Under the Surface, the Brain Seethes With Undiscovered Activity (ferret alert)

University of Rochester Press Release ^ | October 6, 2004 | Jonathan Sherwood

[nuconvert]

Ferret neurons, pong

[eno_]

Placing the ferrets in a darkened room revealed that older ferrets’ brains were still humming along at 80 percent as if they were processing visual information.

Screen saver?

[NonValueAdded]

Holy SETI, Batman, do you think they'll upgrade us to BOINC?

[glorgau]

So, the analogy is that child ferrets are like Democrats in that they see something but do not process it as a function of reality?

[Little Pig]

I wonder if that activity is the brain's way of maintaining a record of its surroundings, so that it can react more quickly when the eyes are re-opened. Fascinating study. I'd be interested to see the experiment reproduced in humans, to see if the level of "idle" processing might be even higher (as a human would actually make plans about his surroundings while not looking at it).

[Atlantic Friend]

More seriously, if adult brain activity seems to emulate our initial thought processes, doesn't that take away the Liberals' argument that a foetus isn't really a human being before a few months after fertilization ?

[Ben Chad]

This explains the headache I get after injesting bile from the liberal media.

[nuconvert]

"... child ferrets are like Democrats in that they see something but do not process it as a function of reality?"

Very similar

[Unknowing]

Whenever a sawbones uses the word "brain," it breaks my heart.

[TX Bluebonnet]

Thinking in pictures?

[AndrewC]

The big question here is what is the brain doing when it’s idling, because it’s obviously doing something important.”

It's staying alive.

Seriously, it is probably a refreshing process.

[aruanan]

This finding may help lead to a better understanding of how neurons decode our world and how our perception of reality is shaped.

Or more likely, "This finding may help lead to a better understanding of how neurons are used to decode our world and how we shape our perception of reality."

[Edgerunner]

"So, the analogy is that child ferrets are like Democrats in that they see something but do not process it as a function of reality?"

Fantastic insite i must say!

[aruanan]

Weliky, in a bit of irony, set 12 ferrets watching the reality-stretching film The Matrix.

What about 12 rats watching the reality-stretching first presidential debate?

[AdmSmith]

Here we have the ferret visualization program (appropriate name) http://ferret.pmel.noaa.gov/Ferret/

[nuconvert]

I didn't notice any mention of democrats on that page, though it was developed in Seattle.

[metesky]

ferret?

This account has been banned or suspended.

---

Okay

[ckilmer]

Investor's Business Daily
As Internet Spreads, Some Luster Fading
Thursday October 7, 7:00 pm ET
Brian Deagon

http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/041007/tech01_1.html
It's the 10th anniversary of the Internet going mainstream, and Jeffrey Cole is once again taking stock of the medium.
In each of the last four years, Cole has written an extensive study on the social implications of the Web. Now with the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California, he previously did the report at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The study provides a broad look at the influence of the Internet on Americans. It examines the behavior and views of a national sample of 2,000 Internet users.

In 1994 only about 2 million computers were connected to the Internet, and they were used mostly by academics, scientists and corporate researchers.

By the time Cole launched his Digital Future Project, there were more than 70 million users.

The Internet is used by 75% of Americans today, and online technology is present in 66% of homes. Cole spoke to IBD about some of his latest findings.

IBD: Any surprises in this year's study?

Cole: One new thing we found in this study is that parents are beginning to lose some enthusiasm about the Internet and are beginning to equate it with TV. The Internet provides some unusual issues for parents. There is lots of information that could be harmful to kids, but parents still think it's important to have access to the Internet.

Experienced users also show less interest in e-mail answering. The most experienced users check e-mails less frequently than they used to. Overall, people seem to be struggling to find some balance. Another thing is that the Internet is becoming the most important source of information for users, but its credibility is dropping.

IBD: How so?

Cole: Historically, Americans have trusted the major mass media and as such they never really developed good critical media skills, such as (checking) whether information they're getting is from reliable sources.

This trust was transferred to the Internet. They found lots of great information on the Web, but they also discovered lots of crap. Those who could not make that distinction were misled or got burned. Now users are picking out which sources they can believe, and that's good for the established media. Information posted by individuals has the lowest credibility.

IBD: You have urged for more research on the Internet's impact on society. Why?

Cole: It took a generation to understand how we incorporate TV into our lives. It took at least that long to understand things like the impact of TV violence. The Web is changing so fast and we understand the pace of change and what's occurring, but none of us understands the long-term consequences of what that is.

IBD: Can you cite some examples of that change?

Cole: It's changing politics and fund-raising. It's changing the music business. Children's relationships with friends have changed. Kids are using cell phones and e-mail to make contacts, and parents don't really know who their friends are.

Dating has completely changed. People who wrote letters and stopped doing so because of the phone are now writing letters again, using e-mail.

IBD: What did you identify in terms of the use of broadband?

Cole: The next time we go into the field, in January, we expect to find that a majority of homes, 52%, will have broadband. Broadband changes everything. As people get used to the higher speed, that changes the relationship they have with the Internet long term.

It has caused people to move the Internet out of the den and into a family room or kitchen. The fact that it's always on makes it easier to get information than through the phone or yellow pages. Wireless technology enables you to integrate that even further into your life.

IBD: Are consumers getting over fears about buying over the Internet and security?

Cole: Fears of privacy and security have been there from the beginning, but that gap is closing. People are buying more even though fears have not gone away.