Brain training

I trained in the Bujinkan for over 10 years and I miss it. Other things have got in the way for the moment but I will get back eventually.

Anyway, I am reading 'Brain Cuttings' by Carl Zimmer. One if the chapters talks above how the workings of the brain form to speed up our slow down neurons in order to sync anything up. Some reactions can be pretty slow but at least they feel in context with experiences around them. For example, i find it odd to watch a jack hammer in the distance that is desynced with sound.

So our brains are built to sync audio and video. I wondered though if the likes of martial arts training helped an individual feel comfortable with processing mis-matched data for the various senses? Would this explain why the top grades seem to be able to do things that seem spooky to anyone who hasn't trained?

This idea might not hold water of course. One immediate problem that I can think of is that the nature of our senses are to signal change in the world rather than reporting the full current state.

Anyway, all worth a thought.

Video games and psychology

I am at the game horizon conference at the minute. Jesse Schell was talking about virtual companions this morning. Will these things ever have a virtual psychology? Slyvain Liege talked about cross cultural game development. They probably need a cultural fair psychological testing framework right.  Wonder who has one ;-)

Roller-coasters or mortgage?

I am standing in the train station about to go to Strasbourg.

Disneyland Paris awaits outside! I am a little conflicted about working to pay the mortgage and just going and riding roller-coasters with Mickey Mouse.

So there is a bi-polar option here. It might be better generalized as short term gratification vs long term security, or work vs play.

Notice that these are not necessarily logical opposites, but they are opposed psychological for me at that moment.

Right now I'm of to Strasbourg, but also notice that what I choose as the best choice is also contextual. If my family where with me right now my priorities would be very different.

Isn't travel great.

How does your identity adapt to different countries and cultures?

Karl Pilkinton springs to mind. As does that Tom Hanks movie 'The Terminal'

Whats identity anyway?

First of, my background is computer science. One day I'll get around to doing a degree in psychology just so that that background isn't used as a reason for ignoring an argument. That said, I've still a lot to learn and hope this blog will help enlighten me while also being a service for others.

So what is identity anyway? I'd like comments on that one. Is there a single description in the academic literature that everyone accepts?

There's the dictionary definition, Wikipedia says stuff, and I like this guys talk, but I'm gonna run with an Oscar Wilde quote from De Profundis:

At every single moment of one’s life one is what one is going to be no less than what one has been.

So your identity is who you were and also who you are going to be. I'll take that a little further and say that your identity is also the structure of your convictions and how you identify with others.

Hmm, that Ribena probably needs diluted a bit more.

And so the procrastination ends

Whato. I'm going to use this blog to introduce a framework I'm working with that can be used to explore identity. I'll go through the framework as I learn Google AppEngine and develop it... again (long story).

If you want immediate details check out the book Analysing Identity. That book is a bit like drinking undiluted Ribena. Feel free to sip away though. It is worth it. Meanwhile here I'll provide some Dihydrogen Monoxide to make it more palatable.