What Is Fun?!?

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Today's topic was requested by Jes Kay from Canada, who is @JesKay28 on Twitter, and Riddle Me This, who is from Charleston, South Carolina and is @EgoAenigma on Twitter.

The idea of fun is objective, of course, as what may be fun to one person may not be fun to another.  But most people believe that unless you are a delinquent, a psychopath, or a sociopath, then we can all agree that having fun is good for you because it makes you feel good and, for the most part, keeps you out of trouble.  There has been a lot of research done about fun, and the occasional newspaper article written about fun.  For a couple of examples click here and click here.

Then there are those who promote having fun as a way to change everyday behavior.  They also propose that having fun is an antidote to war, because those who enjoy themselves don't often want to have war.  This is embodied in "The Fun Theory".  For more information about The Fun Theory click here.

A couple of final thoughts follow, and they concern having fun that is legal.  Beginning with the premise that sex is fun, be aware if you are in Sweden that prostitution is legal, but it is illegal to use the services of a prostitute...hmm...  And don't forget that driving while blindfolded is illegal in Alabama, so you'll have to get your fun behind the wheel another way when you're driving there.

Thanks Jes Kay, @JesKay28 on Twitter, and Riddle Me This, @EgoAenigma of Twitter, for requesting today's post--that was fun!  What did you learn today?

Language and Brain Switches

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There is a questionnaire now being given by scientists to bilingual persons in several countries such as Spain (speakers of Spanish and Catalan) and Canada (speakers of English and French).  The studies are trying to determine what unconscious changes occur in the brain when switching from one language to the other. 

For more information click here.  What did you learn today?

Automatic Brain Remodeling

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Recent studies in charting the brain’s genetic activity from before birth to old age--particularly when, where and for how long each gene in the brain is turned on over the course of a person’s life--reveal that the brain continually remodels itself in predictable ways throughout life.

For more information, see the article at the ScienceNews.org website.

A Natural Hole in the Head

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Johns Hopkins has developed a new brain surgery technique that leaves no scar, because entry to the brain is gained through a "natural hole" in the head:  inside the mouth behind the molars, above the jawbone, and beneath the cheekbone.

For more information, see the article at MedicalNewsToday.com.

Did You Remember To Get Your REM Sleep?

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During REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement) sleep, information is transferred from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.  Although individuals vary in the amount of sleep necessary to function well in their waking lives, lack of enough deep sleep interferes with one's having enough REM cycles necessary to allow the brain to process memory fully and properly.

For more information, see this article by Jie John Zhang, Ph.D. in the Journal of Theoretics.