(Excerpted from the book Noise Music: Cognitive Psychology, Aesthetics and Epsitemology) A complex and fascinating question is why do humans have such strong emotional reactions and human connections to unrealistic art? Why do viewers become scared, even haunted for days, by a movie monster they know doesn't exist? Why do humans become enthralled by distorted … Continue reading Connecting to the Unreal: Art Perception

I've never seen Disney's 'The Little Mermaid,' but somehow assume it doesn't follow the original Hans Christian Anderson storyline where the Little Mermaid can, as she has always dreamed, leave her life in the sea to become human and have a human soul, but to do so "it will constantly feel as if she is … Continue reading Little Mermaid

Invisibility means something is, well, not visible. While invisibility is often associated with science fictionon, fantasy and horror, objects are often invisible under normal, mundane circumstances. Objects can be hidden from view because they are behind other objects, too small or too far away to see or obscured by dark or fog. Speaking more science … Continue reading Notes on Invisibility

This simple but haunting melody dates back centuries to a Gregorian Chant about the final judgment and has been used many times since, including by Rachmaninoff (Rhapsody on a Them of Paganini), Berlioz, Verdi (Requiem), Mozart and Wendy Carlos for the introductary music to The Shining. Even the grunge/sludge metal band Melvins has their own … Continue reading Dies Irae : From Rachmaninoff to Melvins

We've all had been asked to type in the letters and numbers in those funky pictures on websites, such as pictured to the right. These pictures are called CAPTCHAs and are used to try to identify if a visitor to a website is human or computer program. Online banks, stores, news sites, chat boards and … Continue reading CAPTCHAs: How Computers Use Cognitive Science to Identify Users as Human

Humans use arbitrary rules, false information, biases and imaginary environments to reach higher levels of achievement. This achievement can range from a musician composing a great symphony to a ten year old improving her math scores. Humans do not have the mental capacity to effectively focus on a variety of tasks simultaneously. To reach higher … Continue reading How Humans Use False Information and Made Up Beliefs to Produce Personal Achievement

Interesting to read that the largest private collection of ‘the Alamo’ (a very American thing) historical artifacts and memorabilia was owned by a British man lliving in Switzerland-- named Phil Collins. Yes, that Phil Collins, the 1980s pop star rock musician. Collins recently donated his multi million dollar collection to San Antonio Texas so they … Continue reading British Rock Star Donates Rare Alamo and Davy Crocket Artifacts

1380-1415 French King Charles VI, commonly called ‘Charles the Mad,’ suffered from servere mental illness episodes through his life, including murdering his four of his own knights while in a psychosis, forgetting his name and that he was king, at times not recognizing his wife and kids, running through the halls of his castle until … Continue reading King Charles VI ‘The Mad’ and the Glass Delusion