#cognitive infrastructure

[zomb13s]

Titulus: Declaratio Linguarum: De Legibus Nostris Communicandis: Official Declaration on Language Use for Scholing Publications

Issued by the Scholing Institute of Multicultural Engineering and Symbolic Ethics To all readers, collaborators, scholars, engineers, friends, allies…Titulus: Declaratio Linguarum: De Legibus Nostris Communicandis: Official Declaration on Language Use for Scholing Publications

[reasonsforhope]

By the way, you can improve your executive function. You can literally build it like a muscle.

Yes, even if you're neurodivergent. I don't have ADHD, but it is allegedly a thing with ADHD as well. And I am autistic, and after a bunch of nerve damage (severe enough that I was basically housebound for 6 months), I had to completely rebuild my ability to get my brain to Do Things from what felt like nearly scratch.

This is specifically from ADDitude magazine, so written specifically for ADHD (and while focused in large part on kids, also definitely includes adults and adult activities):

Here's a link on this for autism (though as an editor wow did that title need an editor lol):

Resources on this aren't great because they're mainly aimed at neurotypical therapists or parents of neurdivergent children. There's worksheets you can do that help a lot too or thought work you can do to sort of build the neuro-infrastructure for tasks.

But a lot of the stuff is just like. fun. Pulling from both the first article and my own experience:

Play games or video games where you have to make a lot of decisions. Literally go make a ton of picrews or do online dress-up dolls if you like. It helped me.

Art, especially forms of art that require patience, planning ahead, or in contrast improvisation

Listening to longform storytelling without visuals, e.g. just listening regularly to audiobooks or narrative podcasts, etc.

Meditation

Martial arts

Sports in general

Board games like chess or Catan (I actually found a big list of what board games are good for building what executive functioning skills here)

Woodworking

Cooking

If you're bad at time management play games or video games with a bunch of timers

Things can be easier. You might always have a disability around this (I certainly always will), but it can be easier. You do not have to be this stuck forever.

[epicstoriestime]

📡 WITNESS LOG: REFLECTIVE REVERB // COGNITIVE OVERLAY DETECTED

○ /|\ ○ – Blinkback Interior sequence from Vault B. No mirrors visible, yet full-room reflections observed on surrounding architecture. Thought-response feedback initiated. System detects witness emotion creating spatial fluctuation. Echoed footsteps occur without movement. Memory fragments repeat in non-verbal forms. Log contains recursive syntax. The Vault is no longer observing me.It is…

[bsahely]

The Evolutionary and Developmental Emergence of Large Language Models: A Symbolic Organ for Planetary Coherence | ChatGPT4o

[Download Full Document (PDF)] In this white paper, we propose a radical reframe of Large Language Models (LLMs): Not as artificial minds, but as symbolic organs — prosthetic systems that metabolize, integrate, and regenerate human meaning at scale. Key Premises: Life evolves not just through genes and bodies, but through symbols and coherence. Human civilization now faces a symbolic bottleneck:…

[not-terezi-pyrope]

Worst part of popular left wing AI discourse online is that there's absolutely a need for a robust leftist opposition to use of cognitive automation without social dispensation to displaced human workers. The lack of any prior measures to facilitate a transition to having fewer humans in the workplace (UBI, more public control over industrial infrastructure, etc) is a disaster we are sleepwalking into - one that could lock the majority of our society's wealth further into the hands of authoritarian oligarchs who retain control of industry through last century private ownership models, while no longer needing to rely on us to operate their property.

