Unconscious Decision Making

People should read more into unconscious decision making (even if by only searching Google). Forget Freud (well, not entirely), because the new research currently in progress in the field of cognitive science (neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and computational theory) will revolutionize the way you think about the brain/mind.

Topics concerning the Unconscious that I'm currently interested in:

• Illusory Decision Making (what is an actual decision? When is a decision made? Is a decision a “mental process” or a “physical action”? That is, if I decide to click the left button over the right button, but then a moment later I change my mind, did I ever actually make a decision to push the left button or was the only decision the one that led to an action?
• Unconscious Confabulation (how and why we can have false memories?)
• Heuristics for Decision Making (how reliable are these, how do they occur?)
• Unconscious Awareness (can we, as organisms, be aware of things of which we are not conscious?)
• States of Unconsciousness (are there levels of the unconscious mind similar to the levels presumably present in the conscious mind?)
• Unconscious Computation vs. Conscious Computation (is there a difference in how our conscious and unconscious functions? Is the unconscious strictly computational, while our conscious may be something more than that? - think quantum mechanics)
• Unconscious Communication (how does the unconscious mind communicate with the conscious mind?)
• The Evolution of the Unconscious (both physiological – via evolutionary biology – and historically – via how we think about unconsciousness)
• Unconscious Deception (does our unconscious deceive our conscious, or, more likely, does our conscious misperceive the information in the unconscious?)
• Unconscious Deliberation (how does our unconscious prepare decisions for our conscious minds?)
• Unconscious Memories Retrieval (how does our brain intake memories, of which we are unaware, and how is it possible that we can consciously retrieve them?)
• Collective Unconscious (what’s with Jung’s theory?)

In other news...

Iowa is now officially more progressive than California. Take that!

Last Minute SUPER BOWL Predictions

The game starts in about 6 hours and - of course - everyone is predicting that the Steelers will mop the floor with the Cardinals, and probably rightly so. However, the Cards have made it this far, and I have hope. So my prediction.

Cardinals 27
Steelers 24

I will most likely eat these words, but let's hope not.

Oscar Nominees, and who I THINK should win

However, who I THINK should win never runs parallel with who ACTUALLY WINS. I think it is a safe bet to say that SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE WILL WIN ALMOST EVERYTHING, but here is my take. My picks will be highlighted in bold.

Winners to be announced on Sunday, February 22nd.

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Ceán Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall

Frost/Nixon (2008): Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Eric Fellner

Milk (2008): Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks

The Reader (2008): Nominees to be determined

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Christian Colson


Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:

Richard Jenkins for The Visitor (2007/I)

Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon (2008)

Sean Penn for Milk (2008)

Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:

Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Angelina Jolie for Changeling (2008)

Melissa Leo for Frozen River (2008)

Meryl Streep for Doubt (2008/I)

Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)


Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

Josh Brolin for Milk (2008)

Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder (2008)

Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt (2008/I)

Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)

Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road (2008)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

Amy Adams for Doubt (2008/I)

Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Viola Davis for Doubt (2008/I)

Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler (2008)


Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:

Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Stephen Daldry for The Reader (2008)

David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon (2008)

Gus Van Sant for Milk (2008)


Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:

Frozen River (2008): Courtney Hunt

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008): Mike Leigh

In Bruges (2008): Martin McDonagh

Milk (2008): Dustin Lance Black

WALL·E (2008): Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon


Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Eric Roth, Robin Swicord

Doubt (2008/I): John Patrick Shanley

Frost/Nixon (2008): Peter Morgan

The Reader (2008): David Hare

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Simon Beaufoy


Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:

Changeling (2008): Tom Stern

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Claudio Miranda

The Dark Knight (2008): Wally Pfister

The Reader (2008): Roger Deakins, Chris Menges

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Anthony Dod Mantle


Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

The Dark Knight (2008): Lee Smith

Frost/Nixon (2008): Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill

Milk (2008): Elliot Graham

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Chris Dickens


Best Achievement in Art Direction
Nominees:

Changeling (2008): James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo

The Dark Knight (2008): Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando

The Duchess (2008): Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway

Revolutionary Road (2008): Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt


Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:

Australia (2008): Catherine Martin

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Jacqueline West

The Duchess (2008): Michael O'Connor

Milk (2008): Danny Glicker

Revolutionary Road (2008): Albert Wolsky


Best Achievement in Makeup
Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Greg Cannom

The Dark Knight (2008): John Caglione Jr., Conor O'Sullivan

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008): Mike Elizalde, Thomas Floutz


Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Alexandre Desplat

Defiance (2008): James Newton Howard

Milk (2008): Danny Elfman

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman

WALL·E (2008): Thomas Newman


Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman, Gulzar("Jai Ho")

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman, Maya Arulpragasam("O Saya")

WALL·E (2008): Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman("Down to Earth")


Best Achievement in Sound
Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten

The Dark Knight (2008): Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty

WALL·E (2008): Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt

Wanted (2008): Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt


Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:

The Dark Knight (2008): Richard King

Iron Man (2008): Frank E. Eulner, Christopher Boyes

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Tom Sayers

WALL·E (2008): Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood

Wanted (2008): Wylie Stateman


Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron

The Dark Knight (2008): Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, Paul J. Franklin

