http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120307094653.htm
The scientists discovered that some 2,000 genes in a region of the male zebra finch's brain known as "Area X" are significantly linked to singing. More than 1,500 genes in this region, a critical part of the bird's song circuitry, are being reported for the first time. Previously, a group of scientists including the UCLA team had identified some 400 genes in Area X. All the genes' levels of expression change when the bird sings.
"We did not know before that all of these genes are regulated by singing," said Stephanie White, a UCLA associate professor of integrative biology and physiology and senior author of the new study. She believes the 2,000 genes -- at least some of which she believes are also shared by humans -- are likely important for human speech.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
letter/ # link to emotion of words
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110216123539.htm
For one experiment, Topolinski used a set of number sequences that correspond to positive words, like 54323 ("liebe" -- love) and 373863 ("freund" -- friend), and a set for negative words, like 7245346 ("schleim" -- slime) and 26478 ("angst" -- fear). Volunteers were handed a cell phone with stickers over the buttons so they could only see the numbers, not the corresponding letters, and were told to type the number sequences. After typing each one, they rated how pleasant it had been to dial the number on the phone. Volunteers believed they were participating in a study on ergonomics -- in the debriefing afterward, none had any idea that the numbers might relate to words.
On average, volunteers preferred dialing numbers that related to positive words over those related to negative words. Merely dialing the numbers that corresponded to those letters -- not even pushing them multiple times, as you'd usually do to text words on a 10-digit keypad -- was enough to activate the concepts in their minds.
Topolinski relates these findings to a psychology concept called "embodiment" -- the idea that certain body movements can make you think about related ideas
For one experiment, Topolinski used a set of number sequences that correspond to positive words, like 54323 ("liebe" -- love) and 373863 ("freund" -- friend), and a set for negative words, like 7245346 ("schleim" -- slime) and 26478 ("angst" -- fear). Volunteers were handed a cell phone with stickers over the buttons so they could only see the numbers, not the corresponding letters, and were told to type the number sequences. After typing each one, they rated how pleasant it had been to dial the number on the phone. Volunteers believed they were participating in a study on ergonomics -- in the debriefing afterward, none had any idea that the numbers might relate to words.
On average, volunteers preferred dialing numbers that related to positive words over those related to negative words. Merely dialing the numbers that corresponded to those letters -- not even pushing them multiple times, as you'd usually do to text words on a 10-digit keypad -- was enough to activate the concepts in their minds.
Topolinski relates these findings to a psychology concept called "embodiment" -- the idea that certain body movements can make you think about related ideas
right hand keyboard letters happier
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120307112711.htm
LOL!
Some words are spelled with more letters on the right side of the keyboard, others with more letters on the left. In a series of three experiments, the researchers investigated whether differences in the way words are typed correspond to differences in their meanings. They found that the meanings of words in English, Dutch and Spanish were related to the way people typed them on the QWERTY keyboard. Overall, words with more right-side letters were rated more positive in meaning than words with more left-side letters. This effect was visible in all three languages and was not affected by either word length, letter frequency or handedness.
The QWERTY effect was also found when people judged the meanings of fictitious words like “pleek,” and was strongest in new words and abbreviations like “greenwash” and “LOL” coined after the invention of QWERTY.Why should the positions of the keys matter? The authors suggest that because there are more letters on the left of the keyboard midline than on the right, letters on the right might be easier to type, which could lead to positive feelings. In other words, when people type words composed of more right-side letters, they have more positive feelings, and when they type words composed of more left-side letters, they have more negative feelings.
LOL!
Some words are spelled with more letters on the right side of the keyboard, others with more letters on the left. In a series of three experiments, the researchers investigated whether differences in the way words are typed correspond to differences in their meanings. They found that the meanings of words in English, Dutch and Spanish were related to the way people typed them on the QWERTY keyboard. Overall, words with more right-side letters were rated more positive in meaning than words with more left-side letters. This effect was visible in all three languages and was not affected by either word length, letter frequency or handedness.
