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

Amedeo Modilgiani was an early 1900s Italian painter who worked primarily in Paris.  He is influential for his African-art influenced elongated portraits of Parisians, often fellow artists and other people he knew.  The following are some interesting facts about him * In a highly anti-semitic France, Modigliani fearlessly and proudly told people upfront he was … Continue reading Interesting Facts about Painter Amedeo Modigiani

Perhaps no one better personifies the old adage that there's a fine line between genius and insanity than 20th century Austrian-American mathematician and logician Kurt Godel. Godel (1906-78) is commonly ranked as one of history's intellectual giants, on the order of Aristotle, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein (the latter who was his colleague and friend).  Prominent … Continue reading The Strange, Brilliant Mind of Kurt Godel

You have probably heard how time is slower for someone on a spaceship traveling super fast, and if someone leaves from earth on a light speed spaceship and comes back in 20 earth years, everyone on earth will be twenty older but he will have barely aged. The following is a simple explanation of  Albert Einstein's theory … Continue reading A Simple Explanation of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

The majority of art and collectibles forgers aren't trying to fool museum curators and auction house experts. They're trying to find buyers ignorant and gullible enough to fall for their scams and fakes that that museum curators, auction house objects and seasoned collectors would identify in two seconds. And most people who buy what are … Continue reading The majority of art and collectibles forgers aren’t trying to fool experts

Art Perception by David Cycleback is available in paperback for sale and free download.  Below is the description:"A complex and fascinating question is why do humans have such strong emotional reactions and human connections to art? Why do viewers become scared, even haunted for days, by a movie monster they know doesn't exist? Why do humans … Continue reading ‘Art Perception’ free downloadable textbook