“Maybe climate, and the bargains that it forces upon us, are the last things that make us mysterious to one another. The same Ruby Tuesdays and Walmarts might be found from Tulsa, Okla., to Bangor, Me., but the temperament of the souls who live in those cities will always be different, as long as Oklahomans have tornadoes and winter wheat and Mainers have blackflies and aurora borealis.”
—truth. cheers to humid summer nights in north carolina where you have to hold your beer against your face to cool off. to standing on brooklyn rooftops with hot breezes blowing at your sundress. to laying on beaches in bathing suits in los angeles watching the sun set at 5pm in February. the weather is how I know where I am.
The Neuroscience of Prayer
theeuropean-magazine.com
Disconnect, for a moment, from the argument of whether prayer is real. That’s for another time and another place. The fact remains that it is an ancient, powerful, and widely practiced behavior. What is it about the human brain that encourages so many to appeal to a higher power? And what is happening inside the brain when people pray?
When we look at prayer through the lens of neuroscience, we can make an interesting observation: Talking to God is not really different from talking to one’s friends and neighbors.
The brain’s evolution was a highly social process and involved complex problem solving. Yet, invisible entities are not a force of natural selection. Check out this fMRI study of religious folks, and you’ll see that religious people’s brains view prayer as communication with an actual physical entity.
Believer or not, it’s good conversation fodder for your next cocktail party. For sure, it appears that religion is far more than illusion for the religious.
Trace space back to you: 20 everyday items we have because of NASA
Have you ever wondered how space exploration impacts your daily life?
Every year since the mid-1970s, NASA has published a list of space technologies that have been integrated into everyday items. The tangible benefits span from life-saving medical devices to protective eyewear. To date, NASA has documented nearly 1,800 “spinoff” technologies. Here’s a short list.
- Artificial limbs
- Baby formula
- Cell-phone cameras
- Computer mouse
- Cordless tools
- Ear thermometer
- Firefighter gear
- Freeze-dried food
- Golf clubs
- Long-distance communication
- Invisible braces
- MRI and CAT scans
- Memory foam
- Safer highways
- Solar panels
- Shoe insoles
- Ski boots
- Adjustable smoke detector
- Water filters
- UV-blocking sunglasses
NASA did not invent:
- Tang
- Velcro
- Teflon