The QWERTY effect was also found when people judged the meanings of fictitious words like “pleek,” and was strongest in new words and abbreviations like “greenwash” and “LOL” coined after the invention of QWERTY.Why should the positions of the keys matter? The authors suggest that because there are more letters on the left of the keyboard midline than on the right, letters on the right might be easier to type, which could lead to positive feelings. In other words, when people type words composed of more right-side letters, they have more positive feelings, and when they type words composed of more left-side letters, they have more negative feelings.
pinpoint brain location for tone sweeping
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120308132829.htm
In addition to finding the site where FM sweep selectivity begins, the researchers discovered how auditory neurons in the midbrain respond to these frequency changes. Combining physical measurements with computational models confirmed that the recorded neurons were able to selectively respond to FM sweeps based on their directions. For example, some neurons were more sensitive to upward sweeps, while others responded more to downward sweeps.
"Our findings suggest that neural networks in the midbrain can convert from non-selective neurons that process all sounds to direction-selective neurons that help us give meanings to words based on how they are spoken. That's a very fundamental process," says Wu.
Wu says he plans to continue this line of research, with an eye -- or ear -- toward helping people with hearing-related disorders. "We might be able to target this area of the midbrain for treatment in the near future," he says.
Knowing the direction of an FM sweep -- if it is rising or falling, for example -- and decoding its meaning, is important in every language. The significance of the direction of an FM sweep is most evident in tone languages such as Mandarin Chinese, in which rising or dipping frequencies within a single syllable can change the meaning of a word.
In their paper, the researchers pinpointed the brain region in rats where the task of sorting FM sweeps begins.
"This type of processing is very important for understanding language and speech in humans," says Guangying Wu, principal investigator of the study and a Broad Senior Research Fellow in Brain Circuitry at Caltech. "There are some people who have deficits in processing this kind of changing frequency; they experience difficulty in reading and learning language, and in perceiving the emotional states of speakers. Our research might help us understand these types of disorders, and may give some clues for future therapeutic designs or designs for prostheses like hearing implants."
Saturday, March 3, 2012
# of words baby should know
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/young-children/children-development/how-many-words-should-a-2-year-old-know/article2355718/
In fact, Prof. Rescorla, director of the Child Study Institute at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, has suggested that the normal range for a two-year-old is 75 to 225 words.
This and other work is aimed at trying to pinpoint children who can benefit from early intervention, since language delays can have long-lasting negative effects on a child’s education and behaviour.
Diane Pesco, an assistant professor in Concordia’s Department of Education, and her co-author Daniela O’Neill of the University of Waterloo, have found that low scores on early language testing were an accurate predictor of language problems at age of 5 and 6...
The LUI questionnaire captures not just vocabulary but also children’s use of language in a social context: how they get a parent’s attention, join a conversation, make jokes or use language to get things done.
As such, words and language are a window into a much broader range of abilities. For instance, children’s use of words like “think” and “know” reflect a child’s growing understanding of other people’s preferences and thoughts.
“It’s related to social competence,” she says.
This is a useful way for parents to frame their children’s language development, too. Instead of treating words and language as an academic subject, consider them as tools for rich conversation.
While reading a book, instead of asking “What is this?” while pointing to a page, ask “Why do you think that boy ran after the dog?” she says.
When talking with children, she suggests parents consider striking a balance between a child’s language comfort zone and more challenging concepts.
“We want to scaffold them toward more complex language,” she says.
---------
D - one of my home town academics!
"her co-author Daniela O’Neill of the University of Waterloo..."
--------------
http://clearchannelphoenix.com/beth-and-friends-on-kez/family/kids/the-25-words-everyone-should-know-by-age-two/
Here are the 25 words!
Mommy
Daddy
Baby
Milk
Juice
Hello
Ball
Yes
No
Dog
Cat
Nose
Eye
Banana
Biscuit
Car
Hot
Thank you
Bath
Shoe
Hat
Book
All gone
More
Bye bye
In fact, Prof. Rescorla, director of the Child Study Institute at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, has suggested that the normal range for a two-year-old is 75 to 225 words.