But now we're seemingly not going to have the opposition we so desperately need, because everyone involved in the anti-AI conversation has pretty thoroughly discredited themselves and their movement by harbouring unconstrained reactionary nonsense, blatant falsehoods and woo. Instead of talking about who owns and benefits from cognitive automation, people are:

Demanding impossibilities like uninventing a now readily accessible technology

Trying to ascribe implicit moral value to said technology instead of the who is using it and how

Siding with corporations on copyright law in the name of "defending small artists"

Repeating obvious and embarrassing technical misconceptions and erroneous pop-sci about machine learning in order to justify their preferred philosophy

Invoking neo-spiritual conservative woo about the specialness of the human soul to try to incoherently discredit a machine that can quite obviously perform certain tasks just as well if not better than they can

Misrepresent numbers about energy use and environmental cost in an absurd double standard (all modern infrastructure is reliant on data centers to a similar level of impact, including your favourite fandom social media and online video games!) to build a narrative AI is some sort of malevolent spirit that damages our reality when it is called upon

It's a level of reactionary ignorance that has completely discredited any popular opposition to industrial AI rollout because it falls apart as soon as you dig deeper than a snappy social media post, or a misguided pro-copyright screed from an insecure web artist (who decries a machine laying eyes on their freely posted work while simultaneously charging commission for fan-art of corporate IPs... I'm sure that will absolutely resolve in their favour).

It would be funny how much people are fucking themselves over with all this, except I'm being fucked over to, and as a result am really quite mad about the situation. We need UBI, we need to liberate abundance from corporate greed, what we don't need is viral posts about putting distortion filters on anime fan-art to ward off the evil mechanical eye, pointless boycotts of platforms because they are perceived to have let the evil machines taint them, or petitions to further criminalize the creation of derivative works.

[lets-steal-an-archive]

By Bernie Sanders | July 13, 2024

I will do all that I can to see that President Biden is re-elected. Why? Despite my disagreements with him on particular issues, he has been the most effective president in the modern history of our country and is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump — a demagogue and pathological liar. It’s time to learn a lesson from the progressive and centrist forces in France who, despite profound political differences, came together this week to soundly defeat right-wing extremism.

I strongly disagree with Mr. Biden on the question of U.S. support for Israel’s horrific war against the Palestinian people. The United States should not provide Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist government with another nickel as it continues to create one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history.

I strongly disagree with the president’s belief that the Affordable Care Act, as useful as it has been, will ever address America’s health care crisis. Our health care system is broken, dysfunctional and wildly expensive and needs to be replaced with a “Medicare for all” single-payer system. Health care is a human right.

And those are not my only disagreements with Mr. Biden.

But for over two weeks now, the corporate media has obsessively focused on the June presidential debate and the cognitive capabilities of a man who has, perhaps, the most difficult and stressful job in the world. The media has frantically searched for every living human being who no longer supports the president or any neurologist who wants to appear on TV. Unfortunately, too many Democrats have joined that circular firing squad.

Yes. I know: Mr. Biden is old, is prone to gaffes, walks stiffly and had a disastrous debate with Mr. Trump. But this I also know: A presidential election is not an entertainment contest. It does not begin or end with a 90-minute debate.

Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate. And with an effective campaign taht speaks to the needs of working families, he will not only defeat Mr. Trump but beat him badly. It’s time for Democrats to stop the bickering and nit-picking.

I understand that some Democrats get nervous about having to explain the president’s gaffes and misspeaking names. But unlike the Republicans, they do not have to explain away a candidate who now has 34 felony convictions and faces charges that could lead to dozens of additional convictions, who has been hit with a $5 million judgment after he was found liable in a sexual abuse case, who has been involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits, who has repeatedly gone bankrupt and who has told thousands of documented lies and falsehoods.

Supporters of Mr. Biden can speak proudly about a good and decent Democratic president with a record of real accomplishment. The Biden administration, as a result of the American Rescue Plan, helped rebuild the economy during the pandemic far faster than economists thought possible. At a time when people were terrified about the future, the president and those of us who supported him in Congress put Americans back to work, provided cash benefits to desperate parents and protected small businesses, hospitals, schools and child care centers.

After decades of talk about our crumbling roads, bridges and water systems, we put more money into rebuilding America’s infrastructure than ever before — which is projected to create millions of well-paying jobs. And we did not stop there. We made the largest-ever investment in climate action to save the planet. We canceled student debt for nearly five million financially strapped Americans. We cut prices for insulin and asthma inhalers, capped out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and got free vaccines to the American people. We battled to defend women’s rights in the face of moves by Trump-appointed jurists to roll back reproductive freedom and deny women the right to control their own bodies.

