LET’S BE FWENDS ISSUE #67:

INHALE, EXHALE, NOW YOU’VE GOT A FREE MIND

“I think, therefore I am.” ~ René Descartes

You’re making conscious decisions when you’re exhaling

So, there’s this weird thing going on in thinking about thinking; There’s a very valid question that basically says:

“If it is true that the brain is an organ, and its inner workings are regulated by biology, and to that extend, by physics, doesn’t that mean that its function is at least theoretically predictable?”

Even if we’re not there (yet), just the mere fact that the brain follows predictable laws, and we’re in theory able to predict what a person will be thinking, does away with anything we’d call “Free Will”, which is the basis of our agency. After all, if you’re just the passenger of your brains chemistry, how could you truly say that you took a decision?

Decades ago scientists detected a so called “readiness potential”, a signal sent by the brain always before you decide to move your muscles. Since this signal precedes any conscious thought, it was thought to be a sign that free will is an illusion created by the brain. (for more on these kind of thoughts and a lot of mind-benders, I recommend “The Ego Tunnel” by Thomas Metzinger)

But now, something very interesting has happened.In short, scientists have found that the Readiness Potential is coupled to your breathing, and_“… that you are more likely to initiate a voluntary decision as you exhale.”_

Not only does that restore the option that there is a Free Will (Hi, mind-body problem, for the second time around), but it also gives more insights into how body states influence mind states.

The two sides of Web Brutalism

Source

Smashing Magazine has a nice write-upabout the latest trend in web design (well, “latest” for the last couple of years now …): Brutalism. Specifically, they tackle the issue that there are two very different strains of brutalism on the web, both claiming to be inspired by the famous architectural movement. One follows the “raw” and the other the “don’t give a damn” interpretation of its principles.

Do robotic cars dream of electric stop signs?

What does a Tesla autopilot seewhen it drives through the streets? It’s eerily similar to the “Termovision” display in the Terminators eyes.

Australia, where you at?

As you might know, some parts of the earth are moving relative to each other. India is pushing against Asia, raising the Himalayas as a result, and basically everything we think is eternal (mountains and stuff) is moving, just really, really slowly.

Australia moves, too, but not quite as slow. It actually moves around 7 centimetres per year, which is pretty fast for a continent.

You might ask yourself: Why this geology session? Did I sign up for “Tectonic Connaisseurs Weekly”? Don’t worry, here’s the relevant bit: GPS. GPS knows where on the planet you stand, right now. And if the continent you stand on moves north-east a couple of centimetres, you do so, too. But the mapping software used to show you where you’re standing relative to all the other stuff (like streets) doesn’t. So, you - and all the stuff you care about - are moving, but the map isn’t. And if this goes on for some time, you’re off for quite a bit. That’s exactly what happened to Australia, whose map software hasn’t been updated since 1994, and which is off by now by 1.8 metres. So, with the beginning of 2020, parts of Australia have updated their mapping data to reflect the new position of the content.

After technology and geology have had their part in this play, humans and politics have theirs, too: Every province of Australia will update their mapping data on their own schedule. Some already have, and some will at a later time.

Little Known Facts

Over at reddit, someone asked for little known but obvious facts that will make you feel stupid.

Here’s another one I like:

A botanical Alphabet

Artist Katie Holten had the fantastic idea of creating an alphabet out of the types of trees found in the New York City parks.You can try out words and sentences on the website, and download the tree font for free.

I like what “Fwends” looks like when written in tree (image above).

Scary Sea Monster

In case you’ve seen The Edge of Tomorrow, this might be a little creepy. But it’s just striped eel catfish mimicking as a bigger critter to fool predators.

Picking the right thing to say when people leave you

I’m pretty sure I’m somewhere on the left side of the spectrum. So don’t you dare.

As always, thanks for reading Let’s Be Fwends! You’re a Rockstar! 🕺