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![]() Newsletter of Project Renaissance and Win Wenger April 2007 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Best viewed with fixed-width font and restored line breaks) IN THIS ISSUE: * Quote of the Month * Announcements, News Items, Books * Events, Workshops * FEATURE ARTICLE: The * Comments, Feedback Noel Lackey on portable memory bank via phone Win Wenger on science Dean on John Cornfield on savants Tom Hernach on visual arithmetic Win Wenger on neuron connections, a proposal * Organizational Notes * Links ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Genius is no more than childhood recaptured at will.” -- Baudelaire [1821-67] ........................................................................ ANNOUNCEMENTS ~~~ WELCOME to all new members who have joined us recently. We hope to hear from you and to give you much food for thought. Back issues are available upon request. Just add the month to the subject line: mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=BackIssues Or see the online archives: http://www.winwenger.com/strmlist.htm ~~~ NEED HELP WITH MAILING LIST We are looking for on-going help in cleaning and updating our list of opt-in subscribers to our newsletter. The current list is about 3000 names and growing. We use it for a monthly e-mailing. Recurring problems with delivery are people whose email box is "over quota", or they are unknown, or have no such address. If you are willing and able to help, contact Kate Jones at mailto:kate@gamepuzzles.com or mailto:win@winwenger.com . ~~~
IMAGE-STREAMING PARTNERS - PILOT PROGRAM We are setting up a partners' bureau or real-time chat resource online via Skype, msn or yahoo messenger for people looking for partners with whom to do live Image-Streaming. If you're interested in joining this resource, please send your contact information and preferences, such as time of day, language, type of Image-Streaming, and we will create a cross-reference index of partners to talk online. Contact: mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=PartnersOnline ~~~ INTEREST GROUPS * PHILADELPHIA/DELAWARE - Gerald Hawkins offers interested parties to contact him at mailto:gerald.hawkins@gmail.com about starting a problem- solving and idea-testing group in the Philadelphia/Delaware area. * attending meetings of Project Renaissance members in the * like to meet with other members of Project Renaissance in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of * in attending meetings of Project Renaissance members in
the area. David Simpson ( mailto:davidksimpson@earthlink.net ) is also in the * NEW interested in joining an Image-Streaming group in the area. * would like to practice Image-Streaming with a live listener in his area. ~~~ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| PROJECT RENAISSANCE'S NEW COREBOOKS www.winwenger.com/corebook.htm A series of compact handbooks of Win Wenger's key techniques. The first three volumes are now in print and easy to order from the publisher: * SUPER SKILLS FOR STUDENTS by Isa McKechnie * WIN WENGER'S IMAGE-STREAMING by Charles Roman * END WRITER'S BLOCK FOREVER! by Mark Bossert, Win Wenger
~~~ Win Wenger writes: Your son or daughter, niece or nephew or friend in college, week to week and semester to semester facing further challenges and milestones in his or her life, really needs, I believe, Isa McKechnie's "Super Skills for Students", obtainable as hardcopy book or as ebook directly from the publisher, Lulu.com. See http://www.winwenger.com/corebook.htm Compact, clear, simple, direct - mostly our procedures, but not my relatively convoluted writing. Isa has done a wonderful job, and this work can be a very great aid and convenience to anyone in a program of learning and challenge. I can't say enough in praise of it. Enjoy. ~~~ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ~~~ New toys read brain waves - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070430/ap_on_hi_te/mind_reading_toys Forty years ago I saw the forerunner of this, as a demonstration device for opening garage doors. I think it has a considerable future, for many uses besides those of paraplegics. You might find it interesting. -- Win Wenger ~~~ Sun's Next Cycle of Fury Delayed http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070426_solar_cycle.html The Sun's next cycle of solar storms will brew up later than expected, though astronomers are split on just how strong the star's tempests will be. Initially expected to begin last fall, the Sun's 11-year storm season is now pegged to begin in March 2008 and hit its peak near the end of 2011, according to a new forecast