This and other work is aimed at trying to pinpoint children who can benefit from early intervention, since language delays can have long-lasting negative effects on a child’s education and behaviour.
Diane Pesco, an assistant professor in Concordia’s Department of Education, and her co-author Daniela O’Neill of the University of Waterloo, have found that low scores on early language testing were an accurate predictor of language problems at age of 5 and 6...
The LUI questionnaire captures not just vocabulary but also children’s use of language in a social context: how they get a parent’s attention, join a conversation, make jokes or use language to get things done.
As such, words and language are a window into a much broader range of abilities. For instance, children’s use of words like “think” and “know” reflect a child’s growing understanding of other people’s preferences and thoughts.
“It’s related to social competence,” she says.
This is a useful way for parents to frame their children’s language development, too. Instead of treating words and language as an academic subject, consider them as tools for rich conversation.
While reading a book, instead of asking “What is this?” while pointing to a page, ask “Why do you think that boy ran after the dog?” she says.
When talking with children, she suggests parents consider striking a balance between a child’s language comfort zone and more challenging concepts.
“We want to scaffold them toward more complex language,” she says.
---------
D - one of my home town academics!
"her co-author Daniela O’Neill of the University of Waterloo..."
--------------
http://clearchannelphoenix.com/beth-and-friends-on-kez/family/kids/the-25-words-everyone-should-know-by-age-two/
Here are the 25 words!
Mommy
Daddy
Baby
Milk
Juice
Hello
Ball
Yes
No
Dog
Cat
Nose
Eye
Banana
Biscuit
Car
Hot
Thank you
Bath
Shoe
Hat
Book
All gone
More
Bye bye
Friday, March 2, 2012
prufred yore rayzoomay
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/02/23/grammar-lessons-all-job-seekers-should-know/?ncid=dynalduscare00000003
1. Know your homophones
A quick refresher:
Their, they're, there
Their: The possessive form of "they." ("Applicants submitted their error-free cover letters.")
They're: The contraction of "they are." ("I think they're getting the hang of this grammar thing.")
There: A location. ("The pile of cover letters is over there.")
2. Use apostrophes properly
Apostrophes are used for a few reasons:
They indicate the possessive: "In my last job, I managed the CEO's calendar."
They indicate the omission of letters in words (i.e., in contractions).
They indicate the exclusion of numbers in dates: "I graduated college in '05."
They indicate time or quantity: "I must give my current employers two weeks' notice."
3. Keep tenses consistent
Similarly, as a general rule, all activities or accomplishments that you completed in the past should be in the past tense. Activities that you perform now should be in the present tense. This should be kept consistent throughout your résumé.
4. Proofread and then proofread again
----------------
D - resume can take 1 or 2 accents.
Used to be alt-0233.
1. Know your homophones
A quick refresher:
Their, they're, there
Their: The possessive form of "they." ("Applicants submitted their error-free cover letters.")
They're: The contraction of "they are." ("I think they're getting the hang of this grammar thing.")
There: A location. ("The pile of cover letters is over there.")
2. Use apostrophes properly
Apostrophes are used for a few reasons:
They indicate the possessive: "In my last job, I managed the CEO's calendar."
They indicate the omission of letters in words (i.e., in contractions).
They indicate the exclusion of numbers in dates: "I graduated college in '05."
They indicate time or quantity: "I must give my current employers two weeks' notice."
3. Keep tenses consistent
Similarly, as a general rule, all activities or accomplishments that you completed in the past should be in the past tense. Activities that you perform now should be in the present tense. This should be kept consistent throughout your résumé.
4. Proofread and then proofread again
----------------
D - resume can take 1 or 2 accents.
Used to be alt-0233.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
naming of the calendar months
http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/how_the_quest_for_the_perfect_calendar_accidentally_created_february_30
I say "loose" because while this new calendar had 365 days and its 30-day and 31-day months no longer accurately tracked the phases of the Moon, the Romans clearly weren't too bothered about overly precise timekeeping. For one thing, there were only ten months, which correspond to the modern March through December and totaled 304 days of the year.
