Toddlers really don’t plan

And other unsurprising facts:

“New cognitive research shows that 3-year-olds neither plan for the future nor live completely in the present, but instead call up the past as they need it. ‘There is a lot of work in the field of cognitive development that focuses on how kids are basically little versions of adults trying to do the same things adults do, but they’re just not as good at it yet. What we show here is they are doing something completely different,’ says professor Yuko Munakata at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Munakata’s team used a computer game and a setup that measures the diameter of the pupil of the eye to determine mental effort to study the cognitive abilities of 3-and-a-half-year-olds and 8-year-olds. The research concluded that while everything you tell toddlers seems to go in one ear and out the other, the study found that toddlers listen, but then store the information for later use. ‘For example, let’s say it’s cold outside and you tell your 3-year-old to go get his jacket out of his bedroom and get ready to go outside,’ says doctoral student Christopher Chatham. ‘You might expect the child to plan for the future, think “OK it’s cold outside so the jacket will keep me warm.” But what we suggest is that this isn’t what goes on in a 3-year-old’s brain. Rather, they run outside, discover that it is cold, and then retrieve the memory of where their jacket is, and then they go get it.’”

Sean

Getting the most out of your morning cup

1) Consume in small, frequent amounts.

Between 20-200mg per hour may be an optimal dose for cognitive function.

2) Play to your cognitive strengths while wired.

Caffeine may increase the speed with which you work, may decrease attentional lapses, and may even benefit recall – but is less likely to benefit more complex cognitive functions, and may even hurt others. Plan accordingly (and preferably prior to consuming caffeine!)

3) Play to caffeine’s strengths.

Caffeine’s effects can be maximized or minimized depending on what else is in your system at the time.

4) Know when to stop – and when to start again.

Although you may not grow strongly tolerant to caffeine, you can become dependent on it and suffer withdrawal symptoms. Balance these concerns with the cognitive and health benefits associated with caffeine consumption – and appropriately timed resumption.

5) Finding good sources of caffeine

[source]

Appalachian states may now breathe a sigh of relief

Most babies born to first cousins are healthy…

The human brain responds to being treated fairly the same way it would to winning money – or eating chocolate.

Did I tell you about my bridge in Brooklyn? Sit down and have some chocolate…

I love chocolate especially dark.

Sean

Natural selection

At least 50 people in Kottayam district have reportedly lost their vision after gazing at the sun looking for an image of Virgin Mary.

Pretty sad, actually, how religion can drive people to do very stupid things. Evolution seems to be alive and well, though.

New meaning to the term Ice Man

This guy not only likes the cold, he thrives in it.

Sean

Gummy bears have a lot of sugar…

Molten potassium chlorate is a strong oxidizing agent that reacts violently with sugar. Gummy bears have lots of sugar in them.  Now that is what I call spicy!  ;-)

New opportunities for lonesome Scots in the highlands…

“Your Honour, I was just working on creating a Human/Sheep hybrid.”

bahh

Blonde hair

Interesting article on the evolution of blonde hair in women. The theory is that blondeness became common around the end of the last Ice Age as a result of strong sexual selection on females. Food was short and men had to go on long arduous hunting trips. A lot of them died, leaving a surplus of females, so there was pressure for females to attract mates, resulting in variant hair colour, etc., being selected.

Blonde hair in women pointed to fertility as well. Blonde hair is unique in that it changes dramatically with age. Typically, young girls with light blonde hair become women with brown hair. Thus, men who prefer to mate with blonde women are unconsciously attempting to mate with younger (and hence, on average, healthier and more fecund) women. It is no coincidence that blonde hair evolved in Scandinavia and northern Europe, probably as an alternative means for women to advertise their youth, as their bodies were concealed under heavy clothing.I don’t quite believe any of that but it is intriguing.

Sean

So, how good are you at recognizing faces?

I chanced upon this research project involving facial recognition.  It is being conducted to determine how well people recognize faces.   I took the face memory profile test which looks at how well you handle faces of different ages and in different orientations.  Have a go at it, here.  I scored:

Adult faces – 97% correct

Children’s faces – 97% correct

Inverted Children’s faces – 70% correct

Sean