compiled by a panel of solar experts for the Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). ~~~ Brain Lessons http://www.slate.com/id/2165043/ A group of eminent writers and researchers in the field of neuroscience describe how their knowledge about the brain has affected the way they lead their daily lives. ~~~ The 2007 Shift Report: Evidence of a World Transforming www.shiftreport.org This 80-page report attempts to chart the transition we believe is underway from a rigid, mechanistic, and materialistic worldview to one that is built on a foundation of interconnectedness, cooperation, and the intersection of science and spirituality. A must-read! ~~~ School shooters linked to brain disorder, study shows www.amenclinics.com We’ve all been horrified with the gruesome events that transpired on the Virginia Tech campus in April 2007. Sadly, this is yet another in a series of seemingly unexplainable happenings involving impulsive murderers. We have done and are about to release a revealing study linking murderers to a specific problem area of the brain. The study showed significant decreased blood flow in areas of the brain associated with forethought, planning, and impulse control. This area of the brain is implicated in anger management, and deficits here indicate a relative inability to utilize resources involved with inhibition, self-censorship, planning, and future consequences. The results suggest that murderers who commit acts of impulsive violence show a marked inability to utilize important cognitive resources when challenged by emotionally neutral tasks. I strongly believe that we should start using brain-imaging technology to help evaluate people who have violent thoughts or behaviors, as many of these brain patterns are amenable to treatment. -- Daniel Amen, M.D., Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association, and CEO of Amen Clinics, Inc., A Medical Corporation. You can subscribe to their Newsletter, "Brain in the News", from which this item was excerpted. We thank Lyelle Palmer for its contribution to The Stream. Questions or comments to: www.amenclinics.com
ARCHIVES: Newsletter Archives -- http://www.amenclinics.com See also: www.brainplace.com © 2007, Amen Clinics Inc., A Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. ~~~ Defending free will: A fruit fly makes choices - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070516/sc_nm/flies_freewill_dc_1 An interesting proposition. See what you think of it. ~~~ Children Beat Adults in Memory Contest http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050517_memory.html When you need to remember specific details, try thinking like a child. A new study pitted college-aged adults against 5- to 11-year-old kids in a memory contest. The younger contestants won by paying better attention to the details. Adults, it seems, get lazy. ~~~ Music Tickles Strong Memories http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050526_music_memory.html A new study backs the obvious notion that a song can evoke strong memories. It also reveals that you don't even have to hear a song for the past to come flooding back. ~~~ Translators wanted - in any language, to translate selected contents of the Project Renaissance website, the new CoreBooks series, and certain books by Win Wenger. Please contact Win at mailto:wwenger101@aol.com if you are able and interested in collaborating on these projects. ~~~ ........................................................................ EVENTS ~~~ UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS Two more Saturdays - June 2 and 9, 2007 - 12:30 to 3:30PM Precipice Improv Workshops The Writer's Center, For information and cost, call Gary Jacobs, 202-258-6888 Details: http://www.writer.org Precipice Improv Theater's Fall season 6 consecutive Saturday nights, starting September 1, 2007 Details: www.precipiceimprov.com
~~~ Meet in person and hear the amazing story of Prabhavati, the founder of Ramana’s Garden, an orphanage in Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - at Kathy Carroll's house, Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - at Seeker's Church, www.friendsramanasgarden.org ~~~ May 31, 2007 Globond-DC Brunch: Empowering Your Vision http://www.globond.com/ For questions, email mailto:kirstin@globond.com or call 857.222.9343
~~~ Wednesday - June 3, 2007 - 7:00-9:30pm Creative Problem Solving for Entrepreneurs Presented by Gregg Fraley, Creativity and Innovation Expert and author of "Jack's Notebook" Location: Cleveland Park Club House 3433 33rd Place, NW - Washington, DC 20008 Directions: www.capitolcreativitynetwork.com Register at www.yescircle.org $20 online; $25 at the door ~~~ June 24-29, 2007 CPSI Creativity Conference Details: http://www.cpsiconference.com/
