Brain Aerobics

My hobby is to listen to lectures from various universities that are posted on-line and listening to TED Conference speakers.

 
 - some people listen to recorded lectures on mobile devices (my desktop is my chosen device combined with good quality sound speakers)

- how do some sound engineers make these lectures digestible...

 Begin with Guidelines: 


- four experiences:  spatial,  corporeal, temporal  and relational... are a good starting point and can be found in this ancient article:

Van Manen, M. (1997). Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for an Action"

I call this 15 year old article "ancient" because the field is dynamic and probably sound engineers are gaining knowledge at the speed of the many changes in the Internet and digital technologies.

My interest is in listening to the lectures, not in lecturing or in making YouTube vignettes of myself giving speeches.  Sound engineering is well-beyond my 2nd year level physics course or my years of studying and being involved with financial markets.  I am merely a dilettante interested in knowledge for knowledge's sake.

Scientists like Michael Merzinich suggest giving our brain a work-out now and then to stave off dementia and other mental fogginess that arrives along with the aging process.  I know this because I read books and listen to speeches like the following.

Michael Merzenich studies neuroplasticity -- the brain's powerful ability to change itself and adapt -- and ways we might make use of that plasticity to heal injured brains and enhance the skills in healthy ones.

Why you should listen to him:

One of the foremost researchers of neuroplasticity, Michael Merzenich's work has shown that the brain retains its ability to alter itself well into adulthood -- suggesting that brains with injuries or disease might be able to recover function, even later in life. He has also explored the way the senses are mapped in regions of the brain and the way sensations teach the brain to recognize new patterns. Merzenich wants to bring the powerful plasticity of the brain into practical use through technologies and methods that harness it to improve learning. He founded Scientific Learning Corporation, which markets and distributes educational software for children based on models of brain plasticity. He is co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Posit Science, which creates "brain training" software also based on his research. Merzenich is professor emeritus of neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco.

"Merzenich is perhaps the most recognizable figure in brain plasticity and how one develops competence through experience and learning."

Dominique M. Durand  

Source:  http://www.ted.com/speakers/michael_merzenich.html 

Michael Merzenich on the Web

• Website: Profile on Posit Science
• Website: Posit Science

 LINK to Speech :  http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_merzenich_on_the_elastic_brain.html

Related Speakers

• Sebastian Seung
• Jill Bolte Taylor
• Bill Strickland
• Gustavo Dudamel and the Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra

Related themes

• Evolution's Genius
• How We Learn
• The Creative Spark
• How the Mind Works

Conferences

• TED2004