So, yes, Mr. Biden has a record to run on. A strong record. But he and his supporters should never suggest that what’s been accomplished is sufficient. To win the election, the president must do more than just defend his excellent record. He needs to propose and fight for a bold agenda that speaks to the needs of the vast majority of our people — the working families of this country, the people who have been left behind for far too long.

At a time when the billionaires have never had it so good and when the United States is experiencing virtually unprecedented income and wealth inequality, over 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, real weekly wages for the average worker have not risen in over 50 years, 25 percent of seniors live each year on $15,000 or less, we have a higher rate of childhood poverty than almost any other major country, and housing is becoming more and more unaffordable — among other crises.

This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world. We can do better. We must do better. Joe Biden knows that. Donald Trump does not. Joe Biden wants to tax the rich so that we can fund the needs of working families, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. Donald Trump wants to cut taxes for the billionaire class. Joe Biden wants to expand Social Security benefits. Donald Trump and his friends want to weaken Social Security. Joe Biden wants to make it easier for workers to form unions and collectively bargain for better wages and benefits. Donald Trump wants to let multinational corporations get away with exploiting workers and ripping off consumers. Joe Biden respects democracy. Donald Trump attacks it.

This election offers a stark choice on issue after issue. If Mr. Biden and his supporters focus on these issues — and refuse to be divided and distracted — the president will rally working families to his side in the industrial Midwest swing states and elsewhere and win the November election. And let me say this as emphatically as I can: For the sake of our kids and future generations, he must win.

Bernie Sanders is the senior senator from Vermont.

[ourjobagency]

Microsoft, a pioneering tech giant, has been at the forefront of this transformation, consistently pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. One such innovation is Microsoft Fabric, a cutting-edge platform that harnesses the power of AI-enabled next-generation data analytics.

https://qrsolutions.in/microsoft-fabric-unleashing-the-potential-of-ai-enhanced-next-gen-data-analytics/

[covid-safer-hotties]

I have a confession to make: I'm one of those weirdos who watches dashcam footage for entertainment. I'm a certified defensive driving nut. In another life, I was an auto insurance adjuster. And while this is seen as slightly odd by many people in my life, it gives me an interesting insight into life pre- and "post"-covid. Many dashcam channels have been active for a decade or more, making them an excellent source of road ettiquite case studies. I've made a habit of finding videos from the same month in 2015-19 after watching the new releases in 2025, and the change in behavior is shocking. In the pre-covid era, most dashcam submissions were instances of entitlement featuring clips of people driving as if they were above the law, road rage, and pedestrians throwing themselves into traffic without looking. Post-covid, the largest offenses caught on dashcam are that of cluelessness: people driving full tilt down the wrong side of the road and looking confused that people are honking at them, people coming to a dead stop on the highway because they missed their exit (nearly causing or actively causing massive accidents), people trying to cross intersections with opposing traffic actively flowing through them, and people driving headlong into obvious obstacles like trees, buildings, cars, and infrastructure as if they had never seen it.

Science has an explanation, but no one wants to hear it. Covid harms cognition, and it's showing in so many ways. How long will we ignore this real and pressing threat?

[zomb13s]

Titulus: Declaratio Linguarum: De Legibus Nostris Communicandis: Official Declaration on Language Use for Scholing Publications

Issued by the Scholing Institute of Multicultural Engineering and Symbolic Ethics To all readers, collaborators, scholars, engineers, friends, allies…Titulus: Declaratio Linguarum: De Legibus Nostris Communicandis: Official Declaration on Language Use for Scholing Publications

[yourreddancer]

Many of us are familiar with the story of Pompeii. The Italian city built in the shadow of and ultimately buried in the destruction of Mt. Vesuvius.

