What is Digg?72 Comments
- speedk0re, on 10/16/2007, -0/+53"OK Brain. You don't like me, and I don't like you, but let's get through this thing and then I can continue killing you with beer"
-Homer J Simpson - lukifer, on 10/15/2007, -0/+38"I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me that."
- unicronband, on 10/15/2007, -1/+35This reminds me of something I heard on NPR that blew my mind a little. They were talking about how memories aren't permanent fixtures in your brain. Instead, each time you recall something, your neurons and synapses reform in your brain to recreate that memory. The catch was that each time you remember something, it forms slightly differently than it did before. The more often someone recalls something, the more skewed that memory gets. So the things that you remember most are actually your most distorted memories. I think. I can't really remember now.
- WiseWeasel, on 10/15/2007, -1/+35*Pounds another beer*... Take THAT, not friend! Good thing I've got my hands and digestive tract on my side...
- BigManOnCampus, on 10/15/2007, -0/+22Sadly this element of humanity:
"When confronted with an unknown phenomenon, the brain immediately attempts to impose some kind of pattern or meaning onto it. "
...taints all of the knowledge that humanity has gained to this point. It means with our large spectrum of accepted fact/truth there is a correspondingly gigantic amount of stuff that we could be completely wrong about because we imposed patterns on unknowns and we didn't even realize we did this.
It could be that we're all completely correct. Or we could be living in the Matrix. - ElbridgeGerry, on 10/13/2007, -1/+21Hint: If you use Firefox, you're looking at it now.
- ArmyOfFun, on 10/15/2007, -0/+13When the blast radius is just a couple feet or so. Having your mind really blown covers the surrounding area in a fine red fog.
- Lane, on 10/15/2007, -0/+13Where is this red panda you speak of!
- MillionsLivio, on 10/15/2007, -1/+12Gotta love anything with the Red Panda in it. The little guys needs more attention, as they are rather close to extinction. If you would like more information on helping them out, you can go to RedPandaProject.org
- inactive, on 10/13/2007, -1/+12He..he..he..hehe....he said taint..he...he..hehe
- FloppyLlamaDigg, on 10/17/2007, -3/+11http://images.google.com/images?q=%22red+panda
Fire up the grill! - yfguitarist, on 10/15/2007, -1/+8How can something blow your mind "a little"?
- falseleftright, on 10/13/2007, -0/+6This is precisely why I avoid watching television. The amount of conditioning in commercials (not to mention shows) is astounding. It takes effort and awareness to disassociate yourself from the ebb and flow of it. I can remember being a kid and not being able to take my eyes off the screen. No wonder I had Mom and Dad out there hustling so I could have everything I saw; and no wonder I didn't feel complete without all those needful things.
TV=Priming on Steroids. - WiseWeasel, on 10/13/2007, -0/+6From that comment, and your special way of spelling 'buried', I'm still not convinced...
- salinemist, on 10/13/2007, -1/+7Anyone who's ever experienced _real_ mental problems doesn't joke about it. Too much.
- KatherineC, on 10/13/2007, -1/+7Wow. I think we are all clear or not clear. I swear I'm terrified of being a witness to someone's trial. How can anyone answer they are absolutely sure? Believing is not knowing.
- skyfire1, on 10/13/2007, -0/+5I can confirm this. If I see a good movie once I might remember everything but I usually do not recall dialogue and details correctly.
- yoda17, on 10/13/2007, -0/+5"Society of Mind" by Marvin Minski is by far the best book that I've read on the subject and a very easy read also. I thought this article was a little weak however.
- kryptobs2000, on 10/15/2007, -2/+7I don't doubt that you have heard that but there has to be more to it than that. If that were true we'd totally forget our names and ***** that is just so common. People would constantly be confused.
- moskaudancer, on 10/17/2007, -1/+5So cute, and yet, so yummy.
- inactive, on 10/13/2007, -1/+5Women are more susceptible to believing someone is good because they are handsome. The men were just being nice because they wanted to bone them.
- jorgepblank, on 10/13/2007, -0/+3By the way, lifehack is running Wordpress with wp-cache and it seems to be doing well, isn't down yet.
- skyfire1, on 10/15/2007, -0/+3Blue Giraffe!
- nblsavage, on 10/13/2007, -1/+4Stupid Brain!
- Shiner6, on 10/15/2007, -0/+2How do you know?
- tunapez, on 10/13/2007, -0/+2Ditto, light on substance. I offer "A General Theory of Love" by Lewis MD/ Amini MD/Lannon MD as another glimpse into how the reptilian, limbic and cortical brains conspire against each other while being further handicapped by familiar Attractors. Turns out, knowing isn't half the battle, it's a trap!.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/l/lewis-love.ht ... - samby, on 10/13/2007, -0/+2Red panda reminds me of the DC shooter. Everyone thought he was in a white van. Turns out you can look almost anytime and see a white van leaving a parking lot.
Don't agree with biscuit and unattractive women story. The biscuit eaters unconsciously thought they were in a cleaner place, so they ate the crumbs out of courtesy, not some unconscious impulse to clean. And of course men are less friendly to unattractive women they don't know, and women pick up on it. Scientests sometimes do silly research. - sega01, on 10/15/2007, -3/+5Burried. If I didn't have my brain, I wouldn't be writing this comment -- would I?
