Sunday, February 25, 2007

An Oasis in Anza-Borrego Desert Park




Waiting to stretch your legs and fill-up your lungs with fresh air?

Go to Anza-Borrego Desert. Then? Camp there for at least one night.

The weather clock was kind to us. We pitched a tent and setup a bonfire . Under the starry sky, everyone counted stars and relaxed over a glass of wine. And, let me not forget, enjoy some excellent grills -- coyotes like meaty grills, just FYI ;-)

Best part of camping is to go on a hike. By the way, the name "Anza Borrego" comes from its Spanish explorer, Juan Bautista de Anza, and the Spanish word for "bighorn sheep", borrego. Most people go to the park to enjoy its hiking trails draped around its sweeping rocky landscape, and wildlife and blooming flowers (if there is enough rain during the winter...) If the season is right, you will find some bighorn sheep trudging over sides of the mountains, proudly claiming their land!

Hurray!


Thursday, February 15, 2007

"Wandering Mind" Still Thinks



Is our brain "doing" anything when we daydream and wander? Is our brain active at all, when we seem unoccupied by tasks at hand?

YES and YES.

Recently, psychologists published a study where they measured people's brain activity when their task-at-hand is not demanding (just "routine work"). They found that their brains generate Stimulus-Independent-Thought (SIT). The finding led them to think that the brain is active even when we are not doing anything requiring our full-attention. They examined their participants and compared their levels of SIT when they performed, 1) a "routinely practised" task and, 2) a completely "new and novel" task. There was definitely more brain activity -SIT- found in the first case.

Psychologists termed what they found "our psychological baseline." Such baseline engages a particular region in our brain responsible for generating spontaneous-thought. That's their hypothesis for now, at least.

What does it all mean? What's the brain doing when we daydream?
Well....We are "thinking", though we are not aware of it. Still thinking!!!

One more question:
How does a "thought" form then?


Sources:
Science 19 January 2007: Vol. 315. no. 5810, pp. 393 - 395
Science 24 November 2006: Vol. 314. no. 5803, pp. 1249 - 1250