H.M. is one of the most famous patient's in the history of neuropsychology. In an ill-planned attempt to cure his epilepsy, fifty years ago, surgeons cut out most of his hippocampus. Following surgery he had (almost) complete anterograde amnesia, language difficulties, and some very strange retrograde memory deficits. Any modern theory of the neurology of memory has to explain H.M.'s peculiar constellation of deficits. He died two years ago, and analysis of his behavioral data is expected to continue for many years to come.

On Tuesday, neuroscientists are going to begin the process of dissecting H.M.'s brain and creating a digital atlas of it. This will be incredibly useful, among other things settling the question of what lesions he had aside from the surgical one. (Decades worth of epilepsy, and epilepsy drugs, tend to make holes.) Everyone is perhaps a little more excited about cutting up a dead guy's brain than is entirely proper and, possibly because of this, they will be putting out live streaming video of the procedure. I will probably tune in myself. I've been running an independent study this semester, during which the student and I spent an inordinate amount of time banging our heads against the latest HM studies. We both feel much less confident in our understanding of the hippocampus than we did at the beginning of the semester. I am very much hoping that the dissection clears up some of that confusion.

The website's cheerful minute-by-minute sidebar countdown is still so wrong.

Not many; I guess it was an even crazier month than it felt like.

So, the economy being what it is, and the household budget currently including a substantial behavioral oscillation effect*, we're doing holiday buying a little closer to home this year.  We are trying to give gifts, in order of declining preference:

-home-made or crafted by us--we have what we hope are some nifty ideas along these lines.
-home-made, crafted, or written by people in our community (in-person or on-line).
-items where the money will go to small crafters or other individuals, rather than big companies.

For the latter two, I'm looking for pimpage and suggestions.  Running a cottage business out of your dorm room?  Know a friend with an awesome Etsy shop?  F-List member of an F-List member with an awesome Etsy shop?  Let me know in the comments**.

Some of my favorites:

-elisem , as most of you probably already know, posts amazing titled shinies about once a week.  Prices range from $15 earrings to $500 necklace crowns.
-GEEKitty makes, among other things, catnip-filled One Rings and D20s
-naamah_darling sells steampunkish baubles and awesome painted bones at her Etsy shop.


*That is a much-too-obscure psychology joke, but the meaning should be apparent regardless.
**Disclaimer: No guarantees of us actually buying anything from any particular source, obviously, especially if the oscillation effect increases.

Mostly rereads.  Apparently I'm feeling stressed.

( No Spoilers )

Total Books: 7
Recent Publication: none
Rereads: 5/7
Bear Ratio: 0/7, because the first Metatropolis story is slow going.
New Music: 2 albums.
New Media Produced: Some on The Jester's Child, before my laptop starting having personal problems.  It is getting a new screen tonight.  I hope.

Over on Making Light, Abi Sutherland responds to a particularly stupid critique of Obama's Nobel by linking to the Prize's nominating procedures.  The nomination process is not open to everyone, but reasonably broad.  The following types of people can nominate:

Sue Gardner, in her contribution to a series in which psychologists talk about one thing they still don't understand about themselves: "I have a dark place inside which at various stages of my life has been occupied by ghosts, daleks and negative emotions."

This should absolutely enter the technical vocabulary of clinical psychologists everywhere. But what does it mean to have internal daleks? Is it part of you that's always angry, that wants to destroy everything and everyone imperfect? Is it the part that wants to be surrounded by a hard shell, safe from vulnerability? The part that likes making loud threats in an electronically modulated voice?

As a member of the Outer Alliance, I advocate for queer speculative fiction and those who create, publish and support it, whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity.  I make sure this is reflected in my actions and my work.

Unfortunately, none of my work with queer characters is actually published.  A couple of short stories are in submission, and can't be posted here right now.  So you get a scene from Land Beyond the Border, one of two novels in progress.  It's currently stalled in the midbook, actually; maybe this will help.

Quickie background and dramatis personae:  Between Earth and Faerie lies a narrow borderland.  Not all stories are true there, but the ones that have sunk deep into the collective consciousness take on a life of their own.  Sherua is from the section of the Border that is, essentially, where Indiana Jones goes to steal treasure.  As a Border native, she is fae-blooded, with mostly inconvenient results: an allergy to iron and limitations on her free will where it conflicts with the story defining her world.  She is currently stuck in the dinosaur section, trying to return a stolen map to her people.  Nadine Lopez is an anthropologist from the Field Museum in Chicago.  She is currently helping escort Sherua through dangerous territory, and sitting really hard on her desire to write the whole thing up for journal publication.  They are safe for the night in a walled town, and taking a much-needed trip to the bath house.


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No spoilers, some snarking.

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Total Books: 5
Recent Publication: 1/5
Rereads: 2/5
Bear Ratio: 0/5, because Metatropolis hasn't arrived yet.
New Music: 2 albums.
New Media Produced:  The plot to the Jester novel.

Does anyone have anything to say that might persuade me to continue reading the Justina Robson book that I started last night?

I just took a look at the Drabblecast discussion forum for Ghosts and Simulations.  It looks an awful lot like the arguments in my old Philosophy of Mind class, which I suppose means I've done my job.

Why, yes, I do like watching strangers talking about me.  If I weren't egotistical, I'd just put the stories in a drawer.

