Introducing VILAYANUR S. RAMACHANDRAN

Vilayanur Ramachandran is a neurologist best known for his work on neurological disorders through simple, low-tech investigations that reveal the inner workings of the brain. The work of a neuroscientist may seem incongruous to SiouxWIRE, but understanding how our minds function and perceive the world is well within mandate.

In addition to pursuing a career in neuroscience, Vilayanur also studied visual perception through psychophysics and is credited with the discovery of visual effects and illusions such as perceived slowing of motion at equiluminance (where red and green are seen as equally bright), stereoscopic capture using illusory contours, stereoscopic learning, shape-from-shading, and motion capture. See HERE for Ramachandran's illusions.

The video below is Vilayanur's talk on how brain damage can reveal the links between internal structures of our minds:

Links:
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran Reith lectures (BBC)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran TED lecture (TED)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran profile (UCSD)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran's Illusions(UCSD)
Vilayanur S. Ramahandran profile (edge.org)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran Wiki

Boredom a myth?

The emotion of boredom is often overlooked though reading reviews heavily over the past several months, it crops up regularly in terms of art. It's never rested easy with me as I have quite a high boredom threshold. My response to boredom is to think/imagine and sometimes, I think artists make use of this reflex to encourage the viewer to do just that.

The British Psychological Society posted an article on John Eastwood of York University(Toronto, Ontario) whose research suggests that boredom has less to do with external stimulation and more to do with how well we know ourselves.

It found that students who were susceptible to boredom were more externally focused and had difficulty identifying their emotions. Eastwood and his colleagues believe seeking outside stimulations and distractions from ourselves leads to further isolation.

From the BPS Research Digest Article:

“Like the trap of quicksand, such thrashing only serves to strengthen the grip of boredom by further alienating us from our desire and passion, which provide compass points for satisfying engagement with life”, [John Eastwood and his team] said. Instead the researchers suggest treating boredom as an opportunity to “discover the possibility and content of one’s desires”

Links:
BPS Research Digest post
A desire for desires: Boredom and its relation to alexithymia
John Eastwood (York University Ontario)