Nature Knows and Psionic Success

Nearly 2, Scarlett climbs down from her dad’s lap at the kitchen table where kids’ books, paper and glue sticks are splayed and her aunts and uncles are in a vigorous discussion about work, politics and good reads. She’s on the move after turning the pages of "Pete the Cat," a toddling vagabond whose interest has shifted from exploring the characters in a book to exploring the kitchen. She’s like most toddlers, instinctually eager to soak up her surroundings once she becomes mobile. Even the newly minted crawling baby is a kind of research rover, on hands and knees, gathering data within reach, from the stubble on Dad’s beard to the soccer ball on the grass to the violet peeping up along the sidewalk. Steve Toomey Jr., and daughter, Scarlett, 3 ( And how Dad looks at and interacts with the world around him, and the language he uses while engaging his child, is relevant to his child’s first learning experiences. My son returns his 2-year-old’s wave as she toddles away. She blows a kiss to her dad, setting off a boomerang of waves and kisses in return from her adult family members. The thing is, everything is a learning experience when it comes to a young child, right down to how we say goodbye or show our love and respect. Recent research published in Web of Science supports the idea "… that father engagement has significant effects on children’s cognition and language at 24 and 36 months and their social and emotional development at 24, 36 months, and pre-kindergarten." The study concludes: "These findings suggest that programs that aim at increasing fathers’ education and that promote and encourage fathers’ positive parenting will yield large benefits for children." So whenever dad sits down to read a book for his […]

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Blanket bans on junk or force feeding is the not the answer. Raising a healthy child is all about a healthy foundation. How to read early signs of deficiencies, fight those recurring allergies or make your child eat wholesome food when all he craves is junk? Being a young parent is no small feat! But imbibing some wisdom from the field of Macrobiotics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda and Yoga could answer a lot of questions. Catch Them Young In Macrobiotics, it is known that every seven years the body replenishes itself and hence for a growing child, the first 21 years (3 times 7 years) is crucial. At this age getting children to eat healthy is really the most important role of the parents, specially the mother as she is the alchemist in the kitchen who creates her child’s health chemistry every day. A child who grows up eating the living energy of vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and fruit, develops a strong and balanced immune function. This lessens the possibility of chronic digestive issues, colds and coughs and also prevents an early onset of diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis. “Moms should spruce up their cooking skills and serve the child a healthy and appetizing meal with a variety of flavours and textures. Another way is to involve the child in gardening — it is enormously beneficial for a child to witness Mother Nature in action,” says Tarika Ahuja, who has recently written a book on this subject. Smart Packaging How to wean away your child from addictive chemicals found in fast food! Don’t give up, say experts. Research says that by feeding your child good food – a new cellular memory is created and, over a period of time, the child will begin to crave healthier foods. […]

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Author Yuval Noah Harari in conversation with HAI co-director Fei-Fei Li at Stanford University Credit: Steve Castillo New technology devices and apps pop up as abundantly as summer weeds here in Silicon Valley. Chip-enhanced products offer to satisfy almost every need imaginable. Prompts from your smart refrigerator tell you to buy more milk. With a voice command, music plays to facilitate meditation, thanks to your smart — always on — helper who listens for your next query from a canister on your kitchen counter; you know, the one with a woman’s voice and name. In this glut of offerings, how do you select what is truly useful from what is simply the latest “smart” thing? And by smart, I mean capable of following directions, solving problems, answering questions and learning on its own. Smart products depend on algorithms designed by engineers to create artificial intelligence , otherwise known as AI. And to be clear, AI is also critical to big data collection and industrial settings, but here we’ll focus on consumer applications. Predictions About AI If this all seems confusing to you, it may be because most of us are not engineers creating solutions for problems we didn’t know we had — until we heard about it in a tweet, an ad on our smart pad or TV or from our adult child or grandchild. How do we separate the helpful from the just trendy? How do we know if a thing aids our memory or just substitutes for our thinking? How do we evaluate whether a new app makes our life easier or simply supplants our own efforts in maintaining strong brains? For those of us who are Gen Xers, boomers or beyond, there’s the added question about which technologies we might embrace to facilitate healthy aging — […]

