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Lumo

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Posts posted by Lumo

  1. Hi Lumo

    I did the one on Parkinson's, and Good Brain, Bad Brain. Drug Origins, which is very good. The GB,BB is a three-part series. I'm starting part one in September. I wanted to do them in order, but Part 1 wasn't available. I encourage you to do all three. They're very good.

     

    Hi Cheryl, welcome to the forums :-)

     

    I thought the Parkinson's one was well done, so also did the subsequent one on drug origins. I did not think that one was nearly as well done (for example, no mention of drug development through animal testing). It was a shorter course, and I think it glossed over many issues.

     

    I also missed the first of the good brain, bad brain series and I might take it next time it comes around too.

  2. Glad you like the S7 after getting it. I also have the S7, I was hesitant about it as there were other Samsung ones 10 euro or so a month cheaper, but a friend really recommended the S7 to me and after using it for a while I agree it is fantastic - by far the best smart phone I have ever had (however, I have not had all that many). The screen, the camera, the speed, all great.

  3. That's what I meant, I was typing fast and summarizing badly. We don't become conscious of decisions to do things until after those actions have already begun, sometimes up to several seconds after. The obvious issue with it being it's hard to pin down the precise moment a test subject makes a decision, because we have only their word for it, and it takes time for them to vocalize it.

     

    Yes, I remember one study in particular where the participants had to look at a screen and make a decision about what they saw (for example, I agree or I disagree)  and then they had to press a button with their left hand for one choice or their right hand for the other choice. Their brains were being scanned throughout the experiment and from the scans the experimenters could reliably predict almost seven seconds before the participant pressed either button, which button they would ultimately press. The participants claimed they made the decision a split second before pressing the left or right button, putting the results of the scan before when they claimed to make the decision. I found that weird, but as you say, it's very hard, if not impossible, to get the timing accurate in these studies as it relies on believing what the participant said about something that is hard to pin down.

  4. I've been trying to learn more about Philosophy just through videos on Youtube. I've found the School of Life and Wireless Philosophy channels to be very useful - they make short videos which break down famous philosophers works into digestible chunks. They in no way cover everything there is to know, but they have certainly encouraged me to look deeper into the topics.

     

    I've just come across an Introduction to Philosophy course on Coursera which sounds rather interesting. I'm planning on enrolling later today - it'll be a nice way to spend the summer. :)

     

    I've tried reading some philosophical works myself, and while there are some authors I'm glad I've stumbled upon such as Sartre, a lot of the theories go over my head. I feel something like Coursera will give me more of a foundation first.

     

    I took some philosophy courses as an undergraduate alongside the psychology I was actually studying. I really liked philosophy. I will look at those youtube channels you mentioned, I will also look into the Coursera course on philosophy, it sounds interesting.

     

     

    I studied Philosophy in college for my minor subject and I freaking loved it. I still have my books on philosophy of mind, morality, ethics and free will. A bunch of that ties in interestingly to psychology, if you have any interest in that - or maybe not ties in, but they provide two different views of questions, like how if we don't have free will how does that affect our moral responsibility to do things, and given that science shows physiologically we don't have free will, then why psychologically do we feel like we do, etc. I've been meaning to do that Coursera Philosophy course for a while to refresh my memory.

     

    While the study of free will is fascinating, I was not aware that science shows that we don't have free will. There are some clever experiments that make one question when a decision is made versus when we consciously perceive the decision, but I am not sure any show we don't have free will.

  5. The Yahoo homepage was probably the first webpage I ever saw. Shortly after that, when we got the internet at home, I clearly remember the guy in the shop showing how the dial up modem worked then loading the yahoo homepage.

     

    Then google came along and my interactions with yahoo dropped to near zero (it's now just the annoying search engine that firefox defaults to sometimes).

     

    But I must admit, I am a bit sad or nostalgic to see yahoo sell off most of its business to other companies. It feels almost like the end of an era.

     

     

    Yahoo to sell core web business to Verizon for nearly $5bn

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/25/yahoo-to-sell-core-web-business-to-verizon

     

     

     

     

  6. We watched Marcella, a BBC production through Netflix.  Detective returns to her old Murder Squad 12 years after leaving.  Her marriage is falling apart and there is a serial killer on the loose with definite similarities to a guy she put away years ago.  Only 8 episodes long, and I'm hoping they continue next year, as it's only been broadcast in the UK last April.  Great characterizations!

     

    I had not heard of this, but based on your description we watched it, thank you. It really is good, good characters, good story and a good length (we watched it over 4 nights or so). I also hope they make a second season next year.