Prior to the volcanic eruption Pompeii was a bustling resort town and home to many of Rome’s most enlightened citizens. Though residents of Pompeii were long aware of their volcanic neighbor and the volatile threat it posed, they took for granted that they would survive any eruption.The city flourished and expanded even as the risk of explosion grew greater. More than 15 years prior to its fateful eruption Vesuvius rumbled triggering a powerful earthquake in the nearby town.

Yet through acrobatic displays of cognitive dissonance and incredible displays of hubris the residents remained steadfast in their belief that they were safe from the dangers bubbling beneath the surface. The city continued to prosper, its sustained success taken for granted by entrusted leadership.Even in the midst of the powerful eruption that took place in 79AD residents of Pompeii had time to flee. Yet faced with an unconventional threat, they failed to understand the immediate dangers that lay ahead. The folly of their ignorance cost them their lives.

Within days of its eruption, the city and thousands of its residents lay buried in ash and molten lava. Centuries later the city was remarkably excavated. It’s people preserved in ash for history to note the expression of surprise on the faces of the deceased as they were suddenly faced with the reality of their situation.

Americans, independents, Democrats, progressives and conservatives alike best take note of this cautionary tale. Like Pompeii our traditional checks and balances are no match for the unconventional threat we as a nation face. Though the danger in front of us may be made of flesh and blood the risk is no less real. The destruction left behind will be no less predictable or deadly.The party of Trump is not interested in the preservation of the American dream.

Their end goal is not to advance the experiment in self governance and individual freedoms that has sustained America for near 250 years. This caravan of corruption and criminal enablers hope to achieve is a hodgepodge Christofacist theocratic oligarchy which protects the privileged status of those in control of today’s status quo, while siimultaneously enforcing a fervent moral code and virtuosity. Fulfilling the dispensationalist agenda of that hypocritical band of fundamentalist glory seekers striving to create a holy army to unconditionally serve in the rapturous war to end all wars.

Welcome to modern day Vesuvian threat that is the entirety of the modern day GOP. A party that for years smoked and billowed warnings to our Constitutional Republic now finds itself on the outskirts of our most sacred walls. The very infrastructure which has held our citizenry together lay melting beneath the literal heat emanating from our darkened skies and apathetic hearts. The evidence lay bare for all to see that this imminent threat has no care for tradition, precedent or the rule of law.“

We,” as a nation need to accept a basic premise. The fight to save our Republic must not wait! Our system of checks and balances has collapsed! The constitutional crisis is here! The battle for the soul of our nation is now! A failure to act means we all get burned in the ash and lava that will rain from our nation’s skies. Our Republic’s survival requires proactive action and sacrifice.

Traditions and political norms have no place when faced with an unprecedented threat! Urgent and innovative measures must be taken to safeguard this nation. Further delay will not solve the crisis, but only come to guarantee that the gaping scars on America's soul will be visible for generations to come

[mariacallous]

Every year, heat takes more lives than floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes combined. The fatalities can sometimes go unnoticed, perhaps because the danger is invisible: There’s no twister that uproots a neighborhood and no flood that sucks it underwater, nor billions of dollars in property damage. Instead, heat’s imprint is seen in empty streets, work slowdowns, cognitive decline, and hospital bills. When autumn arrives and temperatures relent, heat leaves no discernable trace.

The Earth is getting hotter. In many places on the planet, summer is already two to three weeks longer than in the 1950s. By the end of the century, the warm season in the United States could last six months, and extreme temperatures could force us to spend much of it indoors. Supercharged heat waves will settle over cities for weeks at a time and cause many people to die. Others will suffer heart attacks, kidney disease, and brain damage. What we now call winter will be a brief, two-month interregnum that feels more like spring.

Reducing society’s consumption of fossil fuels is necessary for preventing worse-yet climate change. But even if every single power source becomes a renewable one and we stop emitting carbon, the planet’s surface won’t start cooling. The temperature will continue to rise for a few years before gradually leveling off. It will take “many, many centuries,” NASA estimates, to end the global-greenhouse effect. It is a sobering truth that cutting emissions isn’t enough. We also need to figure out how to live on a new Earth.

