Stuff, GIP, Stuff, Stuff...

[capri0mni]

STUFF: For some reason, sometime last night, my computer's sound stopped working. My primary audio speaker has its light on, and the volume is turned up high. But, although I can still hear the beeps and boops when I hit certain keys, I can't hear any audio files -- like the sound effects of Windows 3-D pinball game, or the Orisinal.com music, or anything. It was working fine around ll pm, when I turned my 'puter off for the night, but was gone by 12:30 am, when I realized I had insomnia because I was hungry, and turned it back on to play with MSPaint while I digested my midnight snack (a raspberry/soy/dairy smoothie).

GIP: This is what I did, on MSPaint, while I digested. It's actually a scan of crinkled tinfoil, with white lettering and heart transparently pasted over it. "Shiny" is one of those genres of LJ icon that I've been lacking. I also want to re-do "Headdesk," even though I tried it, right now, and I don't actually have the flexibility to actually do it; I'm more likely to headwall. Should that be my icon, instead?

STUFF: spiralsheep linked to this story about how magpies are self-aware. The big news about this, apparently, is that magpies don't even have neocortexes, which is where scientists have long believed that self-awareness is "centered."

I'm feeling a bit smug, right now, because I've long believed that consciousness comes from the whole body, and the brain is just the cork board, where the toenails leave messages for the spleen. I've also long held that the brain is just a tool to make life easier for the lungs and heart. After all, marine sponges circulate water with ciliated cells, as our lungs use ciliated cells to filter impurities from the air we breathe; jellyfish are just living pumps, like the heart. And both were around long before the first nueron made its appearance on the life stage.

STUFF: I've been thinking of making a post about cerebral palsy (many of you know that that's what I'm living with, here, but may or may not know what that means), but I'm having trouble finding good sites to link to that don't turn out to have some ulterior motive (like promoting one specific [and expensive] therapy program, or a lawyer who wants your money to sue the doctor who was there when you gave birth). And nearly all of them are aimed at parents who've just gotten the diagnosis for their kid, and are in the "OH, NOEZ! *Panic!* *Flail!*" stage, so there's lots of talk about hope in overcoming this terrible thing. ...Um, from my perspective, it's not all that terrible, and never was. I think I've been a Joyful Troll since the get-go.

Anyway, yeah.

I need to do laundry, and stuff.

Comments

[pedanther]

I also want to re-do "Headdesk," even though I tried it, right now, and I don't actually have the flexibility to actually do it; I'm more likely to headwall. Should that be my icon, instead?

I think "headdesk" has the edge from the point-of-view of clarity of expression: people might not understand what you mean by "headwall". (And arguably it's irrelevant whether you actually perform the action, as long as you convey the emotion: even among those who are physically capable of the action, I reckon most people just type "headdesk" and don't actually do it.)


magpies are self-aware

Part of me wants to be contrary and say that the experiment doesn't necessarily show that the magpies recognise their reflection; I know people who, if they see another person with a smudge on their face, check themselves for smudges, and that doesn't mean they think the other person is a reflection.

On the other hand, "That person has a funny spot on them. I wonder if I have a funny spot on me?" is still a fairly impressive bit of cognition.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

re: Smudges:

Are you sure the other people are checking themselves for smudges? 'Cause when I'm with someone, and they make a wipe-the-smudge-off-my-face move, and I can see they don't have a smudge, it has generally meant that they're trying to tell me I have a smudge on my face without saying the words out loud.

And as you say, if the magpie thinks the reflection is a second bird, signing "Hey, Dude! You got a weird yellow dot on your chin, there!" is still fairly impressive.

Which does reiterate what de Waal said in the article about how, if you're going to be a thief, and hide what you steal, it means you have to have some kind of Theory of Mind.

I reckon most people just type *headdesk" and don't actually do it

Yes. But I'm a geek, and I had to satisfy my curiosity to see if it was even possible, and if it were, how far my chair had to be away from the desk, in order to accomplish it. As your icon says: "I'm a great fan of science."

[jekesta]

I love your icon:) And I'm sorry about the noise on your computer, you might need to reinstall a thingy. A driver. That's what I had to do when my computer just gave up playing me sounds.