Latest Episodes for this Channel
Thu January 31 2008
It starts as a simple illusion: place a rubber arm next to your own on a table, hide your arm, and stroke the fake one with a paintbrush. You'll be am...
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It starts as a simple illusion: place a rubber arm next to your own on a table, hide your arm, and stroke the fake one with a paintbrush. You'll be amazed! You'll be transfixed! You'll be in the mood
to question just how easily your awareness can me misplaced! The trick is a simple one, but the implications are profound. If stimulating a simulated limb can send your mind into a tizzy... isn't
cons...
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It starts as a simple illusion: place a rubber arm next to your own on a table, hide your arm, and stroke the fake one with a paintbrush. You'll be amazed! You'll be transfixed! You'll be in the mood
to question just how easily your awareness can me misplaced! The trick is a simple one, but the implications are profound. If stimulating a simulated limb can send your mind into a tizzy... isn't
consciousness itself all about location, location, location? Where is the mind, really? Can it be above and behind the body, as in a third-person-shooter? What about floating up and away, as in an
out-of-body-experience? Can your mind be in your heart, as some Native peoples believe? Where did Helen Keller - blind and deaf from birth - feel her mind was? How did Wayne Gretzky "see the ice from
above?" These and many other questions are asked intriguingly, if not answered resoundingly, in the latest episode of JITOTM, The Rubber Arm. We stimulate - you respond!
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Sun December 16 2007
Humans have wondered if animals can think for ages. But here's a new twist on the old question: How do you think you're influenced by speed of movemen...
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Humans have wondered if animals can think for ages. But here's a new twist on the old question: How do you think you're influenced by speed of movement, and or kind of movement, when it comes to
deciding whether an animal has a mind? That curious question, from Jay to you, is inspired by research that indicated people seem likelier to attribute the quality of "mind" to animals that move at
near-hu...
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Humans have wondered if animals can think for ages. But here's a new twist on the old question: How do you think you're influenced by speed of movement, and or kind of movement, when it comes to
deciding whether an animal has a mind? That curious question, from Jay to you, is inspired by research that indicated people seem likelier to attribute the quality of "mind" to animals that move at
near-human speed. Anthropomorphism? Egotistical bias? Or just an odd anomaly of data? It's not clear why, for example, turtles might be judged to have "mind" while cows and squirrels make the cut.
Sometimes studying consciousness is more about questions, than answers. Give the questions a listen and then send your responses to this week's episode of JITOTM, Butterfly Mind.
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Mon October 01 2007
Stimulus and response: one of life's most elementary relationships. Response, or lack of response to stimuli is one way modern medicine determines som...
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Stimulus and response: one of life's most elementary relationships. Response, or lack of response to stimuli is one way modern medicine determines someone's condition, especially when it comes to
severe brain injury. Now, the application of a special kind of stimulus may hold promise for some people in states of prolonged unconsciousness or partial consciousness. It seems that in one man's
case, a...
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Stimulus and response: one of life's most elementary relationships. Response, or lack of response to stimuli is one way modern medicine determines someone's condition, especially when it comes to
severe brain injury. Now, the application of a special kind of stimulus may hold promise for some people in states of prolonged unconsciousness or partial consciousness. It seems that in one man's
case, at least, applying electric current to the thalamus - a walnut-sized region near the centre of the brain - led to a significant improvement in his minimally conscious state. He's regained a
vocabulary of basic words, and is engaging with loved ones and even playing cards. All from a little zap to the thalamus? So it would seem... and that raises some weird and wonderful questions about
the possibilities for others in similar states. Listen along as we speculate on the implications in the latest episode of JITOTM, Jolting the Thalamus.
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Thu August 09 2007
You know that whirring sound your hard drive makes when it's working on a big application? What if REM - rapid eye movement, which normally signifies ...
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You know that whirring sound your hard drive makes when it's working on a big application? What if REM - rapid eye movement, which normally signifies dreaming - is actually a sign your brain is
"chugging" when it's writing to memory? The suggestion is that you might be dreaming all night long; it's just that you can only remember dreams that happen during REM sleep - because any other
dreams you m...
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You know that whirring sound your hard drive makes when it's working on a big application? What if REM - rapid eye movement, which normally signifies dreaming - is actually a sign your brain is
"chugging" when it's writing to memory? The suggestion is that you might be dreaming all night long; it's just that you can only remember dreams that happen during REM sleep - because any other
dreams you might have just don't 'stick'. It's a wacky, unsubstantiated theory from a certain podcaster who admits to knowing nothing about it, but it makes for a good discussion. One that includes
winking, blinking, darting, RAM, ROM, dreams, long-term memory, memorizing multiple decks of cards, solving Rubik's cube blindfolded... The usual good stuff, in other words. You'll be blinking along
to the conversation in this week's edition of JITOTM, Eyes and Mind.
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Fri July 27 2007
It's one of our favourite things to do, but let's face it, we don't do it enough. The comments and emails from listeners are always often intriguing, ...
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It's one of our favourite things to do, but let's face it, we don't do it enough. The comments and emails from listeners are always often intriguing, sometimes inspiring, and always interesting. We
took a few moments on a summer's afternoon to discuss the consciousness of twins, the power of neural marketing, the Pepsi challenge, Jay's multiple trips to the MRI in the cause of science... It's a
li...
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It's one of our favourite things to do, but let's face it, we don't do it enough. The comments and emails from listeners are always often intriguing, sometimes inspiring, and always interesting. We
took a few moments on a summer's afternoon to discuss the consciousness of twins, the power of neural marketing, the Pepsi challenge, Jay's multiple trips to the MRI in the cause of science... It's a
little random and at times, lofty - fundamental disconnect between human consciousness and nature, anyone? - but it's a whole lot of fun. Whether you're being complimentary, confusing, supportive, or
argumentative... we're listening, and we love it. Especially when we get to sing heavy metal riffs to cure your earworms: You have to hear it to believe it... dear listeners, these are your
Consciousness Questions. Enjoy!
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