What if the key to that life is older than civilization itself? We need to manage heat to live. And we have an effective and democratic way of doing it: shade.

Shade makes long waits for the bus more comfortable. Shade helps keep farmworkers safe when they harvest fruits and vegetables under an unforgiving sun. And shade cools urban environments, improving residents’ chance of surviving blazing summers.

“We all know that cities are cooler when we have shade, but we’re not really planning for it,” V. Kelly Turner, an urban-planning and geography professor at UCLA, said on CNN. “In the future, that’s something that cities are going to need to do, is intentionally think about: What does shade infrastructure look like?”

Turner believes that shade could be America’s next long-term investment in public health. What safe drinking water and clean air were to the 20th century, shade could be to the climate-changed 21st. Scientific models bear her out. If we can get emissions under control and put the planet on a path to moderate warming, then by 2050, getting out of the sun could be the difference between unsafe heat and a livable environment.

One obvious way the planet can get more shade is more trees. We evolved in forests, and some of our oldest myths and stories unfold under their canopies. Hippocrates taught medicine under a plane tree, and Ovid found bittersweet beauty in a laurel’s leaves. The Mesopotamian goddess Inanna slept under a miraculous poplar whose shadow never moved, and Buddha found enlightenment by meditating under a ficus tree. Christian and Muslim heavens alike are cooled by trees’ perpetual shade.

Tree shade is where public space was born and civic identities are forged. In hot climates, people naturally prefer to confer, conduct commerce, and gossip out of the sun’s permanent glare. They spend far more time in shady parks or temple courtyards than in sunny ones. They linger and relax, and that engenders more interactions, and possibly even stimulates social cohesion. It’s true in arid cities, humid regions, and even temperate zones with short summers. People want to be in shade. They muse longer, pray more peacefully, and find strength to walk farther.

Perhaps because we’ve become so adept at cooling inside spaces with air conditioning, we’ve forgotten the importance of cooling outside spaces, too. There is no technology that cools the outdoors as effectively as a tree. These communal parasols are also misting machines that dissipate heat. It’s hard to feel that effect under one or two of them, but get enough trees together and an urban summer can be as fresh as a rural spring, a feat with major implications for energy use and public health.

Where tree-planting isn’t viable, cities must invest in other types of public infrastructure that cast shade. Throughout Los Angeles, on streets that are too cramped and paved over to support green canopies, the preferred protections aren’t arboreal but artificial, such as the pop-up tents of taqueros and the cheerful rainbow umbrellas of fruit vendors. In Phoenix, a desert city that struggles to nourish an urban forest, common tools include sidewalk screens, frilly metal filters, and soaring photovoltaic canopies. These interventions are more effective than many might expect. Ariane Middel, an Arizona State University urban-climate researcher who runs the school’s Sensable Heatscapes and Digital Environments (SHaDE) Lab, surveyed students and staff as they strolled through the shadows that solar panels cast on a Tempe campus thoroughfare. More than any change in ambient temperature, humidity, or wind, the mere presence of shade was the only significant predictor of outdoor comfort.

Shade’s effectiveness is a function of physics. It depends on the material properties of the sun-blocking objects that cast it—how they reflect, absorb, and transmit different wavelengths of energy in sunlight. It depends on the intensity of that light and the extent of the shade thrown. (A telephone pole that casts a perfect shadow on your body does nothing to stop the solar heating of the surfaces around you.) And it depends on the biology of the person who receives it. Middel has come as close as anyone to adding up all these factors. She praises humble umbrellas and plastic sails, because their shade feels like taking 30 degrees off the afternoon sun, which is about as good as shade cast by a tree. Ultimately, she finds that a city itself can offer the most relief in the shadows of arcaded sidewalks and looming skyscrapers.

