13 APR 2013 by ideonexus
Novelty is Good for the Brain
There is unanimous agreement among neuroscientists and psychologists that the human brain operates best when it is regularly subjected to new challenges. We have recently discovered that the brain benefits from a broad variety of problem-solving activities such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku. There also appear to be benefits when we mix these activities up: doing crosswords puzzles for a while and then switching over to Sudoku, and later, back again. The same goes for changing daily routines...The more the brain experiences novel situations, the more it grows new connections, soon it becomes good at growing new connections.
13 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Columbus As An Example of the Scientific Method
The role of hypothesis in research can be discussed more effectively if we consider first some examples of discoveries which originated from hypotheses. One of the best illustrations of such a discovery is provided by the story of Christopher Columbus' voyage; it has many of the features of a classic discovery in science. (a) He was obsessed with an idea—that since the world is round he could reach the Orient by sailing West, (b) the idea was by no means original, but evidently he had obtai...His hypothesis, his observations, his search for funding, his experiment, his refusal to give up certain preconceptions, and his meager life and failure to be the first.