~~~ Teamwork & Teamplay Workshops with Jim Cain, Ph.D. http://www.teamworkandteamplay.com/trainingcalendar.html September 24-26 - ACA Southeast Regional Conference, Jacksonville, FL Teamwork & Teamplay, 468 Salmon Creek Road, Brockport, NY 14420 Phone: (585) 637-0328 | Email: jimcain@teamworkandteamplay.com Website: www.teamworkandteamplay.com ~~~ Coming, the second weekend of November 2007 - mark your calendar! Another round of Invention-On-Demand Training in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Further announcements will be posted here and on www.winwenger.com ~~~ ........................................................................ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Feature Article:
THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. - A DESERT? by Win Wenger mailto:wwenger101@aol.com News item, May 11, 2007: NASA Predicts Sizzling Summers for East http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/nasa-predicts-sizzling-summers
(If this link no longer works, search the site for the archived copy)
Previous and widely used computer estimates predict too many rainy days, this new NASA study says. Because drier weather is hotter, they underestimate how warm it will be east of the Mississippi River, said atmospheric scientists Barry Lynn and Leonard Druyan of Columbia University and NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, was one reviewer not yet ready to fully accept the new computer modeling done in Lynn's and Druyan's study. However, he confirmed that there is an established link between rainy and cooler weather, and hot and drier weather. Rainy days mean more clouds block the sun and more solar heat is used to evaporate water. The study itself is only a prediction and controversial at that in that it conflicts with other predictions (which predictions had failed to factor in that link between dryness and further insolation), and we know that a lot of the science on both sides of the global warming debate has been corrupted, rendering anything said there to have a degree of uncertainty. Funding for the study was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which agency has been criticized by some for funding alarmist science studies that favor or imply expanded roles for EPA-related empire-builders and special interests in the environmentalist movement. However, there is a further very serious regard, not accounted for in the model used for the prediction, which likely makes near-future living conditions actually much worse than that prediction for the southeastern part of the USA and possibly for most of the rest of the East as well: The forests now covering, and tempering, the climate of the eastern U.S., including nearly all of the mountains and foothills of the Appalachians from Maine to Georgia, under such severe heat and dry conditions will first burn off and then turn to desert. That likely will add yet another ten to twenty degrees Fahrenheit to those daunting figures for summer temperatures, and ruin some beautiful country. This is yet one more area where some contingency problem-solving and planning should be done, just in case this prediction does turn out to have merit. Already, we know that the most extreme conditions for the southeastern U.S. COULD be headed off. The dying of the forests, and subsequent desert, could be prevented by large-scale irrigation. The water for that, now that costs for water de-salting have been reduced so far that American cities like Tampa Bay are using that for municipal water supplies, all along the seaboard could come from the sea and be piped up into the hills. Note: were the dire conditions indicated to be allowed to happen, nearly all of America's eastern cities would lose their present water supply, the aquifer for the whole region feeding from the hills and mountains. Once these became desert, it would only take a year or so for that aquifer to run dry and/or to backflush with sea water. We need to do a bit of figuring, and get some details on what it would take to head off these contingencies, just in case there IS some good science involved with this projection. Further, in keeping with the more general considerations proposed in http://www.winwenger.com/newbasis.htm, irrigating some of those Appalachian forests might be a good idea in its own right, as the present state of the forest - and of the aquifer for so many great Eastern cities - is unusually well favored at the moment due to a recent fluke in the weather, and are being taken dangerously for granted by the multitudes and interests so very dependent upon them.
