h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi,

Did you pick up on the recent story that H.M. is dead?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/05hm.html?_r=2

Dunno about you but that is one set of initialsI do recall from my psychology studies! Thought you might be interested

Thank you! I hadn't heard that and without your link I would have missed it altogether. One of the classic case studies and a sad story, since it was due to the medical procedure. I suppose if it happened today he'd be able to sue for millions.

The other well known case in all the student text books is Clive Wearing. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3313452/The-man-who-keeps-falling-in-love-with-his-wife.html

I'd hard to know whether to feel more sorry for the people affected or for their loved ones.

Hey, no worries!
I think one mitigating factor for those who cannot form new memories is that they don;t know it. And even if they do momentarily know it they soon forget again. It is those around them who must cope with continual loss.

The only other mitigating factor I think is what we have learnd through their misfortune and how that can potentially help others in the future. Remember watching a programme about a specialist unit in Liverpool (I think) which deals with just these problems, real cutting edge stuff.

But what also gets me is the amount of positive emotion one finds in the situation too. The love and simple joy that can be brought about. I suppose compared to the tragedy any positives are held out in more stark relief.

Happy New Year! My daughter has returned to uni and I'm allowed to use my computer again.

I was doing some revision with students this week and they have to know the HM case study. I was able to bring them up to date and gave them the news report, so thank you again for letting me know. And I think I remember seeing that programme about the Liverpool hospital too. If they don't know have an insight into their own condition I guess it brings its own kind of peace. In a way I suppose better than having to watch yourself develop gradual memory loss. I'm thinking of how frustrating it must be for someone like Terry Pratchett.

oops, sorry, missed your reply somehow!
A belated happy new year to you too!

I've just got the course materials through for the next bit of my course - doing cognitive psychology this year which should be very interesting. I guess I'll just have to forget all the philosophy I have read on consciousness whilst studying it! (currently reading Dan Dennett's 'consciousness explained').

On the memory subject it does also raise questions about the nature of identity and personality and the narrative theory thereof. Fascinating but very sad area of study.

You get some feeling for the desperation when you find out that TP (STP now I guess!) has been looking at using the light helmet 'therapy'. TPs take on pseudoscience and claptrap has always been very good I thought but then again in his situation who's to say I too wouldn't try. Of course, that assumes the story is true as printed!

I let this convo drop, so sorry! Good to meet you yesterday.

As an example of how memory lets you down, I thought I had Daniel Dennets book somewhere, but in fact the one I was thinking of is by John Searle. I recently reorganised my bookcases and realised there are a lot of books I've bought because I knew I'd be interested but never given them enough of my time. I'm going to aim to do some reading of my existing ones over the summer and try not to buy any new books.

On the other hand my most recent purchase is Ben Goldacre so maybe I will read that first. I bet he'd have something to day about the light helmet "therapy"! And as long as I keep http://www.aldaily.com/ as my home page, I'm going to keep finding out about new books I'd like to buy.

So, how's your course going? Is it as interesting as you thought? Cognitive psychology is, in my opinion, where all the focus in psychology is right now.

Yes, was good to meet you was going to chat a bit more but kinda didn't happen! Ah well, that's how pub meets often go

Haven't got the Bad Science book yet, bit too much course reading to do and that Dan Dennett book is pretty dense reading. Do read his blogs and guardian pieces though. Could get interesting though, you see the libel judgement on Simon Singh recently? Not good.

Course is interesting, yes, doing all about language processing at the moment. Some real moments as talking about spoken errors of the spoonerism type or mixed wordings. Interesting to get the info behind them. I think you are right about the focus being in cognitive, I think at least partially because people think we might actually be getting the technology to investigate it properly.

I decided to pootle past your page and then I read your recent journal about the lab report. I'd have offered to proof read it for you if I'd seen that earlier. But it seems you did fine on it anyway, so well done!

But... then I looked at some of your older journals. Don't worry, I'm not some weird stalker type! I just picked a few. Rare day at home "working". (Procrastination counts as work doesn't it?)