- Shiner6, on 10/15/2007, -0/+2Ironically it was your brain that gave you the idea to do that . . . and allowed you to do that.
- forgetfulca, on 10/14/2007, -0/+2I, for one, welcome our smug, self-satisfied superior overlords.
You missed the point, I believe. And I also think you are confusing a few conscious decisions with the bulk of your brain's processing. - Metis2be, on 10/13/2007, -0/+2It depends. This is digg after all.
- Tanath, on 10/13/2007, -0/+2Uh, a UFO is not a "template for the unknown" imposed by your brain, like an angel, yeti, etc. It's what you call something when you see something in the air, and go, "What the hell is that?"
- brownb2, on 10/13/2007, -0/+2Did anybody else already know this article to be common sense? Many people can see social engineering/manipulation for what it is, such as the example of the cleaning fluid and detach themselves from the trained or herd thinking. I question any decision in my mind that is brought about by external influences, e.g. TV advertisements often have an opposite effect on me where I won't purchase a product when I see it in a shop because I recognise had it not been on TV I would never have even considered it. Likewise I don't always shop in chain stores and might choose a budget store like ALDI, LIDI or Netto - their goods are just as good quality.
Unfortunately the same doesn't go for the majority of people who follow fads/fashions (remember Apple's "Think differently" slogan? How many people owning an ipod actually did that before they bought it, instead of a cheaper better mp3 player)?
What it boils down to is the degree to which a person knows is actually the best decision to make (based on how knowledgeable they are - consumers suffer from "imperfect knowledge" - economic term), how clued in they are that they are being manipulated at a subconscious level, and how easy it is for them to be persuaded what is best for them by someone else.
" How many fingers, Winston ?...... Almost unconsciously he traced with his finger in the dust on the table :2 + 2 = 5 " - George Orwell, 1984 - patch6, on 10/15/2007, -0/+2That sounds like something a red panda would say.
- Rintrah23, on 10/13/2007, -0/+2 I found the Red Panda aspect interesting. I think it does have a major effect on reported phenomenon like Big Foot. It doesn't explain UFO's however. There are thousands of recorded video's of them.
- Shatzi, on 10/15/2007, -5/+6Well this explains all those wacky miracles in the bible...Burning bush...Bwahahaha!
- kryptobs2000, on 10/13/2007, -1/+2What is wrong with our brain working by patterns. Sure it could be better, but it could be worse. Our brains work the way they work and that is it.
- Fragowell, on 10/15/2007, -1/+2"Don't agree with biscuit and unattractive women story. The biscuit eaters unconsciously thought they were in a cleaner place, so they ate the crumbs out of courtesy, not some unconscious impulse to clean. "
- Uh, actually you do agree with the story. The smell created a subconscious atmosphere of being a clean place. So they were compelled to keep it that way (a courtesy, in your words).
"And of course men are less friendly to unattractive women they don't know, and women pick up on it. Scientests sometimes do silly research."
That's just one aspect of the results of the study, guy. But you're totally right - conducting scientific research on something so that there is factual, recorded evidence is silly. I mean, I can just look at that boulder and know that it's heavy. Why would I need to measure to see if it actually is? - antitab, on 10/13/2007, -0/+1"I think he might be bipolar."
I don't think that means what you think it means... - scottknick, on 10/13/2007, -0/+1He left out the best part of the red panda story -- it turned out the thing had apparently been hit by a train just a short distance from the zoo, so chances are good that ALL the reported sightings were bogus.
- harrisonferrel, on 10/24/2007, -0/+1Religious and cult leaders hitch their success to this phenomenon. "Visions" and "inner experiences" and "sightings" can all fall into this category of brain function.
- undershirt, on 10/13/2007, -2/+3His "optimism" at the end sure was unexpected. Your brains are dysfunctional, but it's okay! I think he might be bipolar.
- case42tlc, on 10/13/2007, -0/+1This guy just doesn't get it. The only real story here is the absurd delusion that we make rational decisions. The most rational humans might make one out of one hundred decisions based on reason, and the rest are based on the kind of mental shortcuts described in the article. Evolution designed us that way, and it seems to work pretty well, most of the time.
- Soniti, on 10/13/2007, -1/+2I, for one, welcome our new brainless overlords.
- BabyWookie, on 10/15/2007, -0/+1Uncle Jeffry told me.
- opticwind, on 10/13/2007, -0/+1If you enjoy stuff like this, I recommend the book "Quirkology".
- BigManOnCampus, on 10/13/2007, -0/+1BE MORE FUNNY!!
- Shiner6, on 10/14/2007, -0/+1Have you ever not had your brain to test that theory? I think not.
- scottknick, on 10/13/2007, -0/+1My point was that where the panda was found dead suggested that it had died almost immediately upon escaping.
- BigManOnCampus, on 10/13/2007, -0/+1And that's the problem. Imposing a pattern or preconception on new data or experiences completely taints your ability to interpret said event/information for what it is and what it means. I'm not saying we dumb things down, I'm saying by automatically trying to match new stuff to old stuff, you can often miss what the new stuff really is.
-
Show 51 - 70 of 70 discussions
Digg is coming to a city (and computer) near you! Check out all the details on our 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is