RoCo

It was commonly said that body language, through gestures, postures and facial expressions, contributed to 55% of communication. Though the percentage cannot be generalized to all situations, body language is a crucial element of communication and empathy; a fact affective computing heavily invests on. The world's first expressive computer RoCo (RObotic COmputer), introduced to the world earlier this month, depends on detection and mirroring of posture to strike up a rapport with the user (known as postural congruence). Follow the New Scientist article to checkout a video of RoCo in action.

RoCo: adorable, innit?

Enjoy!

Is belief hardwired?

It's a fact that supernatural beliefs are widespread across different cultures. They often trail long histories of followers who have relished the feelings of transcendence, thrived on ritual practices and bled to protect their faiths. Although it's a call for belief without substantial evidence, people seem almost inclined to believe in superstitions. But why?

Several sources of empirical evidence regarding religious experiences are available at present. Imaging techniques have revealed alterations in brain activity during religious practices - particularly in the temporal and parietal lobes. Both temporal lobe epilepsy and the use of certain drugs, such as LSD, mescaline and ayahuasca, have reportedly produced hallucinations of a religious nature. More remarkable perhaps is the ability to induce religious states through electromagnetic activation of the brain areas involved in religious experiences.

These studies offer clues to the mechanism underlying religious states and open avenues for furthur research; but by no means do they provide sufficient evidence to answer the most critical of questions yet. Is god and spirituality concepts that we create because we are predisposed to believe in the supernatural?

Links to Horizon documentary God on Brain in five parts, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Enjoy!

M.E.N. events during EGM

Just a quick note to let you know the gigs playing at Manchester M.E.N. arena during and around the MSA EGM period. It'd be a great opportunity for you people to gang up and go for a show but you've got to book as early as possible for guaranteed tickets. Events:-
-Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy on 29th March
-Versus Cancer on 30th March starring the Charlatans, Ian Brown, Echo & the Bunnymen, Andy Rourke (Ex-Smith's) and Peter Hook (New Order's)
-Sugababes on 31st March
-Incubus on 1st April
-Razor Light on 3rd April.
Click here for the whole event listings or to book tickets.

A very warm welcome to Manchester. We are all looking forward to receiving you guests with open arms!