Left Brain, Right Brain: Human nature and political values

Trends in economics and politics including consumerism and changes in democracy, and how research into psychology, social networks and behavioural economics is relevant.

Connected Minds: Loneliness, Social Brains and the Need for Community

A recent release from the excellent RSA Vision lecture series: the leading expert in social neuroscience explains the subdiscipline.

Bring Change 2 Mind

Celebrities and family members of people with mental health issues fight stigma in an energetic new initiative. This slick, high concept PSA directed by Ron Howard launches the campaign and web site, which features video interviews and invites everyone to share your story on social video. Spread the word – embed & email this video and upload your own.

[Image by h.coppdelaney.]

Paul Devore – Self-Esteem

A person who has Tourette’s Syndrome (a neurological syndrome involving involuntary tics) talks about how it has affected his life and ways that he hasn’t let it affect his life. He shares tools to shore up self-esteem, and says, “I think a large part of my success is actually linked to my having Tourette Syndrome.” A speaker with a very positive attitude with messages that can be useful for anyone. Accompanying PDF transcript. Beware video autoplay. Indirectly related, check out Jaylen’s Challenge: a young boy with Tourette’s who is campaigning against bullying (videos, blog, info).

Schizophrenic Man Terrifies Kids at Party

Usually I relegate PSAs to the sidebar, but this one is so good it needs more attention. An anti-stigma message with a very clever twist. This video, like all the PSAs (public service announcements) in my collection, is great for sharing in your blog, Facebook or MySpace profile, and anywhere you can paste embed code or links: help spread the word and fight mental health stigma and discrimination.

EDIT – also check out this talk by Austin Mardon, a person with schizophrenia who shares the effects of stigma on his life.

Creative Genius: We Feel Fine

FORA.tv now features searchable video! A genuinely revolutionary technical achievement. A full-text searchable transcript is synchronized to the video, and sentences are highlighted as it plays. Click on any word in the transcript to move to that part of the video. FORA.tv has always had the best custom video player online and this takes it light years beyond their competition. Oh yeah: this lecture is about We Feel Fine, a digital art site fed by emotions expressed in blogs, and another art project about a whaling trip that I’m vague about now because I’m too excited about searchable video and synched transcripts. Epic! Go see! (To find other synched videos on their site, try searching for the phrase “jump to that point.” They will be easier to find soon, it’s work in progress.)

Gabor Mate

Dr. Mate talks about why and how the legal and medical systems have been ineffective in the war on drugs. ”We ‘re punishing people for having been abused in the first place.” Describing observations made as a clinician at Vancouver’s InSite safe injection site and OnSite rehab facility, he reads from his forthcoming book In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. See also: TV documentary about InSite.

A kinder, gentler philosophy of success

“[Hamlet] is not a loser, he has lost.” Tragedy and tragic art teach us to be kinder in our views of success and failure, acknowledging that loss isn’t always merit-based. Witty and compelling TED Talk, newly released from TED Global 2009.

[Above video features highlights; full episode premieres July 19.]

Most Popular

Would you answer a casting call like this? Contestants wanted: be judged by 100 women on your attractiveness, moral character, likeability, and fashion taste. Answer personal and embarrassing questions on camera. Crowd members will make quick, catty comments about why they don’t like you, if voted off. … Some women have very strong self-esteem and/or a strong drive to appear on TV, so here’s Most Popular, a new game show. 91% of 894 adult women polled by WEtv ”usually judge someone based on their appearance before they get to know them.” This idea underlies the show’s Moral Wheel (spin for questions about scruples, inner self, relationships – and looks) and competitive wedding gowns. Most Popular involves social psychology, evo psych, pop psych, feminism and more. It isn’t a science program, but it is an entertaining cultural experiment.

I’d never watched WEtv before this preview, and their store sells plastic flip-flops with a pink heart pattern – which caused me to form a snap judgment, as a critical woman who likes shoes. Then I challenged the stereotype, got to know the show on its own merits, and feel more positive about it.

The first episode premieres Sunday July 19 at 10:00 pm EST.

title Design and the elastic mind
description Paola Antonelli of MoMA doesn’t focus on molecular changes in the brain, rather social and psychological changes in design that affect its changes. She discusses the exhibit Design and the Elastic Mind.
producer TED Talks
featuring Paola Antonelli
format Flash, MPEG4
date **/12/07
length 00:17:40
link http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/paola_antonelli_previews_design_and_the_elastic_mind.html

Tags: brain video lecture TED psychology cognitive sciart design social interdisciplinary science