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Why size mattered for Einstein
Stephen Williams writes "Have a look at this BBC story. Examination of Albert Einstein's brain has revealed that a section of it is larger than average. "
Kinda a fluff piece, but it is friday and
this is kinda interesting. And I think its the first
time that we've used Einstein's mugshot there on a story about
him. The section in question is the parital lobes, behind the ears. Apparently they were larger then normal from a young age on. As well, his brain was about 15% wider across then average.
I don't know about that. I am comp sci geek, but a physics groupie. Aall that sexy math... just gets me all... quivery. ;-) I have several friends who work down at Argonne National Labs. Visiting the lab has always been a fun time. Makes me wish I had my own research reactor to play with.
Thad
The Bolachek Journals
I heard this on my way to work on NPR. The reporter also said that Einstein would have preferred not to be remembered for his body.
Of course, I can see it now. No more need for IQ tests. Just measure parts of a person's brain. Of course, they'll have to remove it first, but anything for progress!
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"May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"
This is in today's paper.
Goes into a bit more detail and background than this thread's linked article.
--The more you know, the less you know.
I reckon that it's more to do with the fact that, in Western society (and maybe others, but I'm no sociologist), women have been treated as second-class citizens for much of history, and only in very recent years has true equality begun to surface. Before this century, women were generally treated as unpaid cooks, domestic servants, nannies and whores. There have been a few exceptions, of course, but history has generally been dominated by men because men have exercised all the power. In past centuries, women were denied proper education. I think this has a lot to do with the apparent absence of female geniuses. Even in today's world of equality, men far outnumber women in the field of science. We have a long way to go before centuries of social conditioning are undone.
Number 17 has a bigger this, 19 has a diminished that, etc.
Just what we need.
"Sample #17 had a larger pariatal lobe, and tasted a bit like pork. Sample #19, on the other hand, was smaller in the medulla, and had a buttery aftertaste..."
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"May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"
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Last week I watched a video presentation of a seminar discussion -- the subject being "music" and "learning". The speaker, Dr. Michael Ballam at Utah State University, related that part of what solved Einstein's early learning difficulties was that his mother purchased a violin for him, and as he began to learn to play, his learning abilities improved as well. Dr. Ballam also mentioned (quoting from biographers) that later in life Einstein thought of physics in nearly "musical terms."
Big laugh, right? Not really. According to neuroscientists, the parietal lobes of the brain seem to be the "interpreters" for sensory signals from other places in the brain: (vision, HEARING, motor, sensory and memory). [Thick quote alert... highlighting, mine] (from American neuroscientist Gerald Edelman's book Bright Air, Brilliant Fire):
- "Whatever the skill employed in thought - that of logic, mathematics, language, spatial or musical symbols - we must not forget that it is driven by the Jamesian processes, undergoes flights and perchings, is susceptible to great variations in attention, and in general is fueled by metaphorical and metonymic processes. It is only when the results of many parallel, fluctuating, temporal processes of perception, concept formation, memory, and attentional states are "stored" in a symbolic object - a sequence of logical propositions, a book, a work of art, a musical work - that we have the impression that thought is pure."
A final thought. Einstein was somewhat dyslexic, which is, in essence, where the brain is not correlating the senses correctly. Dr. Ballam's discussion showed how many times music is the great HARMONIZER that often makes the difference.(Small bio note here: I am ADD (attention deficit disorder), but survived and even did well in school, so long as I was also involved in music because my spatial awareness went way up.)
Interesting stuff, eh?
P.S. I'm trying to see if the text of Dr. Ballams' seminar is available online, and will post a link if I find it.)
...Open Source isn't the only answer -- but it's almost always a better value than the alternatives...
Despite Einstein's wishes that he be cremated in his entirety, Dr. Harvey removed the brain from his cranium, took it home and was fired from his hospital job when he refused to give it back. The whereabouts of Einstein's organ have been the subject of speculation and macabre rumours ever since his death 42 years ago at the age of 76.
It has already been validated by the scientific team working on this project that the actual organ area was not larger than other males brains examined. It was mainly attributed to the distribution of mass. and the lack of a particular groove which is found on a 'typical' brain. Thus the total size of the brain is irrelevant.
Your conjecture has no validity base at all in the argument regarding women. It is based on a false premise. Women are historically invisible in our society. The coined phrase 'history' says it all really. History is a man made construction. Tales of men by men.
And for the record there has only been one male Einstein also. How do you account for the Ada Lovelaces of this world?
The concept of measurement of intelligence is strangely askew. But then it favours men as it too was created by men. If Einstein's brilliance had been based on his lateral rather than longitudal skills, ie. language, arts, etc he would have been branded a dunce. Likewise the inverse must hold true for women. Intelligence surely is manifested in disciplines apart from the so called higher sciences per se. Deemed higher because due to a predominance of men in this area in an effort to keep it an elitist domain -- it is labelled so. It's easier to play and win the game when you make up all the rules.
Recently a study on female anatonmy found that the clitoris was a lot larger than originally thought. In fact the internal muscle is larger and more powerful than your average penis. I can't find a related site [time-wasting wading through all that porn in AltaVista..but this was quite recent and is true.]
In the end it is relative. Listen to the man.
BLAMMO shaken not stirred
The usual figure is ten percent of our brains, and it's total bunk.
Another body part I have to feel insecure about .....
Message on our company Intranet:
"You have a sticker in your private area"
beauty is only a light switch away
Yet another article.
There is an excellent book by Stephan J. Gould called "The Mismeasure of Man" that gives quite a bit of detail about phrenology (trying to measure IQ by brain size), and also about problems with standardized tests.
A very interesting book with excellent scientific underpinnings. Politically, Gould leans a little to the left, but he is honest and backs up his assertions with solid theories and plenty of facts, so both ends of the political spectrum can learn quite a bit from reading his work. The majority of the book is apolitical, so most readers will probably not notice, or even care.
A great and interesting science read, like all of Goulds books (read "Wonderfull Life" for an outstanding overview on evolution and natural selection).
Bill "who leans a little right, but also tries
to stick to facts" Kilgallon
Mathematically impossible requirements are technically not against policy.
1) You can be used as a floatation device in case of a water landing.
2) Your ESP powers allow you to fetch lunch without ever leaving your cubicle.
3) You know what they say about guys with big heads, don't you? Big hats.
4) Your head is more round than oblate spheroid, thereby becoming the perfect basketball.
5) You don't have to dress up to look like one of those aliens (Taloks?) from the pilot of Star Trek.
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I'm no neuroscientist, but isn't possible that the causation actually went the other way? In other words, could it be that Einstein's intelligence caused his brain to develop differently?