Steve Freeman » Cool sites

Develop your intuition for maths.

steve.freeman — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:26:08 +0000

Unfortunately, math understanding seems to follow the DNA pattern. We’re taught the modern, rigorous definition and not the insights that led up to it. We’re left with arcane formulas (DNA) but little understanding of what the idea is. [...] not all starting points are equal. The right perspective makes math click — and the mathematical “cavemen” who first found an idea often had an enlightening viewpoint. Let’s learn how to build our intuition.

via Brent Yorgey

The cognitive neuroscience of magic

steve.freeman — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:49:26 +0000

A heavy title, but there are some great videos linked from this paper in Nature on “Attention and Awareness in Magic”, written by a team of scientists and top rate illusionists. Watch James Randi pull a fast one on Daniel Dennett, see if you can tell which is which…

via Neurophilosophy

Glass Virtuoso, remarkable

steve.freeman — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:49:08 +0000

Wait for a minute in.

This requires a lot of practice.

via http://centripetalnotion.com/

2008 What have you changed your mind about? Why?

steve.freeman — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:20:18 +0000

“The Edge” online magazine posts a question every year to lots of interesting people. The strapline this year is:

Science is based on evidence. What happens when the data change? How have scientific findings or arguments changed your mind?”

A major time-sink.

http://edge.org/q2008/q08_index.html