via videosift.com
Friday, 6 March 2009
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Facebook risks 'infantilising' the human mind
Social network sites risk infantilising the mid-21st century mind, leaving it characterised by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky sense of identity, according to a leading neuroscientist.
The startling warning from Lady Greenfield, professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln college, Oxford, and director of the Royal Institution, has led members of the government to admit their work on internet regulation has not extended to broader issues, such as the psychological impact on children.
She said she found it strange we are "enthusiastically embracing" the possible erosion of our identity through social networking sites, since those that use such sites can lose a sense of where they themselves "finish and the outside world begins".
She claimed that sense of identity can be eroded by "fast-paced, instant screen reactions, perhaps the next generation will define themselves by the responses of others".
Social networking sites can provide a "constant reassurance – that you are listened to, recognised, and important". Greenfield continued. This was coupled with a distancing from the stress of face-to-face, real-life conversation, which were "far more perilous … occur in real time, with no opportunity to think up clever or witty responses" and "require a sensitivity to voice tone, body language and perhaps even to pheromones, those sneaky molecules that we release and which others smell subconsciously".
She said she feared "real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitised and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf. Perhaps future generations will recoil with similar horror at the messiness, unpredictability and immediate personal involvement of a three-dimensional, real-time interaction."
The solutions, however, lay less in regulation as in education, culture and society.
Greenfield argued that the appeal of Facebook lay in the fact that "a child confined to the home every evening may find at the keyboard the kind of freedom of interaction and communication that earlier generations took for granted in the three-dimensional world of the street. But even given a choice, screen life can still be more appealing."
She quoted one user saying they had 900 friends, another saying the fact "that you can't see or hear other people makes it easier to reveal yourself in a way that you might not be comfortable with. You become less conscious of the individuals involved [including yourself], less inhibited, less embarrassed and less concerned about how you will be evaluated."
But Greenfield warned: "It is hard to see how living this way on a daily basis will not result in brains, or rather minds, different from those of previous generations. We know that the human brain is exquisitely sensitive to the outside world."
Full article here.
This woman has just said all the things I've been thinking about these sites for the last 4 or so years...
Monday, 23 February 2009
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Lost fan art - 'Simpons-Style'
I very much enjoy 'Shannon's' left eye in this picture. Also, 'Charlie' doesn't look right to me...
How I 'Lost' the Last Three Weeks
So it's happened. I've got sucked into yet another TV show and have wasted my evenings over the last three weeks watching episodes back-to-back until my body wins the fight against the caffeine and my left eyes starts twitching, before falling asleep on the sofa all undignified like. But Lost is well and truly worth it. Three weeks ago I decided that since almost everyone I know (and valued their opinions) held the show in such high regard, I would start watching Lou's copy of Season One. Little did I know that 4 days later she would need to purchase Season Two. Then 5 days later I was *ahem* downloading Season 3. Then 4 found its way on to my computer. By the time I had gasped at the idea that Ben, Jack and the contents of that coffin (trying not to spoil anyone here) were going to return to the Island, it was the day before the first episode of Season 5 was scheduled to air, and I was beyond being hooked and had entered the realms of nerdy obsession.
That's right my friends, I highly recommend this show if you are one of the 12 people left in the western world that hasn't seen it. But if you do watch it, be warned: you have to start at the beginning. It's not the kind of show that you can just pick up half way through.
Namaste.
Here are some links:
Official Lost Website
The Fuselage (JJ Abrams' Lost-related forum)
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
The Flatulent Cat - Yoga Postitions for over 50s
A message for yoga teachers in-training: don't forget that the over 50s have a different yoga experience - they are more likely to feel strain on their back and their knees, more likely to get confused and forget where their legs are and it's quite possible that they will be more inclined to break wind often during classes.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Prince of Persia
So it's that time again. Time for me to waffle on about how much I love a game I'm currently playing (there are much better/more important things to be talking about, I know). This time it's not from the Zelda, Katamari or Ico camps but from a francise I haven't before visited. I'm talking about the (apparently) classic games Prince of Persia.
Worryingly, I decided to buy this game having only seen one screenshot (see post about Jake Gyllenhaal) and nothing else, so it's to my great relief that I'm completely in love with it. Think of a cross between the illustrated beauty of Okami, crossed with the companionship of Ico and the broad lanscape and adventure of Shadow of the Colossus and you might have an idea of what this game is like. Oh and the cheek and borderline terrible wit of Han Solo and/or Indiana Jones in the shape of 'Prince' (you never actually learn his name and I resent having to call him that as it conjurs up images of tiny men in purple tights).
You play as 'Prince' who, looking for his beloved donkey Farah, stumbles into a drama between a Princess and her father, which ends in 'The Tree of Life' being destroyed and the subsequent release of a demon which spreads 'corruption' across the land. You and the Princess - Elika, join forces to restore peace and light to the land and ultimately banish the demon back into incarceration.
Whilst I have made comparisons to Ico, Elika is no Yorda. She is a princess with great magical power and with the ability to carry you across great distances, heal you in battle, attack enemies at will, rescue you from falling, and heal the 'corrupted' lands. In the words of Hilary Goldstein from IGN in her review: "This is a story about love. Not the love between the Prince and Elika, but between you and Elika". She is truly awesome. I have a slight crush on 'Prince' too... even if he is a bit buff and all... "These trousers were new!" (you'll get that when you've played it).
So yeah, I don't want to go on and on about it but I highly recommend this game and implore you to at list visit these sites to read more about it from the experts and then maybe buy it.
IGN review of Prince of Persia (XBox 360) - 9.3 (Outstanding)
Official Prince of Persia website - Ubisoft
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Friday, 21 November 2008
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Friday, 14 November 2008
Monday, 10 November 2008
So we're going to see the Boosh...
I was a massive fan of the first series and had a few laughs at the second but it has since descended into student-style in-jokes and fashionable band name-dropping now... not to mention Noel Fielding's head (and hair) getting bigger and bigger. However. I was offered tickets to see the live show in Portsmouth, and Bek and me sure as hell aren't missing an opportunity to see Julian Barrett in the flesh! Don't let me down, Moon.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
