Like Encephalon, Four Stone Hearth is a collection of the best and brightest of the recent blogosphere, but in this case anthropology. Anthropology is generally defined by four sub-fields: archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology, united by a holistic approach. Hence the FOUR stones joined in a HEARTH…

We have a couple posts represented there this time around, and I definitely encourage people to check out everything else there. A collected cornucopia of creativity.

Long live the carnival!

I’ve been enjoying the Discovery Channel’s series, The Human Body: Pushing The Limits, in dribs and drabs, watching the bits that are posted on You Tube. (Here’s the first part of the episode on Sensation, which is pretty good.) When I first read the description of the four-part series, I worried someone had already done a video version of the book I’m working on:

Human Body: Pushing the Limits takes you across continents and introduces you to people who have pushed their bodies to the max. Using CGI technology and hi-tech camera work, see their physical ordeals in vivid detail both externally and internally.

In fact, the series is not very deep, but the CGI graphics of throbbing nerves, eyes swiveling, sweat glands, and other anatomical marvels are pretty groovy. It’s well worth checking it out — there’s a whole lot of segments on You Tube. The four episodes were on Sight, Strength, Sensation, and Brain Power. I’ll probably try to get my hands on a DVD copy when it comes out and use it in my teaching.

Two very different takes on cognitive dissonance today in the New York Times, one about rationalizing decisions, the other counter-factual and emotional.

John Tierney writes, And Behind Door No. 1, A Fatal Flaw. It covers the Monty Hall problem, and the statistical and methodological problems of cognitive dissonance experiments dating back to the 1950s. Basically the experiments have discounted the fact that one’s initial choice changes the odds. You shouldn’t stick with Door #1 if Door #3 gets opened. A 1/3 chance (the original choice) gets changed to a 2/3 chance of winning if you switch to Door #2. As always, Tierney provides an entertaining piece, and has some good links to online experiments.

Harriet Brown writes, My Daughters Are Fine, But I’ll Never Be The Same, covering her emotional and internal reactions to life-threatening illnesses in her children. Why fall apart when things are finally going well? She tells us of speaking with a friend who had gone through something similar:

“Other parents worry about the worst,” she told me, “but they don’t really believe it could happen. We know better.” We know better. That was it, exactly. We parents throw everything between our kids and danger: bike helmets, seat belts, vaccinations, tooth sealants, self-defense classes. We are creating the illusion of safety as much as anything else, weaving a kind of magic circle of protection. Like all illusions, once broken it can never be made whole again.