Tidbit #5 - March 31, 2011

Question: What are the small black spots on the pavement when I'm walking around?


Answer: You might be able to guess this one. I searched it up online, and I learned that my assumptions were correct, even though it's gross.

Those black spots on the pavement while you're walking around are old, chewed pieces of gum that people threw down onto the pavement some time ago.

I can't be sure how old each of those pieces of gum are, although I'm guessing that they're somewhere between two months and a year old. Gross, right? That's the product of people throwing their gum on the ground. Over time, dirt and grime collect on it and it gains that blackish color that we love so much.

Tidbit #4 - March 30, 2011

Question: What causes someone to forget something?


Answer: Think back to Tidbit #2 (how we make memories). Remember how I wrote that each memory is really a pattern of links between neurons?

My guess is that you forget something if you don't repeat that pattern of neuron links, which means you don't repeat the activity enough.

So, for example, let's say you've learned the formula: sin(2Θ)=2sin(Θ)cos(Θ). That's a lot to remember, right? It's because that's a special pattern of links between neurons in your brain. Every time you say that formula, or think about it, those linked neurons send impulses to each other, causing the formula to be remembered, therefore strengthening the memory.

But if you spend the week on your chemistry homework instead of your math homework, the neuron links will become weaker and weaker, making it harder for you to remember that formula.

If you have any tidbits you'd like to offer, comment on the post with your idea. Who knows? You might get it on the blog.

Tidbit #3 - Mar 29, 2011

Question: Why is the first episode of a TV show generally called "Pilot"?


Answer: I searched it up, and I learned that there are a million hypotheses as to why it is referred to as a "pilot" episode.

1. My stepdad and I were talking about it on the ride to school today, and his guess is that it's because a pilot of an airplane can decide whether the plane flies or not. The metaphor? Well, the pilot is the episode, the plane is the TV show, and whether it "flies" or not is whether it's successful. The "pilot" episode decides whether the show "flies".
2. "--the first episode of many TV series is called "Pilot" because the episode functions as a pilot for the series, and the writers aren't creative enough to think up a real title. Some show's have played on this, e.g., the first episode of Futurama was entitled 'Space Pilot 3000.'" (Re: WikiAnswers)
3. "It's a fairly standard term for a small scale test. Most research projects begin with a small pilot study. As it's a test, it's a long established injoke. They're seeing 'how it flies'." (Re: Yahoo! Answers)

Did You Know That?? (Intro/Tidbits #1-2)

Ever wondered about all those little things worth pondering over? Maybe you've wondered why they use that weird symbol for the heart that we've learned means love. Or maybe you've wondered how our brain can make those memories that we're so fond of.
Whatever it is that you're thinking about, odds are I'll have it sooner or later. Check this place out as often as possible, because when I learn something new, it's going right on here.

By the way, the answers to the above questions are:

1. The origin of the heart symbol ( ♥ ) is debated, although some say that it is supposed to be a representative of the seed of the silphium plant, while others insist that it is supposed to depict a woman's genitalia or breasts. (Source: en.wikipedia.org)
   
2. Okay, this one's taken right from a book:
   Quoted: "Each memory is formed by a unique pattern of connections between the billions of neurons in various parts of the brain, especially the cerebral cortex. The event to be memorized-from reading a number to meeting a celebrity-occurs as a particular set of neurons sending impulses to each other during the initial experience. Activating this set of signals again, by remembering the experience, strengthens its pattern of links so they are more likely to occur together-a process known as potentiation. After several activations the links become semipermanent. Triggering a few of them, by a new thought or experience, activates the pattern's whole network and recalls the memory." (Source: The Complete Human Body, by Dr. Alice Roberts)
   Summarized: Every memory you form corresponds to a connection of electrical impulses between neurons. In a nutshell, the more you set that pattern off, the stronger the links between the neurons will be, the more vivid the memory will be.

By the way, if you want to read my other blog, you can drop by Teen Help Center and find out how to be a good teenager. If you want to find out how to be a good PARENT of a teenager, you can check out Teen Parent Café. Finally, if you want to know about random facts of history, visit my stepdad's blog, Deadwrite's Dailies.