If multitasking is scrambling our brains, what is the solution to information overload and the attention problems that it causes?
January 18th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“We need to blinker ourselves, to better monitor our attentional focus. Enforced periods of no email or internet to allow us to sustain concentration have been shown to be tremendously helpful. And breaks – even a 15-minute break every two or three hours – make us more productive in the long run. Also, prioritising tasks is very important. So many of us find that while we’re working on one task, a nagging voice pops up in our heads saying we should be doing something else. If you explicitly prioritise your “to do” list, you know that whatever you’re working on now is the most important thing you should be doing.”
Extract from Q & A with neuroscientist Daniel J Levitin, author of *The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight In The Age Of Information Overload”.
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How can afternoon naps help our brains to work more efficiently?
January 18th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“The brain has an attentional mode called the “mind wandering mode” that was only recently identified. This is when thoughts move seamlessly from one to another, often to unrelated thoughts, without you controlling where they go. This brain state acts as a neural reset button, allowing us to come back to our work with a refreshed perspective. Different people find they enter this mode in different ways: reading, a walk in nature, looking at art, meditating, and napping. A 15-minute nap can produce the equivalent of a 10-point boost in IQ.”
Extract from Q & A with neuroscientist Daniel J Levitin, author of *The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight In The Age Of Information Overload”.
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A review of the film “American Sniper”
January 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The latest directorial offering from the amazing 84 year old Clint Eastwood is this stunning action movie which I have reviewed here.
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Like foreign travel? Thinking of where to go in 2015? Here are 52 suggestions.
January 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Untrammeled oases beckon, once-avoided destinations become must-sees and familiar cities offer new reasons to visit. The “New York Times ” has compiled a list of 52 Places to Go In 2015.
My home city of Manchester has secured a huge coup by being named one of the world’s top tourism destinations. It is the only British city to have been named on the “New York Times” list with neither London or Birmingham featuring. Ranked 26th out of 52, it has soared above renowned destinations such as the Italian capital Rome and idyllic spots such as Miami Beach in Florida.
In response to the list, the “Manchester Evening News” has listed the delights of the city.
I lived and studied in Manchester until I was 23 and regularly visit the city – but my wife of 33 years has never been there!
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The top 20 artificial intelligence films – in pictures
January 16th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I love the cinema and science-fiction is one of my favourite genres. A recurrent theme of the sci-fi movie is artificial intelligence (AI) and I’m really looking forward to seeing the forthcoming “Ex Machina”.
Meanwhile one reviewer lists his 20 top AI films here. I’ve seen all except three (one of which is Ex Machina”).
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North Korea’s family of three dictators
January 15th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In the global community, no nation is as closed and inscrutable and unpredictable as North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This is why I am currently reading “North Korea” State Of Paranoia” by Paul French.
Throughout its life-time, the DPRK has been ruled with utter totalitarianism by a succession of three dictators:
- Kim Il-sung or Kim 1 or ‘the Great Leader’- the original dictator who ruled the country from 1948-1994
- Kim Jong-il or Kim 2 or ‘the Dear Leader’ – the eldest son of Kim Il-sung who ruled the country from 1994-2011
- Kim Jong-un or Kim 3 or the ‘Great Successor’- the third son of Kim Jong-il and a grandson of Kim Il-sung who has ruled the country since 2011
All them have followed a peculiar political philosophy called ‘Juche’ described as Kim Il-sung’s “original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought”. French describes it as ” an indigenous revolutionary doctrine fusing the basic tenets of Marxist-Leninism with elements of Maoism and Confucianism and traditional Korean social systems”.
The theory is that popular masses are placed in the centre of everything and the leader is the center of the masses. In practice, it is an attempt to make the nation self-reliant and self-sufficient and involves a policy of ‘military first’ in terms of power and resources.
The reality is that North Korea is desperarely poor and massively dependent on international aid. While it seeks to develop nuclear arsenals, its populace is constantly on the edge of famine. Aid agencies have estimated that up to two million people have died since the mid-1990s because of acute food shortages caused by natural disasters and economic mismanagement.
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Word of the day: stoma
January 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
A stoma in medical terms is an artificial opening between a hollow organ and the outside of the body constructed to permit the passage of body fluids or waste products.
Two types of operation give rise to such a stoma: a clostomy which creates an opening for faeces or a urostomy which creates an opening for urine.
I had never come across the word stoma until I read a novel called “Unexpected Lessons In Love” [my review here].
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What did Jane Hawking think of the film “The Theory Of Everything”?
January 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I was delighted to see Eddie Redmayne win a Golden Globe award for his brilliant portrayal of the scientist Stephen Hawking in the film “The Theory Of Everything” [my review here].
The movie is based on a book by Hawking’s ex-wife Jane who is represented by Felicity Jones. So what did Jane think of the film? You can find out here.
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Let me assure my American readers: I have no problem at all visiting Birmingham (UK)
January 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“There are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in,”
This was the absurd comment made at the weekend on Fox News by the so-called terrorism expert Steve Emerson who amazingly has advised all sorts of Congressional committees.
Birmingham is not totally Muslim; some 22% identify themselves as Muslim. Birmingham has a good record of community relations and no British person fears to go there.
I am not Muslim but I shall be visiting the city twice this month: once to speak at a conference on the water sector and then again to meet colleagues at the statutory body which represent water consumers. I am looking forward to the occasions.
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Remembering the earthquake in Haiti five years ago today
January 12th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Exactly five years ago today, the people of Haiti suffered a terrible earthquake that registered a catastrophic 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale. What was the result and what has happened since?
- The death toll will never be known but estimates vary between 90,000-300,000.
- The number of people displaced was around 1.5 million.
- A cholera epidemic which started later that year has killed a further 9,000.
- According to one UN leader, the money needed in international aid is $2.2 billion.
- The amount of money pledged so far by international donors is $407 million – just 18% of the total required.
Source: article in today’s “Guardian” newspaper
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