Looking for truth through fallible eyes
See is believing, right? Well, yes and no. I was talking with an elderly man who has been colorblind since, well, at least the 10th grade. That’s when they discovered it. When they showed his class the disk with the pixels and everyone else saw 9. He saw 27. He’s red-green colorblind which is, apparently, the […]
When is a curved line like a straight line?
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. I remember reading that in some geometry text book and believing it. Simple. Straight forward. Seems right. The most efficient way from A to B is the straight way. Neat. I tend to be a straight line kind of person. The problem is, life throws you […]
This band is cramping my style
This little purple band is a curious thing. We have been to challenged to wear it as a reminder of our commitment to the “No complaining for 21 days” effort. We’re to switch wrists if we complain and then start again at Day 1. (for more read more here) Friends tell me: their kids refuse […]
How are your reflexes?
Stimulus–response. An amoeba does it. A Venus fly trap does it. A snake does it. We do it. A tap on the knee and our leg kicks out, all by itself! Automatically, without consulting the rest of us. Even our brain is surprised. Reflexes are part of our programming designed to protect, support and allow us […]
Gravity will get you if you lean
I am grateful for gravity. It keeps all the things in place on my desk so I don’t have to go plucking them out of the air like the astronauts on the space station. This is convenient. A great design. The earth’s gravity is my friend for other reasons. It pulls me with a very […]
Don’t leave home without your exoskeleton
Got any skeletons in your closet? Any exoskeletons? You know, beetles and lobsters have them. That hard outer shell that protects and supports. They wear their skeleton on the outside. What if we wore our skeleton on the outside? Our underwear as outerwear, so to speak. I’ve got exoskeletons on the brain because they’ve been in […]
Wired for storytelling
Some UVA scientists have “discovered” something: “the human brain is wired to connect with others so strongly that we experience what they experience as if it’s happening to us.” Really? People who read books discovered this eons ago. We see what the protagonist sees, hear what she hears, feel what she feels. It’s the magic […]
Niagara Falls, power in glorious motion
Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? Me, too. Twice. Once in 1983. Once in 2013. I only now notice the 30 year span. The Falls are still there. Still incredible, powerful, awe-inspiring. People flock to see them daily. Before I saw them, I heard them. And I remembered this sound. Apparently, from way back […]
Navigation by Feel
At MIT they’re experimenting with touch. That is, GPS guidance for your driving experience by vibration through sensors attached to your skin. Skip the visual and auditory distractions, a tickle tells you to turn right or left. That’s cool! And, they suggest, a possible option for the vision or hearing-impaired. Touch sensation is an unsung hero […]
Righting practices: Channeling my inner weeble
Do you remember Weebles? They wobble but they don’t fall down. I loved those. Somehow, no matter how hard you shoved them in any direction, they managed to spring back into upright. I wanna be a bit more weeble. Folks will tell you they’re stable. They are staunch supporters of this or firm believers in […]