Ever since
humans became aware of their mind, they have been questioning its origin.
Is the mind part of the physical body, or does it exists by it's own?
New developments within the neurosciences address this matter in a way
that will very likely change our view on ourselves and the world for
good. The discovery of mirror neurons provides a neurological basis
for social behaviour and it might even give an explanation for the explosive
evolution of culture amongst human beings. Will these developments lead
to the conclusion that we are all nothing but very complicated computers
in the end, which can be replaced by robots? And where does this leave
philosophical concepts as consciousness, free will, morality and art
for instance?
.... interested
in knowing more .... join
us at the event about the
future of the Human Mind - Thursday, 14 April!
Brain Anatomy and
Function. This 3D animation shows the anatomy and function of
the brain using color coded areas.
Consciousness, Creativity & the Brain
In this University of Washington program, award-winning writer,
director, and producer David Lynch discusses his films and
his 30-year relationship with Transcendental Meditation, and its
role in his creative process. He is joined by physicist John
Hagelin, who was featured in the documentary 'What The Bleep
Do We Know?' and neuroscientist Dr. Fred Travis, Director
of the Center for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition at Maharishi
University of Management. The program is sponsored in joint partnership
by the College of Arts and Sciences and the University of Washington
Alumni Association.
Brain Development
UCSD Cognitive
scientist Joan Stiles reveals the latest understandings about
the intricate relationship between biology and external influences
in the development of the brain.
Consciousness, Qualia, and Self
Dr. V.S. Ramachandran, Director of the Center for Brain and
Cognition at UCSD, discusses consciousness, qualia, and self.
Humberto
Schwab,Philosopher Human
mind is more body
Maurizio
Zollo,
Bocconi Dean's Chaired Professor
in Strategy and Corporate Responsibility, Bocconi University;
Program Director, Neuroscientific Foundations of Strategic Decisions
Strategic
management and neuro-sciences
Moderated
by Adda van Zanden,
Actress
Exhibition
byMaartje
van Buuren
.Brazil
Automobile Forecast to 2013
Brazil is one of the fastest growing automobile manufacturing
markets in the world. Driven by the strong domestic demand and
tax reforms implemented proactively by the government, the country’s
automobile sector has been reporting positive growth rates, despite
a slowdown in the overall automobile industry across the world.
Moreover, the country is far ahead of its regional counterparts,
i.e. Argentina and Mexico, and produced around 3.64 Million automobiles
(excluding motorcycles) during 2010. However, the industry was
dominated by the passenger cars segment.
According to the
research report “Brazil
Automobile Forecast to 2013”, despite the
recent economic crisis, sales of passenger cars and LCVs in Brazil
are anticipated to post a CAGR of over 10% and 20% respectively
during 2011-2014. The passenger car segment will continue dominating
the overall market sales by the end of the forecast period, owing
to the relatively low penetration rate of this segment in the
country.
Flex-fuel vehicles
remain the most accepted vehicle segment among Brazilians due
to their multi-choice of refueling system. With supportive government
regulations on biofuel usage, sales of flex-fuel vehicles have
been registering blistering growth rates for the past few years.
This segment accounted for nearly 81% of the total automobile
sales in 2010, and the share is anticipated to rise further in
future.
Although Brazilian
automobile industry faced decline in exports due to the appreciation
of the Brazilian currency in 2008, it boosted the automobile imports.
The research indicates that the industry has been feeling marginal
effects of the worldwide economic crisis, however the future remains
bright in the long term.
The portion of the brain responsible for visual reading doesn't
require vision at all, according to new research presented in the
journal Current Biology. Scientists came to this conclusion after
brain imaging studies of blind people as they read words in Braille
showed activity in precisely the same part of the brain that lights
up when sighted readers read. They said their findings challenged
the textbook notion that the brain is divided up into regions that
are specialised for processing information coming in via one sense
or another. 'The brain is not a sensory machine, although it often
looks like one; it is a task machine,' says Dr Amir Amedi, senior
lecturer at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Brussels wants no
oil-fuelled cars in cities by 2050
The European Commission plans to step up its battle against oil-fuelled
cars, and is drawing up strict targets to halve their urban usage
by 2030 and "phase them out by 2050," according to an
EU road map on transport to be published on Monday (28 March) and
seen by EurActiv.
