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President Obama Launches Brain Mapping Project

Wed, 04/03/2013 - 12:27am

Well, looks like those commenting are definitely on board. This seems to reflect the SmartPower interest in self-definition. In order to do that, it helps if one can understand him/herself better, particularly the brain. What will be interesting to see is what hot sidebar to the main focus. Things like brain-food just may begin to take on an entirely new meaning... But this is not the full story. Seems that brain-mapping as it intersects criminal cases can make for major controversy. As we become more and more advanced in our tech capabilities, we will also be charged with that of common sense maintaining the same pace. Think we can do it?

The buzz in political news is very cerebral today, to say the least. President Obama has announced that federal agencies plan to spend $100 million to jump start an effort to map the human brain. Experts say that the research could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment and prevention of brain disorders like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. Successful government research has lead to the development of computer chips, global positioning technology, the Internet and other technologies.The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is now called "the next great American project" by Obama. The 2014 research budget will include around $100 million of research done by the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the National Science Foundation. Let's see what constituents think of the project.

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What Others Are Saying...

Aside from Alzheimer’s and other diseases we may actually find out if we have free will, what is consciousness, what is the difference between brain and mind and where does self sit.

Source:

www.reuters.com

As someone in the neuroscience and public health fields, I can say that this is one of the single most important steps towards ensuring that the US stays competitive in a global race towards scientific advancement and the development of new therapies. This is as essential as mapping the human genome, a project which many laughed at when it was first conceived. Never the less, this initiative is vital and timed well to combat the problems we face with rising rates of neurological disorders. Those who oppose this research often do so for political reasons, but honestly...

Source:

www.cnn.com

The CIA and NSA and now, apparently DARPA, have been experimenting with precognition, telepathy and remote viewing now for years... Brain mapping is just another insight into how these things can be made to work successfully.

Source:

www.npr.org

Does Mitt Romney Have Fake Twitter Followers?

Sat, 07/28/2012 - 2:07pm

We've said it before, and we'll say it again. This is the era of transparency, and anything that smells a bit fishy will be rooted out and examined. As we see social media taking a bigger and bigger place of importance in all things, including politics, the race seems to be on; but too often politicos seem to forget that it's not jus the number of followers/impressions, it's about engagement, the amount of time that takes to build and part of why it's called "earned" media. But this race for followers has also a little something to do with competition, no? In his book, "The Pursuit of Attention" Charles Derber (Prof. of Sociology at Boston College) argues that competition for attention is one of the most important things in a person’s life. Derber feels as though there is a rise of self interest and the ways it is manifested in the lives of not only public figures but everyday people as well. He also argues that Americans, particularly because of our individualistic nature, are particularly interested in attention. Well, looks like Romney has that now but perhaps not for the right reasons. Let's see how those Followers build in the months ahead.

Prior to last Friday, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney had 690,000 followers, which is dramatically less than President Obama’s 18 million. However, just a few days ago Romney had accumulated 100,000 followers for no apparent reason says Zach Green, whose blog 140elect.com tracks campaign-related Twitter trends. Liberals began to investigate and noticed that many of Romney’s new friends shared the same photograph, or were spam and porn related followers. Nevertheless, Romney denies having paid anyone to follow him, however the following tweet surfaced: “’Hey, fake Twitter followers are people, my friend.” –Mitt Romney #MoreFakeMitt” Let's see what else politicos have to say.

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