  7. I had not seen Coursera before, thanks, I'm having a look now. I know what you mean about not having the time to commit, last time I looked at futurelearn about six months ago, I just couldn't imagine where the time would come from. However, this summer I have a bit more free time so am going to see if I can complete a course or two. I've already seem some on coursera that look good.

  8. Glad it reminded you both! :D

    Here's your Summer 3rd Movement Marie, with Nigel Kennedy. Just love this guys energy, joy and passion for his music and his complete lack of elitism. Love how he interacts with other members of the orchestra too :D

     

    Fantastic piece, thank you - and I completely agree, he seems to have such passion and be involved with everyone around him.

  9. Started working/training from home today. I started with a bang, lol!!

     

    I got my mac last Friday and set it up. Yesterday I called tech to find out how to maneuver around the computer and to get the password set up. I also needed assistance with my headset. Well, this morning I was ready and had logged on five minutes early, only to hit a brick wall. NOTHING wanted to work right! I was finally able to get with a tech who got me logged in, then I spent the first 1.5 hour getting on my trainers nerves (bless her heart, lol!) because I am an apple virgin. This screen will take a LOT of getting used to. 

     

    Lunch has been had, coffee consumed and now I feel a bit more able to face the mac. If the coffee doesn't help, then there is no help to be had. House work has been done and its so cool to be able to roam around the house a little and see the hubby and the doggy when I step out of my office. 

     

    Macs can be very confusing if one hasn't used them. The other week on a mac, I had to download a file and save it to a memory stick (something I do with PCs all the time), I had probably not used a mac for over 5 years and I felt like a kid who had never used a computer before. Things are in the wrong place and other things that seem they should really obvious just don't seem to be there at all!

     

     

    I've never used a Mac either, good luck!

     

    This morning I had my dentist appointment (cavity + cleaning) (with my new dentist). I'm so glad it's over now. My mouth still hurts from all the things done on it, and one side is numb from the aenaesthetic. Hopefully it'll all feel more like 'normal' in a few hours. I'm glad it's over again, for 5 months.

     

    Owch - hope it is all OK when the numbness goes down.

  10. After clicking about on the website futurelearn.com I enrolled in a free course called Good Brain, Bad Brain: Parkinson's Disease which, as the title suggests, is about Parkinson's Disease.

     

    It's the first time I have done any online learning or online courses. It says it will take 3 hours a week for 3 weeks. It's organised by the University of Birmingham and is a mix of videos, things to read, and online text discussions (well the bits I have done so far have been). There is also another course in the same series after this one on the origin of medicines.

     

    There seemed to be an enormous amount of courses on futurelearn.com covering all sorts of things. Has anyone done any other online courses?

  11. I can't say anything for types of equipment but I have a friend who uses his exercise bike while watching episodes of Breaking Bad. He doesn't allow himself watch it without being on the bike, and that seems to be pretty good motivation for him to do it and to pass the time with something that distracts him a bit. That might be totally useless information for you but there you go!

     

    That's what I was thinking of doing, there are a couple of shows I would make myself only watch when on it.

     

     

    Great solution!  :D

     

    Yeah, I usually watch Seinfeld whilst on the treadmill. 

     

    If you've got the room, Lumo, go for it.  Having something different is also a good solution.

     

    Thanks. I'm looking into them now, just not sure how to judge them. Huge price differences between 100 pounds (cheap end), 300 or so (more main stream) and upto over 1000. The Amazon reviews aren't very helpful, many with high ratings from most people, but every now and then someone says it broke within a few weeks.

     

     

     

    Cross trainer at home - good idea or not?

     

    I'd suggest you go with a happy trainer, it will probably make for a more pleasant experience.

     

    Haha indeed - I had a look on google and surprisingly there doesn't seem to be a product called happy trainer.

  12. I used to ride my bike a lot (to and from work mainly, every day for many years), I really enjoyed this and while I wasn't doing it primarily for exercise, I think the daily amount of exercise was good for me.

     

    Since moving house I no longer bike (just before moving I also fell badly from my bike taking a stupid short cut across a building site, which made me a bit weary about cycling anyway). Since moving I also haven't been feeling so well, sort of slightly unfit and tired a lot. I want to get back into exercising to see if that gets me going, I have tried walking but can't really get into that as a routine, I have never been able to work out at a gym (it just isn't me, plus I don't think there is one around here). About 10 years ago I had an exercise bike at home (borrowed from my parents who weren't using it), while I did use this, I never really liked it that much. It always felt kind of boring compared to cycling along a road. I have seen cross trainers advertised, these look better in terms of whole body movement and look like they could be more engaging than sitting on an exercise bike. Has anyone tried both? Any views on the differences between a cross trainer and an exercise bike? Is there something else I am missing completely?

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