Iron Man (2008): John Nelson, Ben Snow, Daniel Sudick, Shane Mahan
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:

Bolt (2008): Chris Williams, Byron Howard

Kung Fu Panda (2008): John Stevenson, Mark Osborne

WALL·E (2008): Andrew Stanton


Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (2008)(Germany)

Entre les murs (2008)(France)

Revanche (2008)(Austria)

Okuribito (2008)(Japan)

Vals Im Bashir (2008)(Israel)


Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:

The Betrayal - Nerakhoon (2008): Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath

Encounters at the End of the World (2007): Werner Herzog, Henry Kaiser

The Garden (2008/I): Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Man on Wire (2008): James Marsh, Simon Chinn

Trouble the Water (2008): Tia Lessin, Carl Deal


Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Nominees:

The Conscience of Nhem En: Steven Okazaki

The Final Inch: Irene Taylor Brodsky, Tom Grant

Smile Pinki: Megan Mylan

The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306: Adam Pertofsky, Margaret Hyde


Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:

La Maison en Petits Cubes: Kunio Kato

Ubornaya istoriya - lyubovnaya istoriya (2007): Konstantin Bronzit

Oktapodi (2007): Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchand

Presto (2008): Doug Sweetland

This Way Up (2008): Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes


Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:

Auf der Strecke (2007): Reto Caffi

Manon sur le bitume (2007): Elizabeth Marre, Olivier Pont

New Boy (2007): Steph Green, Tamara Anghie

Grisen (2008): Tivi Magnusson, Dorthe Warnø Høgh

Spielzeugland (2007): Jochen Alexander Freydank

Police Kill Unarmed, Detained, 22 year old California Man

This should not fall into the background of the media.

Oscar Grant, 22 years old, is now dead. Watch the video, do you think the officer was justified in killing this person?

Breakdown of Animals KILLED and TORTURED each year.

Breakdown of Animals Killed and Tortured

Animals Killed in USA for Food:
Yearly: 10,000,000,000 (10 billion)
Monthly: 833,333,333 (833 million)
Weekly: 192,307,692 (192 million)
Daily: 27,397,260 (27 million)
Hourly: 1,141,552 (1 million)
Minute: 19,025 (19 thousand)
Second: 317 (3 hundred)

This is for food only and in the USA only!

Animals Experimented on in USA (Dogs only) [Cats only] {with pain & suffering, without anesthesia} NOTE--THESE NUMBERS DO NOT INCLUDE RATS, MICE, BIRDS, ETC. (WHICH ARE THE MOST POPULAR TEST SUBJECTS):
Yearly: 1,416,643 (69,516) [25,560] {104,202}
Monthly: 118,053 (5,793) [2,130] {8,683}
Weekly: 27,243 (1,336) [491] {2,003}
Daily: 3,881 (190) [70] {285}
Hourly: 161 (8) [3] {12}
Minute: 2.7 (.11) () {.2}

Most are euthanized after experimentation.
A dog is killed in the USA every 2 hours with pain, without anesthesia.
6 cats are killed every day in the USA with pain, without anesthesia.
Every 5 minutes in the USA an animal is experimented on with pain, without anesthesia.

Animals Experimented on WORLDWIDE:
Yearly: 115,000,000 (115 million)
Monthly: 9,583,333 (9.5 million)
Weekly: 2,211,538 (2 million)
Daily: 315,068 (315 thousand)
Hourly: 13,127 (13 thousand)
Minute: 218 (2 hundred)
Second: 4

4 animals per second, meaning every 4 seconds one is tortured w/ pain, w/o anesthesia.
Includes about same stats as in USA (using cats, dogs, etc., with over 7% of testing being performed with pain, without anesthesia.

YEARLY RESULTS TAKEN FROM THE FOLLOWING:
Dr Hadwen Trust and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
USDA-NASS
USDA

If you care AT ALL for your own life, or for the future of the world, watch this.

Resemblance to Buddhism

Atsuhiro Takaichi Rears Abandoned Polar Bear Named "Peace".

Meet "Peace". I love her.




Find information about this, it is a great story.

Environmentalist causes problems at BLM auction

It is nice to know that SOME people are still sane, and care about the Earth enough to disrupt these crooked business deals.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

PETAs top 10 Karmic Moments for Animal Abusers

10. While striking his dog with a gun to make him release a bone, a man managed to shoot himself. Granted, I don't think there's any safe place to point a gun, but letting the "business end" face you as you swing it like a club? Wow. Maybe he'll think twice about hitting his dog next time—if he, ya know, survived.

9. What happens when you anger a 10-foot python who's been stuck in a cage for a long time? An intern at a Venezuelan zoo found out when he decided to play with the snake during his night shift. Turns out that snakes are fond of strangling and swallowing their prey (someone really should put that on Wikipedia).

8. Some people shoo wasps away with their hands. Others think it's fair play to go after them with lighted torches. One monk learned that when you play with fire, you (and your entire temple) might get burned (to the ground).