These objectives will
play an instrumental role in achieving the more comprehensive target
of cutting CO2 emissions from transport by 60% by 2050. Currently,
a quarter of EU greenhouse gas emissions come from transport.
The Commission is therefore
proposing an ambitious plan which eyes significant reductions of
emissions especially in road transport, while it intends to increase
rail traffic, on the grounds that is by far cleaner and more environment-friendly.
The Commission plan
targets mainly urban and road freight transport. The objective of
car-free cities by mid-century is to be pursued through fiscal measures,
promotion of alternative transport systems, and building of the
necessary infrastructure to move to a widespread use of electric
and clean cars.
.The
State of the World’s Children 2011
by UNICEF
The State of the
World’s Children 2011: Adolescence – An Age of Opportunity
examines the global state of adolescents; outlines the challenges
they face in health, education, protection and participation;
and explores the risks and vulnerabilities of this pivotal stage.
The report highlights the singular opportunities that adolescence
offers, both for adolescents themselves and for the societies
they live in.
Today's youth faces an increasingly uncertain world where climate
change, rapid urbanization, the economic recession and rising
unemployment pose unprecedented challenges. There are 1.2 billion
adolescents across the world, nine out of ten of these young people
live in developing countries. Millions are denied their basic
rights to quality education, health care, protection and exposed
to abuse and exploitation. Recognizing the need to turn this vulnerable
age into an age of opportunity, UNICEF has dedicated it flagship
publication State of the World's Children 2011 to adolescents.
This video highlights the importance of investing in adolescents
for breaking the cycles of poverty and inequity.
This is a scintillating
introduction to the latest thinking on the brain and the mind by
the world's leading expert. Neuroscience can now begin to unlock
the key to the self. Our knowledge of the brain has progressed so
rapidly that it will change the way we think of ourselves as human
beings. It will change our notion of understanding. This is a revolution
which will have impact on all our lives. Neuroscientists are gathering
new empirical evidence about consciousness and human nature; they
are picking up where the great earlier thinkers like Freud, Darwin,
Charcot and others began. This evidence begins to give substance
to some of the grand statements and intuitive leaps made in the
nineteenth and early twentieth century about the nature of the self.
.SOCAP
Europe
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SOCAP/Europe gathers leading investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists,
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.Futurist
Portrait: Richard Florida
Richard Florida is author of the global best-seller The
Rise of the Creative Class and Who's
Your City? a national and international best seller
and amazon.com book of the month. His new book, The
Great Reset explains how new ways of living and
working will drive post-crash prosperity.
He is author of The
Flight of the Creative Class and
Cities and the Creative Class.
His previous books, especially The Breakthrough Illusion
and Beyond Mass Production, paved the way for his provocative
looks at how creativity is revolutionizing the global economy.
Florida is a regular
correspondent for The Atlantic and a regular columnist
for The Globe and Mail. He has written for The New York
Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post,
The Boston Globe, The Economist, and The Harvard
Business Review. He has been featured as an expert on MSNBC,
CNN, BBC, NPR and CBS, to name just a few.
Richard has also
been appointed to the Business Innovation Factory's Research Advisory
Council and recently named European Ambassador for Creativity
and Innovation.
Florida’s ideas
on the “creative class,” commercial innovation, and
regional development have been featured in major ad campaigns
from BMW and Apple, and are being used globally to change the
way regions and nations do business and transform their economies.
Florida is one of
the world’s leading public intellectuals on economic competitiveness,
demographic trends, and cultural and technological innovation.
International diplomats, government leaders, filmmakers, economic
development organizations and leading Fortune 100 businesses have
benefited from his global approach to problem-solving and strategy
development.
He is one of the
world's most sought after speakers on global trends, economics,
prosperity, competitiveness and growth. Combining in-depth analysis,
cutting-edge trends, a fascinating personal story, and just a
touch of self-deprecating humor, it’s no wonder Florida was
recently named one of Esquire Magazine’s Best and
Brightest, alongside luminaries such as Bill Clinton and Jeffrey
Sachs.
Club
of Amsterdam Journal.
