Message Board Topic (EC): The Brain-Universe & Neurocosmology

Todd Siler is a cosmologist and theorist who has proposed a new way of looking at the human brain and the universe. He has developed a new, interdisciplinary field called neurocosmology which is based on his previous work: artscience (a field which combines art and science). Neurocosmology states that the brain and the universe are organized the same way – they have the same patterns. Below you can see an image of a mouse’s brain cell and a computer generated image of the universe. The similarities between the two images seems undeniable – the patterns are the same!

Why is this important? What do you think this means? How does seeing the image below seem to better justify Todd Siler’s theories?

Message Board Topic: Where is My Mind?

How does the mind relate to the brain? Some theorists think that the mind is the software or program application whereas the brain is the hardware or computer. Other theorists do not agree with this model/metaphor for the brain and mind.

This dilemma is called the mind/body problem and has been tackled by philosophers and psychologists alike. What do you think? Where is the mind? What is the mind? Does it exist in the brain or outside the brain?

Once you have determined where the mind is, think about where creativity exists. How do you define creativity? What makes someone or something creative?

Message Board Topic: S-Curves - Why or Why Not?

S-Curves are elusive, interesting and eye-catching. Why? What is it about the S-Curve that draws the attention of the viewer? Furthermore, why are s-curves so intimately tied to the female form?

For the most part, art historians and artists have identified the s-curve in the female form, but not in the male. Is this a bias of a male-dominated discipline for centuries and centuries? Is it because males establish the rules and are (for the most part) attracted to the female form? Or is there something inherent in the female/s-curve that is beautiful?

Think of examples of non-female s-curves. The fact that non-feminine s-curves exist; does this prove that there is an inherent beauty not tied a previously male-dominated field?