The Amazing Neurological Phenomenon of "Face Blindness"
This website about prosopagnosia or “face blindness” is
written by a woman named Cecilia Burman who has this condition. It is particularly interesting for her
descriptions of living with prosopagnosia and the strategies she uses to adapt
in social situations.
A Collection of Really Cool Optical Illusions by Michael Bach
This website shows 70+ optical illusions, many of them
animated. There is good commentary
about the neural phenomena thought to underlie these illusions and references
to the original scientific papers where they have been investigated.
This website and blog accompany the eponymous improbable, wonderful book from Tom Stafford and Matt Webb. It is in a series of techie books with titles like “Google Hacks” and “Linux Hacks”. While it is a bit strange to shoehorn a brain book into this “computer tips and tricks” format, the end result is a fascinating collection of exercises you can do at home which reveal aspects of brain organization. It’s particularly strong on sensory systems.
The Case Against Intelligent Design
This article by evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne is the best succinct refutation of Intelligent Design Creationism that I have read. It appears at John Brockman’s edge.org online journal which is worth a look in its own right.
Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation
This website is built to accompany the rarest of creatures: a science book that’s at once erudite, informative and a hoot. Olivia Judson’s shtick is that she’s a sex advice columnist for animals and she uses this device to get at some rather sophisticated and subtle issues in the evolutionary biology of sex. Recently, this book has spawned a series of three television episodes featuring Dr. Tatiana, produced by Discovery Channel Canada. These feature elaborate costumed musical numbers, like “Pocket Rocket” about the evolution of penis shape, that have to be seen to be believed.
This flash animation, from Prof. Niko Troje's lab at Queen's University in Canada, is bloody amazing. It shows how our brains are fine-tuned to extract gender-typical information from very sparse stimuli.
This has nothing to do with brain function, but then again, it has everything to do with brain function. Her photographs of her parents, husband and self are stunningly emotional.
In 2003, cognitive neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran delivered the BBC's annual Reith Lectures. Here, you can stream audio from these splendid, charismatic talks. While intended for a general audience, they will also delight seasoned brain geeks.
"My Sweet Lord" vs. "He's So Fine"
This is perhaps the most famous legal battle involving the form of memory failure known as "source misattribution." In this case, misattribution of a composer’s memory resulted in a case of unintended musical plagiarism. “He’s So Fine” written by Ronald Mack and performed by the Chiffons was a #1 hit in the USA in 1963. “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison was a #1 hit in 1970, and it bears a strikingly similar tune to the former. In a court battle, a judge ruled that Harrison inadvertently, subconsciously plagiarized the tune of “He’s So Fine”. This website contains audio clips, sheet music and the judge's opinion.
François Brunelle is a photographer in Montréal, Canada who has assembled a collection of portraits of totally unrelated people who look shockingly alike.
Jim Kalb's Palindrome Collection
Revel in the geeky pleasures of...
"A Santa dog lived as a devil god at NASA."
and the vaguely Canadian...
"He won a Toyota now, eh?"
International Trepanation Advocacy Group
If my children really want to piss me off when they become teenagers, this is what they'll do-- get a hole knocked in their skull to create a spiritual "third eye." Me, in a few years: "Couldn't you kids just get triple eyebrow rings instead like normal suburban rebels?"
are a hoot.
are, if anything, even more of a hoot.