------------------------------------ To send feedback privately to Win Wenger , email him at: mailto:wwenger101@aol.com?subject=Deserts To send your comments about this article to The Stream, write to: mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=Deserts
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ........................................................................ COMMENTS and FEEDBACK ~~~ Noel Lackey ( mailto:noel.lackey@gmail.com ) writes: My cellphone is a SonyEricsson W800i, and the phone came with a small programme installed on it called "record sound". I created a shortcut from this program to one of the arrow keys, and whenever I have a thought I just press the arrow key and speak into the phone and in this way record my thoughts for transferring to my notebook at the first opportunity. Another great use of this is that it will also record a telephone conversation, so if I am talking to someone on the phone and they want to give me their number or some important information, I don't have to write in my notebook as they speak, just press the arrow key and the conversation will be recorded. It also works if you meet someone in the street or are attending a meeting/conference: if something of interest comes up, just record it and review it later. One of the great advantages of this phone is that it has a slot for inputting a memory Card, and I have a 2Gb card sitting in there so have loads of space for recording my streams or whatever. Noel Lackey ( mailto:noel.lackey@gmail.com ) ~~~ Win Wenger ( mailto:wwenger101@aol.com ) writes: In some of our discussions, I have been critical of the way science is being conducted. Especially I've complained about corrupting interests on both sides of the global warming controversy finding plenty of scientists with round heels to do their bidding, which throws into doubt a lot of good science along with the bad. Yet science, for all its human imperfections, is still definitely one of the best things going on this little pebble of a world we share here. And there is still a lot of good science going on, some of it meaningful and bound to profoundly benefit our lives in the next few years. For example: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070507/sc_nm/stemcells_repair_dc_1 Here you will discover that researchers have found how to use embryonic stem cells to repair blood vessels, arteries and capillaries, whether on the gross structural level such as the legs and heart or in delicate structures such as the eyes. If the initial animal studies are successful also in humans, millions of human beings will recover lost eyesight. Millions of diabetics and cardiovascular patients will have their limbs and lives saved and health restored. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/australia_cancer_dc Here you will learn of an Australian research team's discovery of how to use nano-cells to carry chemotherapy directly into every cancer cell without affecting normal cells. Via antibodies on their surface, these nano-cells target and latch on to cancer cells. Once attached, the nano- cell is engulfed and the drug is released directly inside the cancer cell. This looks even stronger than some of the various immunotherapies I've tracked over the years. This may even prove to be THE cure for most or even all types of cancer. Human trials may begin as soon as the end of this year. http://www.space.com has some really neat stuff nearly every day. Enter "space update" into their search box. And these are but a tiny fraction of what is going on in science all over the map. Yes, the ways science is being conducted could be improved; yes, corners of science have been corrupted, but huge amounts of really good science, much of it with huge potential for saving or benefitting human lives, is going on right now even so. Improvements in how science is done could leverage even further benefits into our lives even sooner, but that's another issue for another discussion.
- Win Wenger ( mailto:wwenger101@aol.com ) ~~~ Dean ( mailto:adean557@hotmail.com ) writes: I was just reading the other day how someone had see the gang from Sesame street asking the kids to close their eyes and say what they "see" - a basic form of Image-Streaming. This morning with my children, while playing a hilarious game of "blind man's bluff" I realised that it was yet another form of creating visual images but with children - a favorite game - and we had lots of fun. Has anybody else had interesting experiences with ImageStreaming and kids? ~~~ John Cornfield ( mailto:cornfieldjohn@yahoo.com ) writes: Did anyone hear about 'Kim Peek' who was born with damage to his brain -- nerves that connect the two hemispheres are missing -- but can recall anything he reads from books, memorize numbers and do astounding mathematical calculations in his head. Seems impossible for someone who cannot button up his own shirt. Scientists who studied him say that in the absence of those neuron connections, other connections have been developed thus these "superior" mental abilities. So, here, arises the question which is of interest to us: Can anyone train or practice to encourage these other neuron connections? This seems to fit perfectly with the purpose of Image-Streaming which is supposed to stimulate these connections between different regions of the brain; but with Image-Streaming, can you actually control which regions to connect and therefore have specific increased intelligence in a chosen area? There's this other savant who visualizes numbers. He memorized and recounted about 22,000 numbers (Pi's decimal places) and is also able to perform calculations in his head, such as 37 to the power of 4. He says that he does not see numbers in his head, but he sees colours and shapes and movements of these shapes which he then translates into numbers. This makes sense, since most of the brain speaks in pictures (and this also fits nicely into the IS claim.) It looks like these abilities are already within us but in most of us are still