This, incidentally, is why the ninth through twelfth months have names - September, October, November, December - that derive from the Latin words for seven through ten. Those once were their positions in the Roman calendar. The end of the year between the final month December and first month March belonged to no specific month. This might seem like horribly shoddy timekeeping, but the early Romans were primarily concerned with practical questions of the harvest. The wintry period between December and March didn't factor into the harvest, so what was the point of assigning specific months to describe them?
---------
http://www.psychologistworld.com/memory/mnemonics.php
The full mnemonic is "Thirty days hath September/April, June and November/All the rest have thirty-one/except February alone/which has eight and a score/until leap year gives it one day more."
---------
D - just to make it even less helpful, the etymological # basis for the months does not even coincide with what month they are. I found this one out the hard way. This past year, I had to renew my guard license. I somehow thought September was month 8 and not 9. My brain assumed September was month 8. This nearly made me unable to work as I rushed to complete the renewal at the last minute.
D - this is how I started thinking about expanding a # system to a base-12 instead of base-10. I expand on the simple and rational naming conventions in this fashion. Instead of needing to denote 11 and 12 with a 10+1 and +2 system, the base-16 hexadecimal system allows equal ease into double digits. Note that the English tradition refers to 12 as a dozen, and 20 as a score. Eleven and twelve both has unit 'single digit' style names, unlike the much more regular "-teen" from 13 to 19. The similarity of the 'teen' sound to 'ty' for 20s is most unfortunate.
D- aside: days of the week.
Germanic - from old English.
Sunday - sun. Monday - moon. Tuesday - Norse god Tyr. Wednesday Wodan (Odin). Thursday - Thor. Friday - goddess Frige. Saturday - Saturn, associated with Greek titan and progenitor of their gods, Cronos.
Haha ... TGIF! It's GODDESS day! Yessirreee.
I say "loose" because while this new calendar had 365 days and its 30-day and 31-day months no longer accurately tracked the phases of the Moon, the Romans clearly weren't too bothered about overly precise timekeeping. For one thing, there were only ten months, which correspond to the modern March through December and totaled 304 days of the year.
This, incidentally, is why the ninth through twelfth months have names - September, October, November, December - that derive from the Latin words for seven through ten. Those once were their positions in the Roman calendar. The end of the year between the final month December and first month March belonged to no specific month. This might seem like horribly shoddy timekeeping, but the early Romans were primarily concerned with practical questions of the harvest. The wintry period between December and March didn't factor into the harvest, so what was the point of assigning specific months to describe them?
---------
http://www.psychologistworld.com/memory/mnemonics.php
The full mnemonic is "Thirty days hath September/April, June and November/All the rest have thirty-one/except February alone/which has eight and a score/until leap year gives it one day more."
---------
D - just to make it even less helpful, the etymological # basis for the months does not even coincide with what month they are. I found this one out the hard way. This past year, I had to renew my guard license. I somehow thought September was month 8 and not 9. My brain assumed September was month 8. This nearly made me unable to work as I rushed to complete the renewal at the last minute.
D - this is how I started thinking about expanding a # system to a base-12 instead of base-10. I expand on the simple and rational naming conventions in this fashion. Instead of needing to denote 11 and 12 with a 10+1 and +2 system, the base-16 hexadecimal system allows equal ease into double digits. Note that the English tradition refers to 12 as a dozen, and 20 as a score. Eleven and twelve both has unit 'single digit' style names, unlike the much more regular "-teen" from 13 to 19. The similarity of the 'teen' sound to 'ty' for 20s is most unfortunate.
D- aside: days of the week.
Germanic - from old English.
Sunday - sun. Monday - moon. Tuesday - Norse god Tyr. Wednesday Wodan (Odin). Thursday - Thor. Friday - goddess Frige. Saturday - Saturn, associated with Greek titan and progenitor of their gods, Cronos.
Haha ... TGIF! It's GODDESS day! Yessirreee.
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