Anyway, I found this from May 2004:
F104110?thread=417036&skip=11&show=12
"...watch out for my post saying I have moved, it means the housing market in the UK will crash..."

Then this from April 2007:
F104110?thread=3842691&skip=74&show=75
"I have keys, they have the money and I am a man of property again!"

So it's all your fault then!!!

oh I'm a veteran er myself

I miss work at home, used to be able to get every other friday as work at home, I got so much work done...on the house, the garden...

As for the housing thing, yes, I admit it. I put the kiss of death on any financial market. I bought my first proper big motorbike (a suzuki 750) just before the glut of second hand machines from japan hit these shores and sent the second hand prices nosediving. Similar thing happened with the car. My friends know to watch me and then buy 6 months later

You done any research proposals? My next assignment is to create one which is the basis for the course project which we do at the 1 week residential school in the summer. Kinda bricking that too...

Well it looks like it went well so there was no need for your worry after all! Well done!

I am supposed to do research, I've just been too busy this year getting used to my new job. (My job title says "Senior Lecturer" but I think it just means Old!) It's been an interesting year, but as I was reminded today, 10% of my time is supposed to be allocated to research so I should think about something for next year. In fact I have too many research ideas vaguely hovering around in my head. It would be good to do my own again instead of supervising other people.

So, what plans for the summer? Are you thinking of buying anything that I need to know about, just so that I can watch the price plummet?

Ah, well, belated congrats on the senior lecture thingy!
Is there much you can do with only 10% of your time though? Most research seems pretty time consuming.
What sort of areas you into for research?

Summer? Well, got plenty house/garden stuff to do. Got my summer school for the OU 1 week at the end of July. Other than that - just working!

No big purchases really - although watch out for fencing, flooring and paint prices to drop!

just realised I hadn't added you to my friends list - hope you don't mind if I do?

Not at all! And I'll add you too.

I've been in my job a whole year now so I suppose I can't get away with the "Sorry, I'm new" excuse much longer. And if I manage to do research it will be related to my job in teacher education rather than a completely free choice of anything in psychology I suppose. Something to think about in September.

What sort of course is it you're actually on? I've lurked but I've either missed where you explained that, or, like me, you don't give away many details online.

Well, being the OU you do the modules you want to. So you don't actually register for a course but for a module.

Their named degress though are made up of specified modules that you must take to get that degree. Especially when you have professional (hmmm) bodies like the BPS accrediting your course!

But you can just do a random selection - you could do a module from phsyics, one on AI, one on ancient Greece, one on French etc and when you have amassed enough points you get an 'open' degree - a BSc(Open) or BA(Open) which I think is not bad actually for people who learn for the fun of learning.

At the moment I am counting my courses towards a BSc Psychology. However I'm only really interested in the hard science psychology and the current module is the last of the hard science ones. I still have 2 to go for the degree (plus prior learning accreditation from my computer degree which means I effectively skip the level/year 1 course) so the question is whether I persevere and get the Psychology degree, go off at a tangent or modify it for one of their other Psych related such as Psych and Philosophy. They did do a Psych and Commp. Sci(AI) which would have been very interesting. I could still do the same modules but would get an Open degree.

Dunno, see how I do on this one I think. I did very well on the first but stuffed the exam so got a 3rd for it Got a 2.2 for the 1st yr project. Got a 2.1 for the last course. Current one is looking 2.2/2.1 ish and there's the project write up which counts seperate so I hope for similar on that. If I can pull a 2.1 I will go for the psych I think, 2.2 not sure, 3rd or less and may just go for an Open and pretend I was trying anyway

(phew, sorry for all that, you asked )

Yes I did ask, but I am interested! I used to tape a lot of the OU psychology programmes to use when I was teaching A Level psychology, but over the years they became rather dated (especially the ones that featured computers) and then disappeared from the TV so I wondered what happened to the courses.

