Violence for Fun?!

New research on mice shows the brain processes aggressive behavior as it does other rewards. Mice sought violence, in fact, picking fights for no apparent reason other than the rewarding feeling.

The mouse brain is thought to be analogous to the human brain in this study, which could shed light on our fascination with brutal sports as well as our own penchant for the classic bar brawl.

Here is more from LiveScience.

Your Imaginery Friend Just Might be Real

Yet the new research on priming makes it clear that we are not alone in our own consciousness.

We have company, an invisible partner who has strong reactions about the world that don’t always agree with our own, but whose instincts, these studies clearly show, are at least as likely to be helpful, and attentive to others, as they are to be disruptive.

That is from a fascinating story from NYT, more here.

What I would like to know though, is what are the rules of interaction between these conscious and unconscious portions of our mind. How are these rules set in order to guarantee that each part serves our overall interests?

Amazing Scientific Fact of the Day

"According to Mr. Bland, aircraft manufacturers have been collecting data since the 1970s to determine the maximum stress that planes experience in turbulence, and they then design aircraft to withstand one and a half times that. In fact, a video clip available on YouTube shows Boeing’s test of the wing of a 777; using cables, the wing is bent upward about 24 feet at the tip before it breaks."

That's from a NYT story for those who have to step on the plane a lot.