7. While tracking a deer whom he had shot and was in the process of killing, a hunter apparently misjudged a cliff's edge and fell off.

6. A New Jersey man tried to kill insects in his apartment with bug spray, but the propellant chemicals in the spray seemed to have some unforeseen consequences. He succeeded in killing many bugs, but probably not so much because of the poison as because of the explosion, which destroyed 80 percent of his apartment.

5. Though the purpose of "sea kitten hunting" is to dig a hook painfully into another being's skin, one guy seems to have misread the how-to manual and managed to drive the hook into his own hand.

4. Have you ever seen bears who were forced to perform in captivity and felt sorry for how helpless they look? Well, it turns out gigantic land mammals with sharp, sharp teeth aren't always that helpless—as demonstrated by the fatal attack that a bear at Predators in Action wild animal training center made against a trainer.

3. Why don't we allow children to drive? Because it's dangerous. Why do we allow children to kill animals with loaded firearms? Good question. Though some folks argue that children can be trusted with firearms if trained properly, I don't think that helps the two men who were allegedly shot by one eight-year-old boy who had reportedly been taught how to use a deadly weapon to hunt animals.

2. After being jailed on burglary charges, a man was attacked by another inmate who chewed off a part of his ear (ewww!). What are the odds that something so disgusting and awful would happen to someone? To top it off, what are the odds that it would happen to a man who had previously been charged with cutting off a dog's ears?!

1. Proving that using a .44 Magnum to kill mice is not a good idea, a trailer park resident managed to shoot herself and a bystander while trying to fire at a rodent who was simply trying to share her space. Is anyone else stunned that two accidental injuries occurred? PETA's humane mousetrap, on the other hand, has never hurt a living soul.

Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

A bill passed by congress to turn people who oppose the torture of animals and destruction of the Earth into terrorists. This bill was design to "give law enforcement officials more power when dealing with animal rights activism".

So, apparently those who care about ALL sentient beings need to be dealt with in a harsher manner than those interested in torturing and causing violent pain upon these beings. Thanks America.

I've always felt as though I've been missing a part of myself...

But then I found it, in Johann Sebastian Bach's piece entitled "Toccata & Fugue in D-minor".

You complete me.

haha

Utahn's opinions of homosexuality? **UPDATED

On the KSL News website here in Utah, you can post comments about the news stories posted. And every single time a story is posted that has anything to do with homosexuality, I see the most hateful, ignorant, and downright dangerous comments that exist on the website. I see how the normative view is in Utah, and it is a very sad thing. Below are a few of the comments taken directly from their comment board (also note that KSL moderates these comments, and doesn't allow words like "Fuck" or "Shit" or as far as I know, even words like "Damn," yet they allow words like "Fag" and so forth - it should also be notes that 20-to-1 of the comments is against homosexuality in general, not just against the marriage of homosexuals).

Comments from the KSL story: "Gay-rights group takes out ad in Prop 8 fight."

dragonempress writes:

Really... enough is enough. They want to make is legal to violate gods laws. ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! END OF STORY! If you didn't give them air time they wouldn't keep whining like the whiney little babies they are.

Its like a child who has stolen a cookie from the pantry and got caught... its wrong the child knows it... but they whine anyway...

Like it or not all you gay freaks out there... religious people will stand up for what is right whether or not you like it.

---

Ben D. writes:

How many times can you beat a gay horse. Er, I mean a dead horse???

---

denn034 writes:

They are a bunch of sore losers that're just trying to wear down people's resistance to it... Promoting the gay lifestyle can only lead to more AIDS infections as the recent spike in AIDS infections shows.

---

DJC 47 writes:

Give it a rest. We don't want it and you have no right to demand it. Just get on with your immoral lives and leave the rest of us out of it.

---

newsreader435 writes:

Homosexuals are just wacko in mind as well as body.

---

Cankerpuss writes:

I agree with you 100%. Homosexuality by and of itself leads to death of a society because homosexuals cannot naturally reproduce themselves. It's insanity to put same sex marriage on the same legal status of children producing hetero sexual marriages.

---

And finally,

I'm so sick of the homosexual mafia throwing crap around. This fight against prop 8 is going to backfire against the perverts.

It's time to let it die. Maybe the up and coming generation of vacuuos souls will give someone the right to marry anyone or anyTHING they want. Until then, accept your losses and just go away. Gays are only inflicting more pain on an already painful situation by not going quietly into the realms of the defeated.

UPDATE:

Here is a quote from the same site (ksl.com) on another news story about gay marriage.

Why can't these qweers just go away and go back in the closet where they belong?

by Sambecks C. @ 8:36pm - Fri Dec 19th, 2008

Geez, this is getting SO OLD!!!!! Homosexual activists are nothing but predators and they should be treated as such.

This concerns me.

Why is it that you have a better chance of having your named mentioned on the news (or in the newspaper) if you kill somebody (or are killed) than if you help somebody? Why is it that it is easier to find out who is on death row than to find out where the next great humanitarian project is happening?

Google News Search Results:

PERSON KILLED (38,000 results)
PERSON RESCUED (1,400)