Armchair Philosophizing with Melissa Unger

 

I am always reading, listening, looking at various subjects in the hopes of better understanding the source of creativity and imagination. I come across people & things in nature, science, philosophy, medicine, the arts, etc that spark my interest and inspire me.

Some are rather esoteric, but I think one has to roam the edges of what’s accepted in order to find innovative solutions and move thought & culture forward.

 

 

 Throughout the year, I share some subjects I came across in my research that I found particularly interesting. I hope you’ll enjoy them and that they will inspire you to stay curious.

 

SUBJECTS OF INTEREST – November 2012

Click on the underlined links for further info.

 

Morphic Resonance: Fascinating theory  from Biologist Rupert Sheldrake- “telepathy type interconnections between organisms and collective memories within species.” Could account for phantom limbs, how dogs know when their owners are coming home, and how people know when someone is staring at them, etc. To watch a short video of Rupert explaining his theory, click: HERE. Further reading: The Science Delusion 

 

The Hundreth Monkey Effect: Mind-boggling notion. Some believe it, some don’t- either way, it is interesting to ponder.  The video concludes that positive thinking alone is not enough to ‘change the world.’ I would argue that positive thinking alone is not YET enough to ‘change the world.’ I wonder if evolution will take us in a direction where thought can be separated from action and still lead to tangible change. To watch the video, click: HERE.

 

 

Oliver Sacks on Hallucinogens. Read about the noted neurologist’s personal experiments with mind-altering drugs: HERE. On a related topic, his new book Hallucinations hits bookshelves today. To watch his TED talk on the subject, please click: HERE.

 

 

 

 

Optical Illusions: Sure, they’re fun, but when was the last time you really thought about the notion that sometimes what you ‘see’ actually differs from objective reality?