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Our world may be a giant hologram

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"The idea that we live in a hologram probably sounds absurd, but it is a natural extension of our best understanding of black holes, and something with a pretty firm theoretical footing. It has also been surprisingly helpful for physicists wrestling with theories of how the universe works at its most fundamental level."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126911.300-our-world-may-be-a-giant-hologram.html?full=true

A decent backyard magic show is often an exercise in deliberate chaos. Cards whipped through the air. Glasses crashing to the ground. Gasps, hand-waving, loud abracadabras. Something's bound to catch fire, too, if the performer is ambitious enough -- or needs cover.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/science/12magic.html?_r=2&oref=slogin

The Physiology of Perception - Article

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When a person glimpses the face of a famous actor, sniffs a favorite food or hears the voice of a friend, recognition is instant. Within a fraction of a second after the eyes, nose, ears, tongue or skin is stimulated, one knows the object is familiar and whether it is desirable or dangerous. How does such recognition, which psychologists call preattentive perception, happen so accurately and quickly, even when the stimuli are complex and the context in which they arise varies?

http://cogprints.org/43/0/perception2.html

Synaesthesia Research Group Website - Articles

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The Synaesthesia Research Group is based at the University of Waterloo for the purpose of studying all aspects of a condition known as synaesthesia.

http://www.synaesthesia.uwaterloo.ca/

Links to many research articles

http://www.synaesthesia.uwaterloo.ca/research2.html

 

Subliminal Perception - Web Article

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Subliminal perception occurs whenever stimuli presented below the threshold or limen for awareness are found to influence thoughts, feelings, or actions. The term subliminal perception was originally used to describe situations in which weak stimuli were perceived without awareness. In recent years, the term has been applied more generally to describe any situation in which unnoticed stimuli are perceived.

http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~pmerikle/papers/SubliminalPerception.html

 

All of us depend on adequate sensory integrative functioning in order to carry out daily tasks in work, play and self-maintenance. Disorders in this domain can greatly influence our ability to function, but also can be so subtle that they easily go unrecognized. Particularly in the young child it is easy to attribute behaviors and reactions to other causes ("He's stubborn, lazy, or doesn't want to do it," or "She's spoiled, shy, or headstrong.") or to consider it within the norms of the wide range of personality and developmental characteristics of young children. However, it is important to identify and address sensory integrative dysfunction to enable the child to function at his or her optimum level and to minimize disruption in family life. This article will explain ways of addressing sensory integrative problems within the context of family life and the child's normal activities.

http://www.tsbvi.edu/Outreach/seehear/fall97/sensory.htm

 

 

All of us depend on adequate sensory integrative functioning in order to carry out daily tasks in work, play and self-maintenance. Disorders in this domain can greatly influence our ability to function, but also can be so subtle that they easily go unrecognized. Particularly in the young child it is easy to attribute behaviors and reactions to other causes ("He's stubborn, lazy, or doesn't want to do it," or "She's spoiled, shy, or headstrong.") or to consider it within the norms of the wide range of personality and developmental characteristics of young children. However, it is important to identify and address sensory integrative dysfunction to enable the child to function at his or her optimum level and to minimize disruption in family life. This article will explain ways of addressing sensory integrative problems within the context of family life and the child's normal activities.

http://www.tsbvi.edu/Outreach/seehear/fall97/sensory.htm

 

 

"You can think of sensory systems as little scientists

that generate hypotheses about the world,"

says Anthony Movshon, an HHMI investigator at

New York University. Where did that sound come

from? What color is this, really? The brain makes

an educated guess, based on the information at

hand and on some simple assumptions.

The document is 63 pages of great writing and brilliant illustrations.

http://www.hhmi.org/senses/senses.pdf

 

Excerpt: Before I begin my discussion, I would like to explain what I mean by the term "mobility." We customarily talk about the two terms "orientation" and "mobility" as if they were separate and independent activities. If this dichotomy is taken seriously, mobility becomes the ability to move through space safely, without the requirement of knowing where you are, where you want to go, or how to get there. Being able to move through space with the assurance that your next step will not be your last step is undoubtedly comforting, but if this is all we have in mind when we consider mobility, then mobility is not a very interesting activity. We would do better to say that orientation is an essential component of meaningful mobility. I certainly do not mean to suggest that the ability to move safely through space is not an important component of mobility, but when we add orientation as an essential component, mobility becomes a useful ability. Accordingly, when I use the term "mobility," I mean to indicate an activity that is impossible without orientation.

http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/foulke.htm

Experiencing Sensation and Perception Text Media

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This is an online text book of sorts by Dr. Krantz. The book incorporates the various tutorials and demonstrations that Dr. Krantz has put together for sensation and perception.

http://psych.hanover.edu/classes/sensation/index.html

 

Abstract: This paper reviews the history of psychological investigations of unconscious perception and summarizes the current status of experimental research in this area of investigation. The research findings described in the paper illustrate how it is possible to distinguish experimentally between conscious and unconscious perception. The most successful experimental strategy has been to show that a stimulus can have qualitatively different consequences on cognitive and affective reactions depending on whether it was consciously or unconsciously perceived. In addition, recent studies of patients undergoing general anaesthesia have shown that the effects of stimuli perceived unconsciously during surgery can last for approximately 24 hours. Taken together, the results of these recent psychological investigations provide empirical support for the importance of unconsciously perceived information in determining cognitive and affective reactions.

 

http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~pmerikle/papers/Merikle.JConsStudies.1998.pdf

 

Human Error in Road Accidents - Web Article

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A comprehensive study of road safety (Treat et al., 1977) found that human error was the sole cause in 57% of all accidents and was a contributing factor in over 90%. In contrast, only 2.4% were due solely to mechanical fault and only 4.7% were caused only by environmental factors. Other studies have reported similar results.

http://www.visualexpert.com/Resources/roadaccidents.html

 

University Park, Pa. -- For 8 percent of men, color blindness is not just a fashion inconvenience, but an impairment that makes reading maps and other visual data difficult if not impossible. Now, a Penn State geographer has developed color schemes that allow most color-blind people to interpret the images.

http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/colorblindness.html

Absolute Memory for Musical Pitch - Article

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Abstract

Evidence for the absolute nature of long-term auditory memory is provided by analyzing the production of familiar melodies. Additionally, a two-component theory of absolute pitch is presented, in which this rare ability is conceived as consisting of a more common ability, pitch memory, and a separate, less common ability, pitch labeling. Forty-six subjects sang two different popular songs, and their productions were compared with the actual pitches used in recordings of those songs. Forty percent of the subjects sang the correct pitch on at least one trial; 12% of the subjects hit the correct pitch on both trials, and 44% came within two semitones of the correct pitch on both trials. The results show a convergence with previous studies on the stability of auditory imagery and latent absolute pitch ability; the results further suggest that individuals might possess representations of pitch that are more stable and accurate than previously recognized.

http://ego.psych.mcgill.ca/labs/levitin/research/Levitin-PandP-1994-56-414.pdf