We might think there are certain characteristics essential to human beings alone. But where do those boundaries lie or is it just a sense we have? As we excel at flexing our imaginations around new discoveries, we must be aware that the rules and what we ‘know to be true’ will move with us. The…
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Empathy is one thing, but how about actually feeling and responding to someone else’s mood changes? One major insight is seeing how someone else’s brain responds to the same stimuli. Another interesting aspect is having one’s own reactions hijacked and losing the ability to control them. As the New Scientist article asserts, it’s important not…
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It’s particularly inspiring when a simple test can be used to investigate a complex condition and ultimately help us understand a phenomenon as essential as empathy. We only have to replace something familiar to learn just how good we are at trying to relate to each other. Mirror-touch synesthesia could be seen as empathy in…
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Is imagination all in our heads? Does thinking take more than just the brain? Exploring the possibility that our bodies not only assist cognition but are actually essential to it is exciting. It broadens the scope of the imagination, meaning that it could be more expansive and inclusive than ever. Suppose I give you the…
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We were so inspired by this TEDx Talk from Shawn Brown of ‘Kids Invent Stuff‘. We’ve worked with Shawn on Lab projects such as our Rube Goldberg machine and jam-firing breakfast rocket! Here he’s talking about neurodiversity. It’s not only the inclusive aspect, but the celebratory message which something that’s so worth sharing. It’s through…
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At iOi and IM, we campaign for imagination as the tool for driving change and understanding, so this research is really exciting. If how we think can change our perceptions of the world around us, it opens up the possibilities for navigating it in new ways. Imagining something into reality is probably a desire as…
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It’s exciting to find a little-known phenomenon that might give us some insight into the human mind. By studying extreme imagination we might be able to better understand and harness the different ways that we think and visualise. When you are absorbed in a novel, what does your mind’s eye see? For many of us,…
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We talk a lot about empathy – its benefits for mutual learning and understanding, how we can harness it – but not so much about why it exists as an impulse. We can assume it is to create a better society and know each other’s experiences. However, this research looks into whether it’s linked to…
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This research into how creativity and ‘distant thinking‘ feed each other is fascinating. We focus a lot on the benefits of imagination for solving problems and navigating our world in the present, but it’s exciting to think that it can help us tap into our future potential. The common human default mode is that we…
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It’s tempting, as this article from EdSurge observes, to think of the ‘other’ as a threat; the onslaught of the new and the now obsolete. However, while championing the limitless benefits of reading in print, we must also be careful not to risk dismissing technology. The value in studying the effects of both will be…
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