Medley

Novel synaptic architecture for brain inspired computing

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Two New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) researchers, working with collaborators from the IBM Research Zurich Laboratory and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, have demonstrated a novel synaptic architecture that could lead to a new class of information processing systems inspired by the brain.

The findings are an important step toward building more energy-efficient computing systems that also are capable of learning and adaptation in the real world. They were published last week in a paper in the journal Nature Communications.

Identity Politics – The Esoteric Truth

Tim Wyatt – England

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The bulk of humanity has largely failed to answer those fundamental questions it has relentlessly been asking itself for countless millennia: Who exactly are we? Where do we come from? What is our purpose? And where are we going? 

Rudolf Steiner (25 Feb 1861- 30 Mar 1925): The Laws of Nature

René Wadlow – USA

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“Man is not a being who stands still; he is a being in the process of becoming.  The more he enables himself to become, the more he fulfils his true mission.”-  Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner was for many years prior to World War I a leader of the German branch of the Theosophical Society.  One of his best-known books is titled Theosophy and the two pillars of Steiner’s approach are in common with other theosophical writers: the law of karma and evolution through the workings of spiritual energy.  For Steiner karma and spiritual energy, which he called love, are the basic laws of Nature.

Focus – A simplicity manifesto in the Age of Distraction: Part 23

Leo Babauta – USA 

 

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“A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.”

Chinese Proverb

 Focused reading is something that’s becoming a rarer and rarer animal these days. We have a hard time reading even a single blog post if it’s not a simple list or longer than a couple hundred words – we’ll skim, and then move on to the next post or email.

Our reading habits have changed because of the persistence and ubiquity of online distractions. We read shorter, faster, more frequently, but longer reading is dwindling. Focused reading is harder.

One effect is that we’re reading fewer books and longer articles, and more blogs and shorter articles. Another effect is that any research we need to do is filled with distractions – landmines when it comes to getting work done.

However, it’s not impossible to read or do research with focus. Just harder.

Digital addiction increases loneliness, anxiety and depression

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Study suggests ways to outsmart smart phones

Smartphones are an integral part of most people's lives, allowing us to stay connected and in-the-know at all times. The downside of that convenience is that many of us are also addicted to the constant pings, chimes, vibrations and other alerts from our devices, unable to ignore new emails, texts and images. In a new study published in NeuroRegulation, San Francisco State University Professor of Health Education Erik Peper and Associate Professor of Health Education Richard Harvey argue that overuse of smart phones is just like any other type of substance abuse.

Seven-year follow-up shows lasting cognitive gains from meditation

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Gains in the ability to sustain attention developed through intensive meditation training are maintained up to seven years later, according to a new study published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement. The study is based on the Shamatha Project, a major investigation of the cognitive, psychological and biological effects of meditation led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, Center for Mind and Brain.

A Practical Guide to Death and Dying - part 1

John White – USA 

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[A Practical Guide to Death and Dying was originally published by QUEST books in 1980. This particular version was previously published in the Theosophical Digest, y1992 v4 i2-p90.]

...so few know the art of dying. For dying, like living, is an art and if only most of us mastered the art of dying as much as we seek to master the art of living, there would be many more happy deaths.

The fact of the matter, how-ever, is that the art of living is not different from the art of dying; in fact, the one flows into the other, and cannot be separated one from the other. He who has mastered the art of living has already mastered the art of dying; to such, death holds no terrors.

                                                                                    M.V. Kamath, Philosophy of Death and Dying

One in four girls is depressed at age 14

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New research shows a quarter of girls (24%) and one in 10 boys (9%) are depressed at age 14.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool and University College London analyzed information on more than 10,000 children born in 2000-01 who are taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study.

At ages 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14, parents reported on their children's mental health. Then, when they reached 14, the children were themselves asked questions about their depressive symptoms.

Based on the 14-year-olds reporting of their emotional problems, 24 per cent of girls and 9 per cent of boys suffer from depression.