Picture of the week: a Sangaku
This five-meters long triple tablet was hung in 1797 in the Onnma shrine in the Aichi prefecture (Japan) and contains 30 problems. It is called a Sangaku, a mathematical ex-voto representing solved
“No evidence of Human Mirror Neurons”
That claim can be found in the latest issue of the Journal of Neurosciences.
If I were a sociologist of science, I would jump on mirror neurons - they are the perfect object if you want to study a
Maori Memories
In last February's issue of Child Development, I found a paper [1] from a team that investigates the problem of childhood memories among the Maoris. It turns out that when you ask them, Maoris
Abortion puzzles, part two
Last month, Nicola posted here on an apparent paradox in the doctrine of anti-choice activists. The paradox is the following: if embryos and foetuses are human beings in every relevant respect, so
The debate over maths in the Amazon: still counting points
Another paper, in Cognition, about the mathematical abilities of Amazonians [1]. This time, the Gibson/Everett view scored one point. They claim that language for numbers is not what allows us to
Neurotheology as an American Myth
Over at The Immanent Frame [1], historian Leigh Eric Schmidt has a paper about the current fMRI craze in religious studies (actually, The Immanent Frame has several posts about neurotheology).
Acc
The color of dreams
I recently re-read a 2002 paper [1] by philosopher and blogger Eric Schwitzgebel. The abstract is sure to catch the eye of people interested in cultural effects on cognition:
In the 1950s, dream