dormant. Other savants are geniuses in music, language or Memory, so I wonder why and how these minds are able to reach these high levels of intelligence in specific areas! Your thoughts, anyone? - John Cornfield ( mailto:cornfieldjohn@yahoo.com ) ~~~ Tom Hernach ( mailto:tomhernach@yahoo.com ) writes: Something I developed in my early twenties was to do visual arithmetic. I basically divided numbers into cubes, lines and planes. One, for instance, was a small cube; 10 was a line of ten small cubes; 100 was a plane of 10x10, 1000 was a bigger cube of 10x10x10, etc. Arithmetic was then performed by mentally shuffling, adding or subtracting these shapes. Here's a quick example using addition. If we had 26+37, this would give me 2 lines of ten stacked on top of each other and 6 separate small cubes (representing 26). This would be in my left-hand field of vision. On the right-hand side of my vision I would have 3 lines of ten stacked on top of each other and 7 separate small cubes (representing 37). To perform the calculation, I just start moving blocks in my mind's eye. First I take 4 blocks from the right side and put it on the left, giving me three 10X1 lines stacked on top of each other on the left and three 10x1 lines plus the remaining 3 small blocks on the right. (30 on the left and 33 on the right). I would then move the three 10x1 lines to the Left, giving me six 10x1 lines on the left (60 on the left and 3 on the right). Finally I would move the remaining 3 small blocks over, giving me the answer of 63. While this method took quite a bit of practice, it was amazing how fast mentally shuffling shapes could become. Tom Hernach ( mailto:tomhernach@yahoo.com ) ~~~ Win Wenger ( mailto:wwenger101@aol.com ) writes: Mathematicians and books about math have told me that all math consists of one or more of three things: an operation; quantities; and relationships. Within the area of relationships, I think one reason India has produced so many outstanding mathematicians is the culture's awareness of and sense of balance. Once one has that, he is halfway already to describing things in an equation. A proposed project: Someone good with graphics and computer games, to train precisely the skills described by Tom Hernach, plus training a sense of balance in that context. Note that rapid flow of iterated processes, with feedback, is required to get such skills developed to where they are intuitive and reflexive, exactly where they need to be if one is then to build higher functions atop them. Anyone reading this who is willing and able to take on such a project? Anyone willing to redeem entire future generations from the agony of most math classes as they are now taught in our schools? Win Wenger ( mailto:wwenger101@aol.com ) ~~~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To send your comments to The Stream for possible publication here, write to: mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=Comments ........................................................................ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ORGANIZATIONAL NOTES ~~~ STOLEN IDENTITY! It has come to our attention that spurious emails, spams and possibly infected emails are being sent out with thestream@winwenger.com or even wwenger101@aol.com as the alleged sender. Please be assured that they are not from us and do not have our consent. Anything with attachments is suspect - do NOT open them, even if they seem to be from us. We regret that such ploys intrude into the free and open communications of this wonderful medium. ~~~ TOPICAL INTEREST GROUPS: Our membership is large and diverse, and many of you have expressed an interest in communicating with other members who share your topic of concern or research interest. If you'd like us to share your email address with other interested members, and to supply theirs to you, please email your name, email address and subject/topic to: mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=InterestGroups Your communications will be private. ~~~ ADDRESS CHANGE? If your email address changes or your email box is full or your spam filter blocks us, we can't get The Stream to you. Please, before that happens, make sure you notify us of any change and put winwenger.com on your safe senders list. Write to: mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=AddressChange Please do not use the unsubscribe link in such a case, then entering a new subscribe message. 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If you received two (or more?) copies of this issue of The Stream, please let us know by replying to: mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=duplicate ~~~ HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE... * The long-established, popular Image-Streaming egroup is here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imagestream - requires Yahoo sign-in. * Submit articles, comments or questions for possible inclusion in The Stream: mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=TotheEditor * Send questions or comments about the website, www.winwenger.com , to the webmaster, mailto:kate@gamepuzzles.com ........................................................................ LINKS * Back issues of THE STREAM by email upon request from mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=BackIssues * Index of feature articles in The Stream archives: http://www.winwenger.com/strmlist.htm Starting in January 2007, the archived copies have a special cover photo masthead courtesy of Elan Sun Star. Do take a look - they're gorgeous and restorative. * Archived copies of Capital Ideasmiths are here: http://www.winwenger.com/Capitalidea/capidea1.htm * Project Renaissance homepage: http://www.winwenger.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSUBSCRIBE: If you do not wish to continue receiving this newsletter from Project Renaissance, please send an email to mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=TheStream-unsubscribe ~~~ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |