Concentration as a tool for success and ways to enhance it
Humanity Is Gradually Becoming Less Intelligent, Claim Scientists
Scientists sound the alarm: at the end of XIX century, people were much smarter and more creative than they are now. The fault is on the natural selection, since the more intelligent the person is, the fewer children he has, and vice versa.
Every new century humans become less clever and creative. This assumption was made by British scientists who studied the rate of the perception of people of the Victorian era, and the one of our contemporaries.
As the results of the study showed, the rate of general intelligence has been gradually decreasing. Thus, in 1889 the rate of perception in men was 183 milliseconds, while in 2000 it fell to 253 milliseconds. The similar tendency was observed in women – the speed of their perception has dropped from 188 to 261 milliseconds during the same period.
As said by The Telegraph, the diminished reflexes also indicate a decline in overall intelligence quotient (IQ), which is down by 1.23 points every decade, and since 1880 it has fallen by 14 points.
The researchers said they did not directly compare the IQ level of the representatives of different eras since the opportunities in education, medicine, and food of modern people are much better than the ones of previous generations. Though, according to the study authors, the high rate of perception in people of the Victorian era shows that they were more inventive and creative. (more…)
Will It Be Possible to Travel to Distant Stars One Day?
Is it possible to get to extrasolar planetary systems faster than the speed of light? Harold White claims that it is. With his team at NASA, he manufactures a superluminal engine for interstellar travel. For example, such a vessel would arrive in just 2 weeks to the system of Alpha Centauri, which is 4 light years from the Sun.
White’s research is an effort to continue and expand the idea of the Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre, which had caused heated debates in the scientific world in 1994. The scientist suggested that the space should “shrink” in front of the spacecraft and expand behind it. The spaceship should behave as if placed inside a “bubble” of the deformed space and (more…)
Do Near-Death Experiences Prove That Consciousness Exists Outside the Brain?
Resuscitation specialist Sam Parnia continues to darken already murky waters of thanatology, by offering his colleagues to carefully examine stories of people returned from the dead. In his view, which will be fully supported by any competent philosopher, these stories shed light on the nature of human consciousness.
“Consciousness does not disappear at death. There is no such discrete point in time. Death is a process,” he claims.
In the middle of the XX century, with the discovery of methods of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the study of death has entered a new phase. Initially capable of resuscitating a person within few minutes after clinical death, now people who “died” more than half an hour ago (more…)
How High-Tech Revolution Can Be Detrimental to Humankind
According to a team of philosophers, mathematicians and scientists from Oxford University, who are exploring the future of humanity, there is growing evidence that our reliance on technology can cause elimination of human race.
The media is actively discussing a range of possible disasters that can destroy humanity, but the most “obvious” threats, which include asteroids, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are unlikely to ruin the world’s population in the near future.
This is the opinion of Nick Bostrom, a philosopher and director of the University of the future of humanity, who, together with his colleagues, is trying to determine the actual causes of destruction for mankind.
In their last publication, the experts are pointing out that people are capable of destroying themselves through their technology. (more…)
What Is Love According to Science, Philosophy and Religion?
The most popular Google search of last year was the question: “What is Love?” And the Guardian newspaper asked five “experts” to answer it.
A physicist, a psychotherapist, a philosopher, an author of romantic novels and a nun gave their answer to the question about Love, from their personal perspective of the subject.
The Physicist
“Love is chemistry” (Answers Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical physicist and writer).
Biologically, Love is an intense neurological condition, such as hunger or thirst, but more permanent. We say that love is blind or we talk about love being blind or unconditional, meaning that we cannot control it. But again, this is not particularly surprising, since Love, is basically (more…)
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