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Architosh highlights BEST of SHOW honors to the most exciting and innovative software and digital technologies shown earlier this month at the 2019 AIA National Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas. Advertisement Architosh announces its 2019 AIA National BEST of SHOW honors, recognizing and drawing attention to the most exciting and innovative digital technologies shown at the show. BEST of SHOW Introduction The BEST of SHOW awards are designed to recognize the most interesting and promising technologies, making an impact on architectural practice in the United States and globally. Winners of these small honors receive recognition and digital BEST of SHOW placards for display in marketing and promotions and permanent placement onto Architosh’s BEST of SHOW winner’s roster page. A companion “perspectives on BEST of SHOW” feature article—as in years past—further discusses and highlights the winning solutions within the context of a broader set of themes about technology in architectural practice and AEC in general. Anthony Frausto-Robledo, AIA, LEED AP, editor-in-chief, and Pete Evans, AIA, senior associate editor, Architosh, walked the show floor, attended technology-centric sessions and events, and spoke to various industry peers about the trends pushing technology forward in architecture. Brief Preface AIA 2019 seemed to naturally build on the Architosh BEST of SHOW analysis (Perspectives) from 2018 around the work of Carlota Perez which we will discuss in the upcoming perspectives article. The innovations and developments this year also reflected the AIA 2019 conference theme as well. We witnessed a lot of evidence showing technologies extending BIM, CDEs, VR/AR (XR), AI/ML, PIM (and more) to the broadest definition of stakeholders and at a finer level of data than seen before. This year’s awards reflect the collective, the inclusiveness, and diversity required, the granularity of data and information required to elevate design to its highest potential. Robert […]

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If you’re thinking about taking up a new hobby, try learning a new language, as it turns out that knowing more than one language can seriously boost your brain power. And if you already speak more than one language, know that you’re in luck, as bilingualism (or multilingualism) comes with quite a few fascinating cognitive benefits. For instance, research shows that speaking two or more languages improves your concentration, makes you better at problem-solving, and can even protect you from cognitive decline. There are 5 main cognitive benefits of knowing more than one language: 1. Prevents Cognitive Decline One of the most outstanding benefits of speaking more than one language is the ability to retain a young brain and delay cognitive decline. More specifically, research shows that bilinguals are less likely to suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s , and they have a better chance of recovering after a stroke . A Canadian study showed that, on average, bilinguals are diagnosed with dementia 3-4 years later than monolinguals, and an Italian study found that Alzheimer’s patients who are bilingual are, on average, 5 years older than their monolingual counterparts. So, much like engaging in other cognitively-challenging activities like solving crossword puzzles or practicing musical instruments, knowing a second language can train your brain to be more resilient to adverse age-related changes. 2. Bilinguals Can Maintain Focus Better If maintaining focus and concentrating deeply on an important task can sometimes prove to be problematic, learning a new language could be helpful at training that skill. This is because people who know two and more languages have a more highly developed executive functioning , which involves the ability to focus on the important bits and ignore the unimportant ones. Brain imaging studies have shown that bilinguals have a more active and highly-developed […]

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Human life span has been growing over the course of time. The usual life span was thirty to forty years, yet now people are becoming parents at this age. However, are we able to follow up on this and truly make our years count for something? Can the brain survive the passage of time? There are enormous amounts of research done to prove that, indeed, the body is the temple of our minds and that our physical health has much to do with a healthy mind. Here, we will discuss what simple measures you can take that will have an impact on your brain and not just your body. Improving Brain Function These days it is a very common misconception that cholesterol is somehow bad for your health and that you should eat more low-calorie foods, like vegetables and grains. This popular belief has become mainstream and many diet-conscious kitchens are turning to foods such as brown rice and whole grain bread. As a result, scientists have started investigating this matter. According to their research, it turns out that fat is not responsible for us being fat . So, what does this have to do with our brains? Well, obesity can lead to several health problems, but this also includes mental problems. Obesity can cause brain shrinkage that is connected to memory loss and, in the long run, dementia. Contrary to healthy dogma, it is carbs and sugars that make you fat and damage the heart and vascular health. In fact, cholesterol promotes the creation of new brain cells called neurogenesis and stimulates communication between neurons. This is why studies have found that individuals who consume more saturated cholesterol have a 36% lower risk of developing dementia. According to various studies, there is a strong connection between your gut […]

