Category Archives: Science

Shadowy but present danger: A primer on psychopathy

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Lascap

In the age of social media, it is hard to avoid exposure to popular culture. This is a problem because most of the bugbears that are popular in this culture – like zombies or vampires – do not actually exist. … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | 15 Comments

Positive thinking about positive thinking might just be wishful thinking

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Lascap

Bringing about positive changes in your life is hard. Everyone knows this. But everyone also desires them. So it is seductive to believe – particularly if you have no credible way to actually bring them about – that merely wishing … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

On “Kardashians” in science and the general relationship between achievement and fame

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Lascap

I am not in the habit of commenting on ephemeral events, but this was brought to my attention by interested parties in a decidedly snarky fashion which obliges me to respond. Briefly, Neil Hall introduced the “Kardashian index” to quantify the … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Science, Social commentary | 2 Comments

What should we call simulated data?

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Lascap

Data is not made. Data is born as a result of a measurement process. Taking measurements (in conjunction with a measurement theory) creates data. But then, what should we call – in contrast – the results of simulations, the output of … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Philosophy, Science | 1 Comment

The relative scale of early visual areas

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Lascap

The visual system of primates comprises a large number of distinct cortical areas containing neurons that modulate their activity in response to a visual stimulus and are believed to represent different aspects of the visual scene. It has been recognized … Continue reading →

Posted in Neuroscience, Science | Leave a comment

The social mission of perceptual research

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Lascap

Our perception corresponds to an idiosyncratic model of reality, not reality itself. This is easy to forget, as we all share a common outside environment in the form of external reality and process it with a cognitive apparatus that has … Continue reading →

Posted in Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology, Science, Social commentary | 3 Comments

SfN 2013 in San Diego

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Lascap

This post will document my annual pilgrimage to SfN. This year (as in 2004, 2007 and 2010), it will take place in San Diego. See here how I prepare for the event and what I recommend how to go about … Continue reading →

Posted in Neuroscience, Science | Leave a comment

You really do need to sleep right

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Lascap

Two years ago, I wrote extensively why getting sufficient sleep is crucial to a good life and how to go about getting establishing sufficient levels of quality and quantity. Since then,  the situation has – if anything – gotten even … Continue reading →

Posted in Neuroscience, Optimization, Science, Social commentary | 2 Comments

The paradox of progress

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Lascap

I often wonder how people managed to get by a thousand years ago, without effective anesthetics or antibiotics or even a fundamental understanding of the underlying causes of illness and disease. However, I realize that people a thousand years from … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science, Social commentary, Strategy | 1 Comment

Data were analyzed using Matlab…

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Lascap

It is important to use the right tools for a given job. Science is no exception. In particular, given the vast amounts of data that are now routinely encountered in the field, one will want to use the best available … Continue reading →

Posted in Matlab, Neuroscience, Psychology, Science | 8 Comments

A more general relationship between relevance and rigor

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Lascap

Recently, SMBC (one of the few webcomics still worth reading, as he somehow manages to be uncorrupted by his own success) posted another inimitable offering. Except that in this case, it is actually perfectly imitable. This kind of thing can … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment

Superior motion perception in individuals with autism?

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Lascap

The empirical evidence seems to contradict Betteridge’s law. For the past 10 years, research on the “spatial suppression effect” showed that large moving stimuli are more readily perceived than smaller ones. However, this relationship doesn’t seem to hold in certain … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

Local and global connectivity – a tale of two datasets

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Lascap

The original images were generated based on facebook friendship data as well as data on scientific collaborations from Elsevier’s Scopus. The map of scientific collaborations was in itself inspired by the facebook map – I considered a direct comparison to … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

The current mental health crisis and the coming Ketamine revolution

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Lascap

Few FDA approved drugs have a reputation as controversial as Ketamine. This reputation is well earned. Originally developed in the 1960s as a short-acting anesthetic for battlefield use, in recent decades it has become notorious as a date-rape drug (‘Special … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | 19 Comments

Can music elicit a visual motion aftereffect?

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Lascap

Briefly, if you look at a large moving scene for a while, you will experience things moving in the opposite direction afterwards. This “motion aftereffect” was already known to Aristotle, presumably from the visual inspection of waterfalls. It was rediscovered … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

Bang or BAM? On respecting complex problems

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Lascap

There are simple problems that can be solved with a single bang. The task of understanding the (human) brain is not a simple problem. On the contrary, the classic quote “The brain, the masterpiece of creation, is almost unknown to … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Social commentary | 2 Comments

Neurotycho – A farewell to an old man

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Lascap

Tycho Brahe was once a Danish Nobleman. Do not think that I am very much impressed by that as a title of nobility, but it meant a lot to Brahe. He cared nothing for nobility itself, in fact he disliked … Continue reading →

Posted in Misc, Science | Leave a comment

A statistical analysis of Olympic outcomes of the past 28 years

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Lascap

Now that the excitement over the Olympics has abated a bit, it is time to reflect on the outcomes to see if we can discern any long term trends. Most casual observers seem to be most interested on the outcomes … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

Low contrasts shed light on the neural code for speed

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Lascap

The effects of stimulus contrast on visual perception have been known for a long time.  For example, there is a consensus that at lower contrasts objects appear to be moving slower than they actually are (Thompson, 1982). Several computational models … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal club, Science | Leave a comment

A video says much more than a thousand words – rapid communication of scientific concepts via the “Podster”, a historic waystation towards a truly dynamic presentation surface

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Lascap

Background The efficient communication of complex scientific concepts at an academic conference poses a challenge that is as old as it is formidable. The use of dynamic visual stimuli and intricate experimental designs have exacerbated the problems associated with this … Continue reading →

Posted in Conference, Optimization, Science, Technology | Leave a comment