GUESTBOOKTWO. Smart Drugs. The biology of dreaming. O one would normally consider David Maurice, Ph.D., professor of ocular physiology in the Department of Ophthalmology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, a revolutionary. Nevertheless, he has reignited a decades-long controversy that could spark a revolutionary re-evaluation of an entire field of behavioral research. Dr. Maurice has developed a startling new line of scientific inquiry that, when added to other findings, could change our understanding of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and the nature of dreams.
What Maurice has done is to suggest an alternative explanation for the phenomenon known as REM sleep, the stage in which the eyes rapidly move and most dreams occur. Dr. Maurice isn't convinced by currently accepted theories about why REM occurs, including the widespread belief that REM exists mainly to process memories of the preceding day's events during dreams. Maurice's interest in REM began a few years ago. Interpretation vs. observation Drs. No final answer in sight 1. "The Creative Process and Entheogens" -- Alex Grey.
The Creative Process and Entheogens by Alex Grey adapted from The Mission of Art PDF version of this document Twenty-five years ago I took my first dose of LSD. The experience was so rich and profound, coupled as it was with the meeting of my future wife, Allyson, that there seemed nothing more important than this revelation of infinite love and unity. Being an artist, I felt that this was the only subject worthy of my time and attention. Spiritual and visionary consciousness assumed primary importance as the focal point of my life and art. Due to its visionary richness, I think the entheogenic experience has great importance for fueling an artistic and cultural renaissance. Oscar Janiger's studies of LSD and creativity showed that many artists felt the work done while tripping or post-tripping was more inventive and inspired work than their previous work. "How can we bring the insights of the entheogenic state into our lives? " First Effects: 1).
Transpersonal Stages: 4). Notes: 1. The Biological Basis of Mysticism? | A review of DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman. As you’re well aware of, I’m a geek for questions about consciousness. I love to think about issues such as understanding and defining experience, the nature of reality, the essence of the spiritual experience from both a physical and mental standpoint, and so on. So when I stumbled upon a book with the title of DMT: The Spirit Molecule you can imagine that I nearly wet myself with excitement. I didn’t think anyone was allowed to do research like this anymore. And if they were, I’d fear the culture of the scientific establishment would prohibit any conclusions not ordained by skepticism. But someone did. And thankfully, they published the results for the world to see. DMT is sitting inside your head right now. It’s release into the brain is mediated by the pineal gland, a curious part of the brain no bigger than a fingernail, whose purpose isn’t exactly understood.
And what is DMT anyway? It’s an extraordinarily powerful psychedelic. And it is found throughout the natural world. Dr. ……. Neuropsychology of Human Religious Behavior. By Abbas Sadeghian, PH.D. Photo: View of Jerusalem's holly sites Throughout the history of psychology, the topic of human religiosity has been referred to as a learned behavior. In other words a person's religion is the final outcome of the person's interaction with his environment. Therefore the assumption is that if you are born in a Christian country, you are going to be a Christian. Theoretically, since the person has been exposed to his religion from early childhood, it would be quite unlikely that he would choose a different religion or have the desire or the need to practice something else. Although, we do see occasional cases of conversion of single individuals from one religion to another religion, mass conversions are usually rare and mostly are caused by wars and force. The same is true for natives of South America becoming Christians.
Interestingly, the forceful attempts to make a population atheist have never worked. The Case for the Organic Nature of human religiosity. Consciousness. Enhancing Brains. Editor’s note: In 2008, Henry T. Greely, a professor at Stanford Law School, co-authored a commentary in Nature; it concluded that “safe and effective cognitive enhancers will benefit both the individual and society.” The article inspired an impressive number of responses from readers, and the debate has continued in scholarly journals and the mainstream media in the years following publication. Here Professor Greely builds on that momentum, arguing that only some concerns about cognitive enhancements are justified and proper attention is needed to address such issues.
He contends that rather than banning cognitive enhancements, as some have suggested, we should determine rules for their use. Probing that question is my ultimate aim in this article, but we will get there somewhat indirectly. I will first make an affirmative argument for cognitive enhancement through drugs or other neuroscientific interventions. Why Cognitive Enhancement—and What Kinds of Enhancements? Does Language Shape What We Think? My seventh-grade English teacher exhorted us to study vocabulary with the following: "We think in words. The more words you know, the more thoughts you can have. " This compound notion that language allows you to have ideas otherwise un-haveable, and that by extension people who own different words live in different conceptual worlds -- called "Whorfianism" after its academic evangelist, Benjamin Lee Whorf -- is so pervasive in modern thought as to be unremarkable.
Eskimos, as is commonly reported, have myriads of words for snow, affecting how they perceive frozen percipitation. A popular book on English notes that, unlike English, "French and German can distinguish between knowledge that results from recognition ... and knowledge that results from understanding. " Politicians try to win the rhetorical battle ("pro-life" vs. "anti-abortion"; "estate tax" vs. For all its social success, Whorfianism has fared less well scientifically. Oh, and Eskimos don't have all that many words for snow. List of cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are tendencies to think in certain ways that can lead to systematic deviations from a standard of rationality or good judgment, and are often studied in psychology and behavioral economics. There are also controversies over some of these biases as to whether they count as useless or irrational, or whether they result in useful attitudes or behavior.
For example, when getting to know others, people tend to ask leading questions which seem biased towards confirming their assumptions about the person. However, this kind of confirmation bias has also been argued to be an example of social skill: a way to establish a connection with the other person.[7] Although this research overwhelmingly involves human subjects, some findings that demonstrate bias have been found in non-human animals as well.
For example, hyperbolic discounting has been observed in rats, pigeons, and monkeys.[8] Decision-making, belief, and behavioral biases[edit] Social biases[edit] Debiasing[edit]