In this post I am not exploring how the mind works; rather the focus is on what happens when it does work.

The concept of the quantum enigma, the mystery of physics’ encounter with consciousness, arises from demonstrated physical facts, and not from quantum theory itself. ( More )

Seeing patterns where none exist and other superstitious behaviors may be compensating for a lack of control according to a recent study: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95296627. Of course, the study does not take into consideration ( Read more... )

Regarding the neurological study of religious states, has anyone done a study focusing on ecstatic states? I know Andrew Newberg and others have compared contemplative states, such as those practiced by Tibetan monks and Catholic nuns. They've also scanned Pentecostals during their ecstatic states (check out the scans here.). Yet I'm having ( Read more... )

Like many, if not the majority of people in this group, I am an atheist, who believes that whether a person is a theist or an atheist is largely the result of neural traits. Neural traits are primarily caused by the genes ( Read more... )

Michael Shermer is a psychologist, author and well-known skeptic. He also writes a monthly column for Scientific American and contributes other articles to it, in addition to editing Skeptic magazine. He has an fairly short article up right now about why humans have a hard time thinking-as he puts it-statistically rather than anecdotally.

( Read more... )

goodbrains sent me this article regarding the possible evolutionary advantages related to mental conditions:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26410186/

Now I just need a bumper-sticker that reads: I'm not mental. I'm evolved!  ;-)

x-posted to neuroscience and trnsprsnl_psych

Hey people, view my blog, I have several new posts up which i think are quite interesting

Although this Mind Hacks blog post is from 2005, the article's subject may interest readers here. The post presents a case of possible possession (as described by the psychiatrists) of an individual, involving states of depersonalization, dissociation and hallucinations which were witnessed by others. The individual had been incarcerated for ( Read more... )

i am an author attempting to write a book that was originally about a character called namuh htrae. My actual name is Matthew Bowron, the book I am writing is called Namuh Htrae. The book was originally meant to be a fictional tale about an immortal woman who lived throughout historical periods of humanity, the tale being about her experiences ( Read more... )

While doing some research on autism spectrum disorders, I happened to notice in several sources that although such conditions, which include autism, asperger's and other developmental disorders, appear more predominantly among men, women who had the disorder seemed to have some variant of the x chromosome, one of the pair was damaged or was missing ( Read more... )