Have you ever had a dream in which you wanted to talk to your friend about what had happened but just couldn’t find the words to explain what you have just witnessed in your subconscious mind? Well recently scientists have discovered a way in order for them to read your dreams by scanning your brain. The purpose for this experiment was to better understand the brain and understand what goes through it as we sleep.

What researchers had done was they did an experiment on three different people where they used MRI scans as they began to drift asleep. As soon as they would fall asleep, right after they would be awoken and asked a series of in depth questions on what it was that they had seen in their dreams. They repeated this process 200 times for each participant! After all of that work, what it had done was it gave the researchers a database of images in which they connected with brain activity and began to group similar visual depictions together.

After they have acquired the database of images, scientists were able to analyze the brain activity as the participants had slept and began assuming on what it was that they were currently dreaming about at the moment. Scientists were able to predict what people were dreaming about. They were 60 percent accurate with their assumptions that were based off of many variables. Professor Kamitani who is one of the researchers says, “We were able to reveal dream content from brain activity during sleep, which was consistent with the subjects’ verbal reports”.

However this is just the beginning of their research. Scientists wish to continuously grow in their experiment. They had only started to analyze dreams of light sleep. They now wish to target deep sleep since those are where the most vivid dreams are thought to occur. They also want to see in depth if the MRI brain scan can help detect colors and smells people come across in their dreams as well.

So stay tuned everyone. Some see this as a fascinating experiment in which dreams are able to become decoded but others see this as their nightmare being played for them on a DVR. So what do you guys think? Is this a neat experiment or are you guys going to dread seeing your most embarrassing dreams or horrifying nightmares being shown to people and played for you?

Source & Image Source
BBC News
BBC Image

Have you ever played back a voicemail you had left or heard a recording of yourself and wondered “oh god, why??” Or you can’t seem to put your finger on who that stranger on the recording is but later realize that it’s actually you. Many people hate hearing themselves or don’t recognize themselves in a recording or when a voicemail is being played back. Either they sound too deep, too high pitched or as some people classify themselves: as a cartoon. Some females complain they sound “manly” while some men tend to say they sound “light and squeaky”. I’m not saying this is the exact case for everyone, but we all do sound different from when we hear ourselves talk in person compared to that over the phone. We assume technology just isn’t our friend and is screwing over the way our voice sounds.

The reason to why we sound different over a recording or over the phone is because we perceive sounds in two different ways. We hear sounds either air conducted or bone conducted. Air conducted sound is the way we retrieve sound when we listen to a recording. Air conducted sound as Jordan Gaines defines it to be is:

Transmitted through the eardrums, vibrating three bony ossicles (malleus, incus and stapes) and terminating in the cochlea. The cochlea, a fluid-filled spiral structure, converts these vibrations into nerve impulses to be interpreted in the brain.

However when we hear ourselves as we speak, our eardrums then perceive the sound as bone conducted. When it comes down to bone conducted sounds, vibrations from our vocal cords reach straight to the cochlea. By doing so our brain tends to deceive us by “lowering the frequency of these vibrations along the way, which is why we often perceive ourselves as higher-pitched when we listen to a recording” (Gaines, NBC News).

Now you may be wondering why so many people do not like the way they sound over a recording. That is because of the fact that we are so adjusted in hearing ourselves through bone conduction. So the moment we hear a recording, it catches us by surprise, we hear something we are not used to which is why many people tend to dislike the sound of their voice. The same case goes for why at times we don’t like pictures of ourselves. That’s because when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we are adjusted to that setting. However in a photograph, everything is reversed where we pin point out all the flaws and do not like what we see. Now of course this isn’t the case for everyone but for many people that is true.

So the next time you tend to get a little self-conscious about the way you sound, have no fear. Reassure yourself by talking to yourself out loud… that wouldn’t be strange at all. (I do advise not to do that in public whereas you might come off as someone who’s having an off day). But honestly, don’t sweat it. Technology is out there to get you and make you sound a way you don’t prefer. It’s just the way we perceive that sound depending on the way we hear it.

Source & Image Source
NBC News
Talking Image

Mount Everest is known as the world’s highest mountain. Many people have died by trying to finish climbing to the top of the mountain due to it to be one of the most difficult mountains to climb. However recently Google has expanded their street view now to some of the highest mountains in the world! C’mon you guys have to admit, that is pretty darn amazing. Now you can visit Everest in your pajamas in the comfort of your own home! It’s only a click away.

Google maps have a fabulous feature known as street view as I’m sure we all have played around with. It basically allows us viewers to look up a place and be able to virtually view the neighborhood and any other areas around the location we searched for. It shows us the closest landmarks around it such as specific buildings, train stations, restaurants, movie theaters and etc. How convenient is that?

Recently Google was able to do something that hasn’t been done before and that is to allow us to view some of the most infamous mountains such as Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus and Everest Base Camp. That is four out the seven summits that we have. Aconcagua is located in South America, Kilimanjaro is located in Africa, Mount Elbrus is located in Europe and last but not least the Everest Base Camp is located in Asia. So you can see how amazing this truly is because it is showing us different mountains located on different continents.

Now no one has to risk their lives in order to see these wonders in the world. Google provides us with great views and angles by a great team who have went on an expedition to obtain these pictures. Though it may not be the same feeling as physically being their first hand to truly experience the weather, environment and climate; it is a much safer alternative. We can view it in depth now in street view and look around the area and get a minor sense of feeling of being there. As of right now I’d say that is perfectly fine with me since I won’t have to worry about running out of oxygen while in the midst of trying to climb it. What do you guys think? Do you think being able to view the peaks of the highest mountains if a nifty thing or are you not impressed? And make sure you guys give it a go first on Google as well and let me know what you think!

Source & More Maps:
Google Official Blog