#symbodiment: God may really be up there but perhaps your lips don’t listen?

How are the meanings of words, events and objects represented and organized in the brain? When we think of a dog, what representation are we invoking? Is there such thing as an abstract dogness—the doggiest of all dogs—or do we merely remember one of many stored exemplars of dogs that we have encountered in our lives? (If […]

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Gone with the Rosebud: What movies are really like

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Perhaps like no other medium, movies have articulated, reflected, and shaped our culture for nearly a century. On the positive side, they have brought enjoyment to millions and made us want to have what she’s having. On the darker side, they have been effective tools of totalitarian propaganda. But […]

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Groundhog Day is better for your homework

Groundhog Day is better for your homework: We adapt to attentional conflict but only if nothing changes William James famously postulated that the world presents itself as “one great blooming, buzzing confusion” to an infant, whose senses are constantly assaulted by visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory stimuli. To make sense of the world requires attention, […]

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