Your Morals Depend on Language

If words matter, then it naturally follows that the language matters, too. Especially when it comes to solving a moral dilemma. That’s according to a study published in April called “Your Morals Depend on Language, ” authored by University of Chicago psychology professor Boaz Keysar and Albert Costa, a psychologist at Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University. When we spoke to them last spring, the told us that our decisions can change radically depending on whether you reach them in your native tongue, or in a second, learned language. In his research, Boaz used a classic social science hypothetical: imagine you are standing on a footbridge. An out-of-control trolley passes underneath, hurtling toward 5 people who will die, unless you stop the trolley by dropping a heavy weight in front of it. A very large man stands beside you. Do you sacrifice him to save the other 5? Source: On the Media, Bob Garfield, December 19, 2015

Whites Perceptions of the Terms Black and African American

Last month, shamed by press reports, the United States Army abruptly removed outdated language from regulations governing the ethnic terminology. Until Nov. 6, 2014, it was acceptable to describe African-Americans as negroes -- much as it was in civilian life, until about 40 years ago. The new policy limits the acceptable terms to “black” or “african american,” corresponding to contemporary usage. But we are not yet in a post-racial society, and language is still freighted. A new study published by The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology conducted by Emory University’s Erika Hall identifies significant difference of public perception based on which of the widely acceptable terms is applied. Erika welcome to OTM. White Americans perceive the term 'black' more negatively than 'African-American.' We found this in a criminal study. We found this in a media study and also in an employment study. SOURCE: Erika Hall, Emory University

Lapis lazuli (blue pigment)

Lapis lazuli was being mined in the Sar-i Sang mines[1] and in other mines in the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan as early as the 7th millennium BC,[2] Lapis beads have been found at neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the Caucasus, and even as far from Afghanistan as Mauritania.[3] It was used for the eyebrows on the funeral mask of King Tutankhamun (1341–1323 BC).[4]

Neuromorphic Engineering

Neuromorphic engineering, also known as neuromorphic computing,[1][2][3] is a concept developed by Carver Mead,[citation needed] in the late 1980s, describing the use of very-large-scale integration (VLSI) systems containing electronic analog circuits to mimic neuro-biological architectures present in the nervous system. In recent times the term neuromorphic has been used to describe analog, digital, and mixed-mode analog/digital VLSI and software systems that implement models of neural systems (for perception, motor control, or multisensory integration). A key aspect of neuromorphic engineering is understanding how the morphology of individual neurons, circuits and overall architectures creates desirable computations, affects how information is represented, influences robustness to damage, incorporates learning and development, adapts to local change (plasticity), and facilitates evolutionary change. Neuromorphic engineering is a new interdisciplinary subject that takes inspiration from biology, physics, mathematics, computer science and electronic engineering to design artificial neural systems, such as vision systems, head-eye systems, auditory processors, and autonomous robots, whose physical architecture and design principles are based on those of biological nervous systems.[4]