I've been trawling through psychology blogs and bookmarked links, looking for interesting tidbits to reference in my Intro Psych lectures.  Some highlights:

Nameseeker, this study on the psychology of escaping from predators is especially for you.  The lion musk quotient is high.  Also this.

Most neuropsychologists spend 99 percent of their time talking about the minority of the brain made up of neurons--gray matter.  This is because we have very little idea of what glial cells--white matter--actually accomplish.  Here's a start at an answer.

Tactile illusions.

Awesome article on moral reasoning.

A 72-year-long study of success and life satisfaction.  This is beautiful.

Language Log and its commenters examine the grammar of obscenity (Not Safe For Work, or for my students).

Also for Nameseeker: BoingBoing reviews books by people who have raised apes.

The power of narrative can convince people to donate a kidney, or exaggerate baseless fears.

Never old: objects stuck in MRI machines.

Also in July: we had visits from tavadriel  & J, aspenwolf  & stormsinger322 , and A & Bobby.  Cute pictures are in the offing as soon as I get them uploaded.  There was also a great party at bifemmefatale 's, at which we met several new people including the delightful rarelylynne  & michaeldthomas  and their daughter Caitlin.
( Somewhere in there, I got some reading done... )

Total Books: 9
Recent Publication: 2/9
Rereads: 2/9
Bear Ratio: 0/9.  But Metatropolis just came out.
New Music: 1 album.  Also, I discovered that my Original London Cast Recording of Anything Goes has John Barrowman on it.
New Media Produced:  More or less nothing, unless you count a whole lot of role-playing.

"Ghosts and Simulations," originally published at Strange Horizons, is up in MP3 format at Drabblecast.  The link is to the front page; click on the story title to hear the whole thing.

I am liking this whole Summer thing.
( My idea of beach reading is not much like everyone else's... )

Total Books: 13
Recent Publication: 2/13
Rereads: 3/13
Bear Ratio: 0/13.  Yes, I ran out.
New Music: Nothing this month.
New Media Produced: A little on the Aphra Marsh story, a little on Jester's Child, a little on Land Beyond the Border (thanks, papersky , for the worldbuilding discussion).  And as of this evening, the credibility judgment study is finally written up and ready for submission.

Someone--I hope it was someone who reads this journal--told me last week that Google has an on-line survey platform, similar to Surveymonkey but free.  Today, I can find no evidence of its existence.  Does anyone have any idea what the someone was talking about?

And probably no Wiscon blogging, alas, because I have spent 90% of this month, and will spend 50% of the next, either travelling or entertaining guests. 

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Total Books: 6
Recent Publication: 0/6
Rereads: 2/6
Bear Ratio: 1/6.   
New Music: Nothing this month.
New Media Produced:  I seem to have started on the second Aphra Marsh story, in spite of having not yet done the research.  There are lots of fill-in-the-blank marks where research will go later, and I'll probably have to do a lot of rewriting, but this story keeps jumping up and biting me.

Nameseeker and I are here and checked in, along with bifemmefatale .  We are checked in and have been to the gathering and tapas.  Looking forward to seeing everyone.

I don't suppose that anyone has computerized files of the Herbert Clark tangram task shapes?  I can recreate them from the tiny pictures I have and turn them into individual 8.5x11 sheets, but it will be a PITA and I'd rather avoid it if someone has already done it.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, then remind me to explain common ground and the dyadic creation of novel referents some time, but probably not this week.

Know What?: The Subconscious vs. Free Will    
Sun 1:00 - 2:15PM    
Senate B
Moderator: Laurel Winter. Piglet, Tracey A. Callison, Ruthanna Emrys, Richard S. Russell
.
Recent research in neuropsychology suggests that we're aware of far less than the tip of the iceberg about what's going on in our brains. Apparently decisions are made by subterranean processes milliseconds before they're handed to our conscious minds, which then conceitedly think that they've come up with them using free will. What kind of story ideas can this research inspire?


Death Is Weirder Than We Think    
Sun 10:00 - 11:15PM    
Senate B
Moderator: Gregory Frost. Erin Cashier, Catherine Anne Crowe, Ruthanna Emrys

An exploration of curious past (and present) practices and attitudes by both humans and the animal kingdom.


Jo, can you remind me about the mummy paint?  It was a great story, and I want to get it right.

Who else is going to be there?

Elise Mattheson is having a pre-Wiscon jewelry sale.  I pine for "Binding the Lightning" (big shock there), but I've already ordered... OMG FOSSIL CORAL!  No, bad Ashni.  If you're having a less expensive month than me, you should go take a look.

Apparently I read more at stressful end of semesters, rather than less...

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Total Books: 8
Recent Publication: 2/8
Rereads: 3/8
Bear Ratio: 1/8.  I'm not sure how long I can keep up taking in a previously unread Bear book each month--I've only got two more prior publications that I haven't read, and I don't think she's got 6 new books coming out this year. 
New Music: 2 albums
New Media Produced: The reality judgment paper is done and submitted to a journal.  The write-up of the credibility study set is next.  Aphra Marsh is bugging me about her next story and I really need to do some research on Japanese-American culture after the WWII internment camps.  I strongly suspect this will not happen in May, as I'm only really home one week of the month.