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Dayna Clarke speaks to KENNETH ABELA, father of Drew Abela who, along with his family, set up the ‘Life after Drew’ organ donation campaign following Drew’s death Why was the Life after Drew campaign set up? Three years ago, nearly to the day, my wife Sharon and I lost our son Drew after he suffered a brain haemorrhage. Before we were even asked to donate his organs, Sharon immediately requested that we do so. We set up ‘Life after Drew’ as my wife Sharon wanted to create something that would become a legacy synonymous with our son Drew’s name. Since we experienced this first hand, we felt that we needed to create more awareness on the subject of organ donation, also acting as an education campaign in which people were encouraged to discuss this sensitive subject whilst simultaneously paying tribute to Drew and the many, many people who – like him – gave others a second chance of life. How was the campaign received? The campaign was very well received, and the original target was to reach 100,000 people with our message. This target was overwhelmingly surpassed, since even one interview on TVM news has that level of viewership, let alone the 93 interactions that have been held over the past months. The campaign was a 360° one that included a multitude of television interviews, radio interviews, Facebook campaigns, Google campaigns, bus advertising, billboard advertising, newspaper interviews, a fine arts exhibition, a performing arts performance, promotional visits to Her Excellency The President of Malta and His Grace the Archbishop of Malta and visits to various schools and businesses, as well as online interviews. The business community, as well as the general public, were deeply touched by Drew’s big heart and came together genuinely offering their support in myriad ways, […]

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THE WEEKLY DANCE at the Renton Senior Activity Center once took place on Friday evenings, but the dancers didn’t like driving in the dark. So now they pack the center on Thursday afternoons, coming from Seattle and beyond to dance to the stylings of Bill the Dance Master, known for mixing up the tempo between a fast song and a slow swing, before moving on to a rumba or a country-and-western song. Bright light pours into the high-ceilinged room, where some dancers are dressed in spangly kitten heels and glittery skirts that twirl during spins. RELATED: The Backstory: How do we move in Seattle? It’s hard to count all the ways. Gene S. Moy, 102, learned to dance in 1941, when he was stationed in California for the U.S. Army. He learned the swing, waltz, cha-cha and rumba, among others, and danced the five years he served. He stopped dancing while raising four kids, but started again after he retired in the 1980s from his mechanic job at Boeing. “Once you learn how, you never lose it,” says Moy, who dances to every song and sits down in between. “It’s exercise you enjoy doing. You don’t feel tired.” The dancers range in age from their 50s to Moy’s century-plus, but almost no one is using a wheelchair, cane or walker. Credit the dancing, maybe. Advertising The reasons to dance are much more layered than health. Dance is a smile, and eye contact, and the fun in asking a new partner to dance to each new song. Dance is a toddler tap class, where the parents are just as joyful as their 2-year-olds. Dance is laughing at yourself when you fumble the footwork. Dance is sharing your story. Tracey Wong shares her stories and finds healing through the culture and […]

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We like to think of our most advanced abilities — such as our intelligence or our creativity — as things that define us; things we personally brought into being. Nobody says that a person ‘has’ creativity; we say that he or she ‘is’ creative. But let a tumour grow between the frontal lobes of the brain, the part essential for any creative work, and we quickly learn that those great gifts were simply on loan. The workings of the human brain are so complex that we’re only just beginning to uncover some of their millions of secrets. But one thing we have discovered since I first became a brain surgeon 15 years ago is that the brain has a remarkable capacity to heal itself — just as your physical body does. Your brain can make a remarkable comeback following a devastating injury or illness, as we saw in Saturday’s Daily Mail. Nobody says that a person ‘has’ creativity; we say that he or she ‘is’ creative. But let a tumour grow between the frontal lobes of the brain, the part essential for any creative work, and we quickly learn that those great gifts were simply on loan Nobody says that a person ‘has’ creativity; we say that he or she ‘is’ creative. But let a tumour grow between the frontal lobes of the brain, the part essential for any creative work, and we quickly learn that those great gifts were simply on loan And if patients who’ve suffered brain cancer, a stroke or injuries can relearn how to walk, talk and regain their fine motor skills using techniques they practise regularly, why should anyone doubt that healthy people can’t push their brain-power into a higher gear, too? For while most of your brain cells are formed in the womb, […]

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It has become the most natural thing to do: get in the car, type a destination into a smartphone, and let an algorithm using GPS data show the way. Personal GPS-equipped devices entered the mass market in only the past 15 or so years, but hundreds of millions of people now rarely travel without them. These gadgets are extremely powerful, allowing people to know their location at all times, to explore unknown places and to avoid getting lost. But they also affect perception and judgment. When people are told which way to turn, it relieves them of the need to create their own routes and remember them. They pay less attention to their surroundings. And neuroscientists can now see that brain behavior changes when people rely on turn-by-turn directions. In a study published in Nature Communications in 2017, researchers asked subjects to navigate a virtual simulation of London’s Soho neighborhood and monitored their brain activity, specifically the hippocampus, which is integral to spatial navigation. Those who were guided by directions showed less activity in this part of the brain than participants who navigated without the device. “The hippocampus makes an internal map of the environment and this map becomes active only when you are engaged in navigating and not using GPS,” Amir-Homayoun Javadi, one of the study’s authors, told me. The hippocampus is crucial to many aspects of daily life. It allows us to orient in space and know where we are by creating cognitive maps. It also allows us to recall events from the past, what is known as episodic memory. And, remarkably, it is the part of the brain that neuroscientists believe gives us the ability to imagine ourselves in the future. Studies have long shown the hippocampus is highly susceptible to experience. (London’s taxi drivers famously […]

