Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Robert Edgar is an artist, philosopher, teacher, and long-time friend. Robert has a lot to say about models of communication and theories of knowledge. He says some of them on his blog, For Writing Out Loud. Just as effectively, however, his video compositions, music compositions, and poems carry his unique point of view. So be sure to view his creations on SYN LIFE: Robert Edgar's Portfolio Site.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Within the last couple of decades the study of the human brain has advanced rapidly, with discoveries that both have shaped new scientific paradigms and those that have toppled them. One of the more remarkable discoveries has been that of the plasticity of the brain. Contrary to what I was taught in college, when a part of the brain is destroyed, the brain can actually rewire itself to make use of healthy parts to serve the functions once served by the parts destroyed. Brain scientists have learned much also about the ways in which the brain changes as we perceive, learn, and remember. Much has been learned, and there is still much to be discovered, about the ways in which the imaginative-spatial right lobe and the analytical left lobe process stimuli as we understand, intuit, and emote. Brain science therefore can contribute much toward the development of forms of knowledge that integrate, rather than isolate, the rational from the emotional, the analytical from the imaginative.

Ginger Campbell is an MD with a passion for keeping up with the latest discoveries and theories in brain science. She has produced the Brain Science podcast for several years now, as a labor of love. She reads all the current books on the subject, summarizes them for the lay audience, and interviews the authors with well-informed questions and lucid observations. Even aside from the podcasts, her website is a treasure trove of information about this fast-evolving field: The Brain Science Podcast.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Love the sound of a cello? Why not listen to R. Strauss' Romance in F? It's lovely. Just heard it on KDFC.com. For me, there is always room for celllo.

Monday, September 07, 2009

As I awoke this morning from a nap, the name of Ivan Kireevsky popped into my head. I'd been trying to remember his name for the last week; so this remembrance was an illustration of the dynamic between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind vaguely described in throwaway poem 3 in the set of throwaway poems labeled 14. Of particular interest to me was Kireevsky's search for a kind of knowledge that would integrate intuition with reason. His pursuit sent him into the hesychastic tradition of Russian Orthodoxy; but his quest need not be seen exclusively as a religious conversion. Kireevsky might have something to say to those who today explore the interfaces between reason and intuition, and the bridges between modern science, epistemology, psychology, the arts, and the various spiritual traditions.
I've posted a poem, angel academy, and a set of throwaway poems, 14, to the poetry page of small creations.
This is where I'll log discoveries that support the development of a creative life, creative mind, and integral noetics. Also, this is the location for announcements of new creative efforts posted to my website, small creations.

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