From the June 1962 cover of National Geographic February 20th marked the 50th anniversary of the day astronaut John Glenn orbited of Earth. He was one of NASA's original Mercury astronauts, depicted in the recent film, "The Right Stuff." The mission lasted just under five hours, allowing Glenn to circle the globe three times in … Continue reading The Inner Reaches began in Outer Space
painting by untitled blue on flickr - Acrylic on 4 Canvas: 125x90cm On a recent errand to acquire a bottle of aspirin from the neighborhood drug store, (never actually having set foot in the place previously,) as I walked through the door, I was immediately seized by an overwhelming desire to check the sign out … Continue reading Madness and the Demise of Common Sense
In the introduction to Jonah Lehrer's "Proust Was a Neuroscientist," he sums up the problem with only considering brain physiology as the means to come to terms with consciousness: "Scientists describe our brain in terms of its physical details; they say we are nothing but a loom of electrical cells and synaptic spaces. What science … Continue reading Neuroscience and the Arts
“Books on physics are full of complicated mathematical formulas, but thought and ideas are the beginning of every physical theory.” - Albert Einstein The Standard Model of particle physics did not predict the existence of the dark matter that constitutes the overwhelming majority of matter in the cosmos. The Standard Model describes heuristically the "foam … Continue reading The Foam on Top of the Ocean
While slowly awakening this morning, drifting between brief wakefulness and lapses back into sleep, I found myself suddenly in a dimly lit hallway, searching for a stairwell or exit, when I noticed a television monitor suspended from the wall. Thinking that it might be useful in some way, I went toward it in an attempt … Continue reading Dissonance within Resonance
[image credit: St. Jude Medical; North East Vision Magazine] I recently reviewed a publication I received a while back from Scientific American entitled, "Mind and Brain," written by Gerald D. Fischbach, who served as Chairman of the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School from 1990 - 2000. The complexity of the human brain as … Continue reading Human Brain, Human Mind, Human Consciousness, Human Spirit
A recent article in the New York Times, ("Decoding the Brain’s Cacophony" by Benedict Carey-Published: October 31, 2011) reports on research by Dr. Michael Gazzaniga, professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which suggests that the functioning of our left brain hemisphere is responsible our familiar view of ourselves--an interpreter--and that what … Continue reading Exploring Below the Surface
"Certain moments from the dream stand out sharply. The moment the vehicle I was traveling in pulled up to the long row of stone steps leading up to the building and I first saw you. We nearly collided as we embraced. We only spoke briefly when you abruptly went back inside the building, as I … Continue reading Dreaming Through a Window
Life has many strata. Upon conception, we begin the arduous journey to the awakening of consciousness. Gradually, the tissues within the embryo begin to differentiate, and by the end of the third week in the womb, the spinal column and central nervous system begin to form. By the end of six weeks, brain waves are … Continue reading Perception begins early in our development
Image of the night sky above Paranal on 21 July 2007, taken by ESO astronomer Yuri Beletsky We humans exist as sentient temporal beings in the physical universe, in a galaxy that is one of innumerable others, any number of which, should they have formed with the same optimal developmental and life-sustaining advantages currently enjoyed … Continue reading Transcendence and Awareness
John's Consciousness 