Strangely Familiar

Strangely Familiar
(Scientific American)

Understanding the neurological basis for déjà vu would certainly help scientists pin down its trigger, but neural connections are only partially understood. For a long time, one popular theory held that delayed neurological transmission was responsible. When we perceive, pieces of information from different neuronal paths enter the processing centers of the cerebrum and must, of course, blend together to consistently produce a uniform impression. It would make sense that any delay in some aspect of transmission could be muddled and set off déjà vu.

In 1963 Robert Efron, then at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Boston, tested this general notion. His experiments led him to conclude that the temporal lobe of the brain’s left hemisphere was responsible for the punctual sorting of incoming data. He also found that this location received signals coming over visual pathways twice, within milliseconds of one another—once directly and once via a normal detour through the right hemisphere. If, for some reason, a delay were to occur in the detoured transmission, the left temporal lobe would register a time lapse on the second arrival and could interpret the visual scene as having already happened.

After a long break, I experienced déjà vu, about two weeks ago. I savored it, relishing each microsecond. If only I could recapture the existential terror of contemplating infinity once again.

Tantra act: Cousin kills five-year-old

Tantra act: Cousin kills five-year-old
(Mid Day)

After his arrest, Praveen told the police that he was obsessed with being rich and successful. In February 2004, he met a Dharavi-based sadhu who called himself Bangali baba. The baba advised him to arrange for a nar bali or human sacrifice.

On April 4, on the tantrik’s suggestion, Praveen took his cousin to Mahalakshmi Race Course on the pretext of showing him around and strangled him under a neem tree.

Blood is indeed thicker than water; he could’ve strangled a complete stranger, but chose not to.

Muslims Insist On Polygamy

Muslims Insist On Polygamy
(All Africa)

Kiyimba told Kadaga that Muslims, who were peace-loving, opposed the Bill because it was against the Qur’an and makes Muslims outlaws.

Waving four fingers, the men shouted: “Twagala kuwaasa banna!” (We want to marry four wives!)

The women also flashed four fingers and said, “Mutuleke batuwasse!” (Let them marry us!)

Aww … such a heartwarming picture.

Health-Africa: Thou Shalt Not Condomise

Health-Africa: Thou Shalt Not Condomise
(All Africa)

During a meeting held earlier this year in the commercial hub of Johannesburg, forum leader Ashwin Trikamjee said that for moral and religious reasons, the body placed “a greater emphasis on faithfulness and abstinence as opposed to the use of condoms.”

In an interview with IPS, Ahmad Kathrada of the Jamiatul Ulama—an Islamic group based in the coastal city of Durban—said his organization had education initiatives to promote these two behaviors, and that there were no circumstances under which Muslims were allowed to use condoms.

Related: The fastest growing religion in the world.

Google gulp!

Google gulp!

From the FAQ:

11. When will you take Google Gulp out of beta?

Man, if you pressure us, you just drive us away. We’ll commit when we’re ready, okay? Besides, what’s so great about taking things out of beta? It ruins all the romance, the challenge, the possibilities, the right to explore. Carpe diem, ya know? Maybe we’re jaded, but we’ve seen all these other companies leap headlong into 1.0, thinking their product is exactly what they’ve been dreaming of all their lives, that everything is perfect and hunky-dory–and the next thing you know some vanilla copycat release from Redmond is kicking their butt, the Board is holding emergency meetings and the CEO is on CNBC blathering sweatily about “a new direction” and “getting back to basics.” No thanks, man. We like our freedom.

Better than their stuffy blog. They should do this more often, not just once a year.

Update: The bottle caps are already available on eBay.

Related: Watch your Gmail account grow. That’s no joke.

Rhesus Pieces

Rhesus Pieces
The science behind why men are big apes
by Gene Weingarten (Washington Post)

Gina: Why on Earth would male monkeys pay to see up-close pictures of naked female monkey butts when, any time they wanted, they could just walk up to a female monkey and inspect her naked butt? Female monkeys do not generally wear Prada jeans.

Gene: Maybe, just maybe, the male monkey would rather look at the pictures than go through the whole rigmarole necessary to be permitted to inspect the female monkey butt. Maybe he doesn’t want to have to first bring the female monkey a nut, which she will reject, so he then has to bring her another, better nut. Maybe he doesn’t want to have to chatter in an engaging fashion, while she sits on that butt and judges his chatter against the chatter of other male monkeys. Maybe he doesn’t want to have to first carefully groom himself of all his lice, except the really nice, fat ones, which he will leave for her. Maybe he is just tired of the whole complicated rumba and will happily pay the price of giving up an apple juice in order to avoid the dance and take his jollies elsewhere. What I am saying is that maybe this exhausting ritual helps foster pornography (which, as an enlightened male, I of course continue to find disgraceful).

It gets better towards the end.

Animals Laughed Long Before Humans, Study Says

Animals Laughed Long Before Humans, Study Says
(National Geographic News)

There is ample evidence that many other mammals make play sounds, including tickle-induced panting, which resembles human laughter. Indeed, animals are capable of many emotional feelings, just like humans, some scientists say.

“The recognition by neuroscientists that the brain mechanisms underlying pain, pleasure, fear, and lust are the same in humans and other mammals underscores our similarity to other species and is extremely important,” said Tecumseh Fitch, a psychology lecturer at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Most likely they were laughing at the early hominids, those clumsy apes. But … last laugh’s on us, suckers!