Ratiocination

What direction are you facing?

Some of us can determine compass directions with some external cues and some ratiocination. But aboriginal Australians always know them instantly and intuitively. Their language has no words for right and left, so they always explain whereabouts in terms of our equivalents for North, South, East, and West. Cognitive Psychologist Lera Boroditsky has asked rooms full of 5-year-old aboriginal Australians to close their eyes and point to a certain cardinal direction; she reports that everyone always points in the exact direction marked by the compass.

Ratiocinate (pronounced “rash-ee-OS-ə-nayt”)

To reason methodically and logically.

Source

Stanford: Lera Boroditsky Podcast

Mollifying Smiles

A smile is usually thought of as a universal expression of kindness.  Not so in Thailand, where the subtleties of a smile can suggest 13 distinct emotions.  There is the yim tak tan, which suggests disagreement, the yim yor, which is used to mock or taunt someone, and the yim yair-yair, which is used to mollify potentially awkward or heated situations.  A Thai might flash a yim yair-yair, for instance, after bumping into someone and spilling his drink.

Mollify (pronounced “MOL-ə-fie”)

1. *To calm in temper or feeling; soothe.
2. To lessen in intensity; temper.
3. To reduce the rigidity of; soften.

Synonyms

assuage, conciliate, lenify

Source

The Land of Smiles?

Immune to Soporifics

Thai Ngoc is a Vietnamese insomniac who has purportedly gone 33 years without sleep.  He developed the condition in 1973, which has proven to be more of a superhuman ability than an affliction.  He has demonstrated mental soundness and physical ruggedness, the latter by carrying two 110  pound bags of rice over two miles each day.  Sleep physician Dr. Wadhwa surmises that Ngoc may sometimes nod off without realizing it, but he has proven to be immune to soporifics including modern medicine and traditional folk remedies.

Soporific (pronounced “sop-ə-RIF-ik”)

1. Inducing or tending to induce sleep.
2. Drowsy.
3. *A drug or other substance that induces sleep; a hypnotic.

Source

Epoch Times: Ngoc Thai: The Man Who Doesn’t Sleep, Photo by: Brad.K

Variegated Visualization

Fractal landscape

Daniel Tammet, a high-functioning autistic savant, holds the European record for memorizing the number pi to the most digits. His synaesthesia allows him to see large numbers as beautiful, variegated landscapes without effort. He recited 22,514 digits in just over 5 hours, which surprisingly only ranks him in 6th place out of all the world’s contenders.

Variegated (pronounced “VAIR-ee-ih-gay-tid”)

1. *Having streaks, marks, or patches of a different color or colors; varicolored.
2. Distinguished or characterized by variety; diversified.

Source

Wikipedia: Daniel Tammet, Photo by : Fractal Ken

Vicarious Brain Regions

MRI brain scan

When we see someone perform a motion or experience some sensation, this activates regions of the brain called  “mirror neurons”, which let us experience the sensation vicariously. For example, if you see someone bend his arm, that activates some of the same neurons that would fire if you bent your own arm. According to neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran, the only reason the brain doesn’t get confused about who performed the action is because it “checks” with the body part’s nerves to see if there is a corroborating sensation. Oddly enough, if someone with pain in a phantom limb sees someone get a massage on his corresponding limb, that will relieve the phantom limb pain.

Vicarious

1. *Felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another: read about mountain climbing and experienced vicarious thrills.
2. Endured or done by one person substituting for another: vicarious punishment.
3. Physiology Occurring in or performed by a part of the body not normally associated with a certain function.

Source

Ted.com: The Neurons that Shaped Civilization