Adriano

"Two tiny changes in the sequence of one gene could have helped install the mechanisms of speech and language in humans. Experiments have now revealed that the human version of FOXP2, which has two different amino acids compared with the version carried by chimps, has differing effects on genes in the brains of the two species. These differences could affect how the brain develops, and so explain why only humans are capable of language. The study also lends weight to the idea that language didn't evolve from scratch. It "depended on the retuning of genetic pathways present in non-verbal ancestors, rather than the appearance of completely novel mechanisms", says Simon Fisher." \\ Konopka, G. et al. Nature 462, 213-217 (2009) http://www.nature.com/nature... - Adriano from Bookmarklet

There's an awful lot of utter bollocks written about FOXP2. It isn't a "gene for language" any more than any other "gene for X" hype-fests. Bit of history here: http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl... - Andrew Clegg

interesting counter-point: "No-one should imagine that the development of language relied exclusively on a single mutation in FOXP2. They are many other changes that enable speech. Not least of these are profound anatomical changes that make the human supralarygeal pathway entirely different from any other mammal. The larynx has descended so that it provides a resonant column for speech... more... - Adriano

conférences, concerts, Musique filmée, Projection/Concert, Art contemporain, Colloque, Littérature, Spectacle, Vidéo, Exposition, Edition, Signatures \\ "A l’occasion de l’exposition « Mille e tre », Christian Boltanski a imaginé, en collaboration avec Jacques Roubaud, de publier un livre recensant les noms de tous les « habitants » du Louvre, c'est-à-dire les noms de toutes les personnes qui travaillent au Louvre (environ 2000) et les noms de tous les artistes exposés au Louvre, de l’antiquité au début du XIXème siècle." #paris - Adriano from Bookmarklet

11 November interview: "We have a limit, a very discouraging, humiliating limit: death. That's why we like all the things that we assume have no limits and, therefore, no end. It's a way of escaping thoughts about death. We like lists because we don't want to die." http://www.spiegel.de/interna... - Adriano

"Arguments are like eels: however logical, they may slip from the mind's weak grasp unless fixed by beautiful sentences. La Rochefoucauld is therefore an inspiration to anyone who feels divided between the role of a philosopher and a writer: he suggests that you can have the best of both worlds, and indeed went on to inspire some of the greatest of philosophers. It isn't accidental that he turns out to have been dearly loved by, among others, Kierkegaard, Leopardi, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Cioran. La Rochefoucauld reminds us that great pessimism doesn't have to be depressing: to read him is like sucking the juice from the bitterest lime, and enjoying it." -Alain de Botton, [recently published 'A Week at the Airport'] - Adriano from Bookmarklet

"[T]his guidebook is a work in progress that will update in concert with Wave as it grows and changes. The preview edition of The Complete Guide to Google Wave will be available for purchase as a DRM-free PDF in November of 2009. The first edition will debut in January as both a PDF and a softcover print book, with new editions to follow throughout 2010." \ The book will continue to be freely available to read online. #wave - Adriano from Bookmarklet

"[U]se the free Stanza desktop application to convert an ePub ebook into AZW (or even PDF), a format that your Kindle can understand. \ Google Books has more than a million public domain (out of copyright) books in the #EPUB format that are completely free. \ Project Gutenberg and FeedBooks are some other useful sites that offers most of their titles in the EPUB format. \ Firefox users can download EPUBReader, a free add-on that lets you read the contents of any ePub book. \ Use Amazon’s Stanza program to convert your document into an ePUB ebook. \ or use the free Calibre program to convert virtually any document format into ePUB in a batch." - Adriano from Bookmarklet

Chomsky asserts that the Supreme Court is currently considering a lawsuit that would allow corporations to "buy elections directly, instead of indirectly." - Adriano from Bookmarklet

ever seen Henry Miller play ping-pong? [thanks to @reckon] - Adriano from Bookmarklet

"Yokohama has an entire museum and hyper-specialized restaurant mall -- featuring ramen-making utensils, ramen bowls (over 300), ramen shop matchbooks, chopstick wrappers, etc. This is ramen for serious connoisseurs, with the eight shops chosen carefully from among the tens of thousands of stores throughout the country. The major ramen capitals -- Sapporo, Hakata, Kumamoto and Kitakata -- are all represented, along with four legendary shops from the Tokyo/Yokohama area." 2-14-21 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 222 / Tel: 045-471-0503 - Adriano from Bookmarklet

"[T]here is actually no such thing as atheism. The only choice we get is what to worship. If you worship money and things -- if they are where you tap real meaning in life -- then you will never have enough. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. Look, the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful; it is that they are unconscious. And the world will not discourage you from operating on your default-settings, because the world of men and money and power hums along quite nicely on the fuel of fear and contempt and frustration and craving and the worship of self. Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom. But the really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able... more... - Adriano

Excellent article includes historical background: "Why are inert pills suddenly overwhelming promising new drugs and established medicines alike? The reasons are only just beginning to be understood. A network of independent researchers is doggedly uncovering the inner workings—and potential therapeutic applications—of the placebo effect. At the same time, drugmakers are realizing they need to fully understand the mechanisms behind it so they can design trials that differentiate more clearly between the beneficial effects of their products and the body's innate ability to heal itself. A special task force of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health is seeking to stem the crisis by quietly undertaking one of the most ambitious data-sharing efforts in the history of the drug industry." #medicine #psychiatry #neuroscience - Adriano from Bookmarklet

also cf. nocebo effect: "side-effects from placebo were almost as common as from the actual drug, but most interestingly, were specific to side-effects you would expected from the comparison medication. One explanation may be that before taking part in a clinical trial, patients are informed of the possible side-effects that the active drug may cause, regardless of whether they are... more... - Adriano

includes his remarks on the kernel and developing the community. He tells us what software he prefers (not mutt, but the newer version of pine, alpine ;-). - Adriano

+ here's a mnemonic shortcut to my streaming library of music http://3.ly/musique -- enjoy! #rusic411 - Adriano

"Experiencing an intimate relationship with God and engaging in religious behavior was associated with increased volume of R middle temporal cortex, BA 21. Experiencing fear of God was associated with decreased volume of L precuneus and L orbitofrontal cortex BA 11. A cluster of traits related with pragmatism and doubting God's existence was associated with increased volume of the R precuneus. Variability in religiosity of upbringing was not associated with variability in cortical volume of any region. Therefore, key aspects of religiosity are associated with cortical volume differences. This conclusion complements our prior functional neuroimaging findings in elucidating the proximate causes of religion in the brain." - Adriano from Bookmarklet

cf. Neuroanatomy to Nirvana :: Stroke leads Jill Bolte Taylor to Insight http://ff.im/6N7M5 \\ time to supplement William James' 1902 classic with _The Neuroanatomical Varieties of Religious Experience_ including fMRI research on meditating Buddhist monks. - Adriano

"The match they played this past week to mark the 25th anniversary of their first world-title bout was the highlight of a chess conference in Valencia. The two Russians played 12 games of speed chess over three days. And just as he did in the '80s, Garry Kasparov emerged victorious, winning 9-3. Mr. Kasparov hasn't played professionally for years, devoting himself instead to Russian politics. To prepare for this match he spent time with the Norwegian wunderkind Magnus Carlsen. Today, the top contenders are no longer predominantly Russian. While Norway's Mr. Carlsen waits for his shot at the championship, reigning champion Viswanathan Anand of India and the Bulgarian Veselin Topalov, currently No. 1 in the world rankings, will face off for the title next year." #chess - Adriano from Bookmarklet

also noteworthy, from June to October 1999 Garry Kasparov played against a World Team (50,000+ individuals from more than 75 countries) where moves were decided by plurality vote via email. On his 62nd move Kasparov announced a forced mate found by the computer Deep Junior; 51% of the World Team voted to resign: http://www.chess.com/groups... [Two years earlier, the computer Deep Blue had defeated the incumbent world champion Kasparov.] - Adriano

Ahhh, how time is cruel... - Ashalynd

... but the punch line might be that mathematics is just another societal construct (cf. its developmental history). - Adriano

"[T]here are no self-evident connections between the key objectives of counter-terrorism, development, democracy/ state-building and counter-insurgency. Counter-insurgency is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for state-building. You could create a stable legitimate state without winning a counter-insurgency campaign. You could win a counter-insurgency campaign without creating a stable state (if such a state also required the rule of law and a legitimate domestic economy). Nor is there any necessary connection between state-formation and terrorism. It is impossible for Britain and its allies to build an Afghan state. They have no clear picture of this promised 'state', and such a thing could come only from an Afghan national movement, not as a gift from foreigners. Is a centralised state, in any case, an appropriate model for a mountainous country, with strong traditions of local self-government and autonomy, significant ethnic differences, but strong shared moral values?... more... - Adriano from Bookmarklet

I'd like to read Rory Stewart's book _The Places in Between_, "a travel narrative about his solo walk across north-central Afghanistan in 2002. Rory started in Herat and ended in Kabul following the Hari River from west to east. Along the way he travels through some of the most rugged, isolated and poor parts of the country. Set at the same time as the American invasion and occupation... more... - Adriano

"YAWAM est une émission hebdomadaire d'une heure trente diffusée en direct chaque samedi à partir 17h30 sur Radio Graffiti (101.5 FM à Nancy). Grâce à Last.fm, vous pouvez écouter une petite radio qui diffuse la quasi totalité des titres que nous écoutons depuis les débuts de YAWAM. La programmation est sans publicité, aléatoire, en continu, plutôt riche et diversifiée : de quoi passer un bon moment !" #rusic01 [en fait c'est raph @gwado http://www.last.fm/listen... ] - Adriano from Bookmarklet

"The #Dubai Metro was officially opened at 09:09:09 on the 9th of September 2009, by His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. This video shows the journey from Nakheel Harbor and Tower Station, to Rashidiya Station - currently the longest journey that can be taken on the Red line." #travel - Adriano from Bookmarklet

[Dubrovnik 3-D tour from 4,619 Flickr photos] "A team of computer scientists at the University of Washington's Graphics and Imaging Laboratory [Sameer Agarwal, Steve Seitz, et al.] built a new #algorithm that proceeds in two steps -- first, by matching the photos by what they had in common, puzzle-style, and then by determining the scene and each photographer's pose. They also designed new software that can more quickly solve the type of large math problems that exist in 3-D reconstruction. Each video includes clusters of small diamond shapes, which represent each photographer and his or her vantage point." http://www.popsci.com/gear-am... - Adriano from Bookmarklet

The Posterous team did an awesome job introducing custom themes. I took a generic one and just modified the margins and colors a bit. Surprisingly the style sheet is over a thousand lines, and I thought it might be a good idea for those interested to discuss and edit the various elements *live* online. Pipe in with your improvements, suggestions, and questions at https://rsvp.etherpad.com/postero... - Adriano

Catch that last image where the patterns between the brain and the physical universe are so similar... \\ then after Coldplay you might enjoy this Galaxy Song which an idle brain created: http://www.youtube.com/watch... ;-) - Adriano from Bookmarklet

"The Data Liberation Front is an engineering team at Google whose singular goal is to make it easier for users to move their data in and out of Google products. We do this because we believe that any data that you create in (or import into) a product is your own. We help and consult other engineering teams within Google on how to "liberate" their products." #google #portable #data - Adriano from Bookmarklet