is there a way to fix it and was there another way other than shutting them out before?
This article can help open ones mind towards having an open heart. If many followed this article, many more people in our world would be closer to others and nicer to others. It could lead to more peaceful environments and make growing up and living life easier on you and the person you let into your heart. Shutting someone else out of heart shouldn’t, a lot of the time, be done for their life isn’t dandies and daisies either. Nothing is peachy great for anyone, so why make ones life worse by being rude and “attacking them” instead of letting them in.
The type of impact this article could make would require commitment to an open heart. Who is really willing to make that? Well, let’s say people are, the impact could be wonderful. More people would start to care, more people would start to share. When the going got rough and someone feels as though they’ve had enough, that they have no one to turn to, maybe in turn they’d have someone to turn to. After all, once you let someone in, they’ll eventually let you in too. It may not be the greatest bond or greatest relationship but at least you’ll have a bigger chance of having someone when you need someone.
I feel this article was written for the best. The way it was written made it easy to understand and it’s word choice and sentence structures pulled at your chest and heart to persuade you in trying Dr. Hanson’s way. The examples and ways of demonstrating an open heart is almost how everybody would like to feel all the time and people would like to become a stronger individual. As enough time goes by, the more one reads this article, I think the better our environment could be, honestly. Personally, I’m going to try to let everyone to some extent in, try to reopen my heart to those I’ve blocked out, and I’ll be trying and doing this on a fragile heart with no trust towards practically anyone. So, if I can, others can. Having faith in them, is the first step. I have faith that anyone who wants to try and open their heart and put no one out, can. Keep your mind wide open to keeping your heart and open door. <3