It actually sounds a fascinating way to get a degree, especially with the freedom of choice, but I think you'd have to be very self motivated. Do you have to force yourself to study?

Oh yes!

I am (it sounds rather arrogant to say it but no one else is able to say it on my behalf here so I guess it will have to be me) capable of getting a 1st. But I'm doing it for personal interest and I *hate* jumping through hoops. If they asked/tested on the bits I am interested in I'd do a lot better than I currently am!

I'm also one of those who does stuff at the last moment. Part of that is calculated - if I do work early I tend to over revise it and end up getting a worse mark than if I just handed in draft 2 or 3. So I kinda leave it till about a week before hand so I ain't tempted.

OTOH I'm single and not exactly a party animal these days. Plus I have an hour or two eachd ay on the train to waste. They reckon a 60pt course (lvl 3 study, equiv to 1 main course module in the 2nd or 3rd year at uni) is a 15hr week of study. But then they average it out over all abilities so you have to modify that to your personal ability to study.

oooh, you might find this interesting, seems a photo of Phineas Gage post accident has turned up - got the link off bad science:

http://brightbytes.com/phineasgage/index.html

and a bit from the BPS about it
http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2009/07/first-ever-photo-of-phineas-gage-is.html

not quite the hideous looking monster some texts claimed him to be!

Excellent links! Thank you for that!

I've always been of the belief that his personality change was more of a consequence of frustration of being treated as a freak in the travelling fairground. An attribution error to assume he was more impulsive and aggressive because of the way he looked, or even as a result of the brain damage. As the photo showed, he wasn't hideous, and we don't really know what the damage actually did. Also, we don't really know what his personality was like before the accident - only what people said it was in retrospect, once they knew about his accident. I suppose there's also always the possibility that his behaviour change was all part of an act to enhance the fairground show. There are times when a time machine would be useful!

I must apologise for being a hopeless person to have a continuous conversation with. Unlike quite a lot of people here, I don't have the kind of job where it's possible to pootle around on the internet during working hours. I'm not complaining though. It's been an interesting year since giving up a regular teaching job for the slightly more freelance life at uni. That job is only part time so I take any other work I can get. Mostly supply teaching but also crammer classes and occasional work as a film extra. I'm hoping next year to pick up enough additional sessional hours at uni teaching on other courses so that I don't need to do supply.

So what are your plans for the summer? Will you keep on with the Open University stuff or do you allow yourself some time off? Is there a summer school for it?

yep, off to Brighton next week (25th - 31st) for my residential week. Well, I say Brighton, it is actually Falmer I think, little place just outside.

Only problem is I have to travel via London and we finish on the friday at about 1pm which lands me in London 3.30pm which is in peak time so the ticket goes up by 70+ quid! Not paying that I can assure you so will prob trip into town with my suitcase and find a suitable cafe to sit in. Seems my first off peak link leaves Brighton about 10 to five so only a couple of hours to waste with a good book, coffee and a chair or park bench!

Just almost completed my current TMA (gonna polish it at work tomorrow ) and I hope I never hear anymore about working memory and the flippin' phonological loop! Talk about confusing - its all the stuff about auditory and visual list recall and phonomic and word length effects thereof (or not as the case may be). Simply doesn't add up to my mind. Keep trying to get my head round it but keep asking 'what about...'!

And don't worry about the replying thing, I'm not the worlds best communicator/natterer!

I think Badderley was well aware there were a lot of flaws in the working memory theory but left it to others to investigate them! It's a hard one to explain in words though. On A level specifications it's not taught alone, but compared and contrasted with multistore and levels of processing theories so that makes it a bit easier to understand.

Is the residential week for lectures or experiments? I wouldn't worry about having time to waste when it's finished. You'll find plenty to keep you busy in Brighton for a few hours. Head for the Lanes http://www.visitbrighton.com/site/shopping/the-lanes or North Laine http://www.visitbrighton.com/site/shopping/north-laine Lots of independent shops and quirky little streets so you'll be bound to find somewhere interesting for coffee.