In 1687 Sir Isaac Newton published Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which laid the foundation of determinism. Through Newton’s ideas in what we call now the Age of Reason, rose the idea of ”clockwork universe”, generally stating that by measuring things as they are, we can accurately explain all the Nature’s phenomenae and predict the future using the laws of science.
One probably could wonder, what does Newton’s work has to do with my memories. Though I haven’t read the original and was born nearly 300 years later, it had a certain impact on me. As a matter of fact, we perceive reality and interpret it through the prism of our cultural and educational background. It’s never “as it is”, but as worthy as it’s description. My father was a strong believer in science, and wanted me to be a mathematician, a kind of a weird wish keeping in mind he was a poet himself. I remember him trying to come up with a precise word, which could describe what he felt at the moment best. He often felt stressed about it as he couldn’t. I guess he thought it is easier to operate with numbers rather than words. I remember refusing going to my 1st grade in school: I demanded science. I wanted to study physics and maths, I wanted to understand the mechanics of existence. That’s why my parents have sent me to a school with advanced maths and science programs, and determinism was what they taught in school too.
My belief in numbers was ruined after I’ve read at the age of 12 some popular books on astronomy and quantum mechanics: it turned out that, with the course of time any system behaviour starts to “fluctuate” and become disordered, behaving randomly. Even orbits of planets, massive bodies, never quite follow the same path. We live in a universe which is rather chaotic, then orderly. Our brain waves, or the pattern of it’s electric impulses, is also being chaotic. This could be the origin of consciousness , free will and creativity. Our mind is ruled rather by Chaos, then Order. Continue reading ‘Feeling of being human’
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I have read recently about an experiment conducted on mices (yep, once again!:(). The researchers tried to figure out how mices store their memories. Memories are subjective, but if we will anchor memories to certain events, they can be easily pinpointed.
To put it simple, mices had to go through some painful experiences. Afterwards the conditions of those experiences were recreated, so mices would expect they would be hurt again. However bad it sounds, they found that neurons are in charge of storing memories. More painful events recorded by bigger number of neurons. As the result, the more neurons would store the information about a particular event, the more vivid and strong memory is. It is an interesting thing to know, though it brings up some questions. Let’s say, we know what a lifecycle of a cell in our body is limited, from few seconds to 7 years max., and cells regenerate constantly. How the information stored by neurons going through regeneration process could passed? How do we “select” what to remember? A couple of days ago I broke my toe. It broke in the same place as few years ago, in circumstances deserving a separate post, but that event was largely forgotten by me until it happenned again.
I went through quite a few painful experiences in my life, including broken bones etc., but they will not top my memories list. Sometimes when psychological experiments conducted, eg in Roershach test, they ask you to give the first word which comes to your mind.
OK, I’ll do that with my memories now, without any logic and order:
Continue reading ‘Mices, fluorescent dogs and memory tricks’
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This a memory of my childhood. I grew up in Gabon in the jungle, in African beautiful incontaminated forest. This great refugee for animals is in danger now, though Aspinall foundation is creating a gorilla reserve there… My father is Italian/ French, my mother Jewish/Persian and Austrian plus, as other races are mixed in my mom’s blood. She was raised in England from 7 years age and at 21 she was working in the jungle of Gabon.
So I have grown up with tribes and pygmies in the forest. Sometimes people think I’ m a savage ba lu ba’. Silly pumpkins…he he he!!!! …Most of them don’t have even a clue where Gabon is…. and how special it is… Yes, I grown up in a bamboo beautiful tribal home on the river by a montain, close to ocean. This place had many tiny antilopes and “black” elephants: with darker skin little ones of the forest and amazing swimmers.I grown up moslty naked, with no shoes, playing games in other dimension… My friends were mostly pygmies and a giant chimp, and antilopes, elephants… Forest, trees, river, mountain, light life noise and moonlight… abundant flamboyant nature and sunlight… sometimes deep silence and isolation. Going swimming and trekking and spending great time by the ocean is my first big love! I remember eating a lobster cooked in palm leaves given to us by a local fisherman on the beach… The postal office was a tiny aeroplane dropping mail mostly in the a river full of crocs :)…
With time I had a more close encounter with civilisation in the school made in bamboo and wood and stone. We often had to hunt with tribes for food … no supermarket at all :)… weheee… All we had was two jeeps, one radio and a lot of animals and nature, a german wolf and two cats and a cocktail made by people from all over the world dropping by to visit us… We had barbecue every 6/8/9/ of month. They all were speaking different languages.
I’m an artist now, living in London, trying to fulfill my dream to master Tibetan art, a difficult and amazing technic, complex and sacred; and blend it with unique color techniques like Japanese and Indian art… to create out of that learning great new graphics … Write me if you like my painting.
Muriel
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