Crank the tunes! I gotsta get some work done!

“Eysenck’s hypothesis that introverts have higher cortical arousal than extraverts, and therefore require less stimulation from the environment to achieve their optimum level of arousal is cited and supported by Stenberg et al (1990). They found higher levels of blood flow into the temporal lobe in introverts than extroverts.”
Will Background Music Improve Your Concentration?

So does that mean I am an “I” or an “E”? (An “outgoing introvert” I like to say…)

But keep reading: “Performance was best in the silent condition and worst in the familiar music condition”

Figures. Still, I find that music (headphones… I have 20 year old Sony MDR-V6′s going strong) helps when I am doing more routine sorts of work perhaps as a sort of consolation prize… at least I can listen to some music?

If you are pondering indoor air-quality…

If you are pondering indoor air-quality in your home… I urge you to look into the issue of flame-retardants in furniture — specifically in the foam used in mattresses and couches.

Here is an upsetting recent article on the topic PBDEs and chlorinated Tris (I knew about PBDEs, but hadn’t considered that (DUH!) the replacement would probably be just as bad or worse. And that they don’t even work!)

Some good practical advice here (if you are a millionaire)

ZOOM

method 1:
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/
method 2: http://htwins.net/scale2/
method 3: http://htwins.net/scale/
others?

Cheating in Science, Part II: School is a Breeding Ground for Cheaters

This article (link below) isn’t directly about SVS but it is related since there is no testing or evaluation at SVS unless it is initiated and asked for by the student (the enrollee). I can’t imagine what purpose cheating would have in such a situation. Interesting are the comments at this article which include people who cheated a lot in school but don’t anymore now that they are out of that environment.

Cheating in Science, Part II: School is a Breeding Ground for Cheaters
“One of the tragedies of our system of schooling is that it deflects students from discovering what they truly love and find worth doing for its own sake. Instead, it teaches them that life is a series of hoops that one must get through, by one means or another, and that success lies in others’ judgments rather than in real, self-satisfying accomplishments.”

From: Freedom to Learn
The roles of play and curiosity as foundations for learning
a blog by Peter Gray