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Have you ever launched into a workout feeling slightly down or maybe a little “stressed out?” But by the end of the workout, your mind had cleared and your mood has lifted. That’s the magic of exercise! Research shows regular physical activity benefits brain function in more than one way. Not only can it spur the growth of new nerve cells in part of the brain involved in memory, a process called neurogenesis, it also boosts mood. Yes, the “feel good” effect of exercise is real, and it’s one reason people keep doing it. Beyond the known health benefits, exercising regularly helps you maintain a healthy state of mind and better deal with stress. We know that longer-term exercise has physical and mental health benefits. But what about a single, vigorous bout of exercise, a high-intensity interval training session? What impact does it have on mood? According to some research, 30 minutes of high-intensity exercise rivals anti-depressant medications for lifting the mood of people suffering from depression. It’s not clear why intense exercise boosts mood, but a theory is that the endorphin release you get from a kick-butt workout has beneficial effects on the brain and on mood. What’s so special about endorphins? They’re natural chemicals your brain produces that have a pain-relieving, calming effect. Your brain makes more endorphins when you’re in pain or are under stress, as during challenging exercise. Fortunately, it’s a good kind of stress! The purpose of endorphin release is to mask the discomfort and ease the pain of working your body to the max. In fact, these chemicals are similar to opioid medications people take for severe pain. They also bring about feelings of calm, peace, and pleasure. So, it’s not hard to see why exercise is a mood booster. It’s also not […]

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We’re sorry: video playback cannot be initialized on your browser at this time. Load this talk on ted.com Let me start with the brain and the functions of learning and memory, because what we’ve discovered over the past 10 or so years is that you need sleep after learning to essentially hit the save button on those new memories so that you don’t forget. But recently, we discovered that you also need sleep before learning to actually prepare your brain, almost like a dry sponge ready to initially soak up new information. And without sleep, the memory circuits of the brain essentially become waterlogged, as it were, and you can’t absorb new memories. So let me show you the data. Here in this study, we decided to test the hypothesis that pulling the all-nighter was a good idea. So we took a group of individuals and we assigned them to one of two experimental groups: a sleep group and a sleep deprivation group. Now the sleep group, they’re going to get a full eight hours of slumber, but the deprivation group, we’re going to keep them awake in the laboratory, under full supervision. There’s no naps or caffeine, by the way, so it’s miserable for everyone involved. And then the next day, we’re going to place those participants inside an MRI scanner and we’re going to have them try and learn a whole list of new facts as we’re taking snapshots of brain activity. And then we’re going to test them to see how effective that learning has been. And that’s what you’re looking at here on the vertical axis. And when you put those two groups head to head, what you find is a quite significant, 40-percent deficit in the ability of the brain to make new memories […]

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Less than 20 years ago, people thought that running or going regularly to the gym was for fitness freaks. But step outside your front door today and you can barely move for joggers and cyclists, while it’s entirely normal to be a member of a gym. In short, most people understand that their physical wellbeing is largely down to themselves, and that it can be vastly improved if only they choose to do so. But what most don’t realise is that exactly the same is true of their brain fitness, too. Just as our bodies age, so do our brains — with consequences that range from the irritating, such as forgetting why we came into a room, to the terrifying, such as dementia. However, just as with our physical health, there are a range of options available to us to improve our brain health. In fact, the single most important discovery neuroscientists have made since I first became a brain surgeon 15 years ago is that your brain’s health is largely within your own control. The brain has a remarkable ability to heal itself. We already know, for example, that every brain can make a comeback following a devastating illness or injury. Neurosurgeons like myself witness the living proof in patients who’ve experienced strokes, injuries or brain cancer yet who manage to make incredible recoveries. Neuro gym: The pecking order When you’re trying to remember things, use the lesson of the pecking pigeons (see main article) and intentionally practise area-restricted searches. Diligently scour your brain, first for categories and then for items in each category. This easy exercise takes less than five minutes — all you need is a piece of paper and a pencil. Set a timer for two minutes then write down the names of as many […]

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