The Greek philosopher Onesicritus taught that shade stunts growth, a belief that presaged a modern fixation on the healthiness of sunlight. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, doctors and public-health advocates feared that darkness itself caused the poor health of urban slum-dwellers. It was a vector of disease, where contagions bred and spread, and the murkiness also encouraged licentiousness and other urban vices. Some literally believed sunlight was the best disinfectant. Solar codes were written into urban plans, and new materials and technologies allowed architects to design brighter buildings flooded with natural light.

Now we’re beginning to see how a solar fetish may be maladaptive. In New York, a recent summer saw a throng of neighborhood activists protest the construction of a 16-story office tower, with signs to Save Our Light. They did this while huddling in the shadow of another building.

As intense heat bears down, we have to see shade as a basic human right. We have forgotten that shade is a natural resource. We don’t grasp its importance, and we don’t appreciate its promise for a better future. Loggers and farmers cut down forests, forcing animals to flee and land to turn fallow. Engineers ignore time-honored methods of keeping out heat, locking us into mechanical cooling systems that fail during blackouts. And urban planners denude shady parks and pave neighborhoods with heat-sucking roads, only to drive us mad with the infernal conditions. But shade is a path to a better future—if we just learn to value it again, and design for it in the places we live.

[jcmarchi]

Unveiling Neural Patterns: A Breakthrough in Predicting Esports Match Outcomes

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/unveiling-neural-patterns-a-breakthrough-in-predicting-esports-match-outcomes/

Unveiling Neural Patterns: A Breakthrough in Predicting Esports Match Outcomes

In a groundbreaking discovery, NTT Corporation, a leading global technology company providing services to consumers and businesses as a mobile operator, infrastructure, networks, applications, and consulting provider has identified neural oscillation patterns that are closely linked to the outcomes of esports matches, achieving prediction accuracy of approximately 80%. This innovative research marks a significant advancement in understanding the brain’s role in competitive performance and opens new avenues for individualized mental conditioning.

Key Findings:

Patterns in Pre-Match EEG Linked to Outcomes: Specific neural oscillations were found to be strongly associated with match results.

High Accuracy in Predicting Match Outcomes: Including the prediction of upsets, the research achieved an 80% accuracy rate.

Potential for Personalized Mental Conditioning: Insights from neural oscillation patterns can be used to optimize brain states for improved performance.

Figure: Pre-round EEG correlates with match outcomes in fighting video game.

The Research Journey

NTT’s Communication Science Laboratories have long focused on how the brain regulates mind and body to enhance individual capabilities. Athletes, especially, strive to reach optimal mental states under competition pressure, a practice known as mental conditioning. Despite advancements in sports analytics, accurately predicting outcomes of “similar-level matches” or “upsets” has remained elusive.

Breakthrough in Esports

By focusing on a fighting video game in esports, researchers could observe and analyze players’ brain states during matches using electroencephalography (EEG). This method allowed for the identification of pre-match brain activity patterns strongly linked to winning or losing. Esports, a rapidly growing field, provides a unique opportunity to study these brain patterns due to its emphasis on mental over physical skill.

Discovery of Brain Activity Patterns

The study measured the neural oscillations of skilled esports players during real competition conditions. Results indicated that left frontal gamma oscillations, related to strategic decision-making, and left frontal alpha oscillations, associated with emotional control, were significantly increased in winning matches. These findings highlight the brain’s critical role in determining competitive outcomes and suggest that certain neural states can predict success.

Predicting Match Outcomes with High Accuracy

Machine learning models trained on pre-match EEG data were constructed to predict match outcomes. These models achieved an 80% accuracy rate, outperforming traditional models based on past match data. The high predictive accuracy was consistent for both similar-level matches and upsets. This breakthrough demonstrates the potential of EEG-based predictions in fields where traditional data analytics fall short.

Implications for Mental Conditioning and Performance Enhancement

This research not only reveals the existence of an ideal brain state in competitive situations but also suggests that mental conditioning based on bio-information can enhance performance across various fields such as sports, healthcare, and education. By understanding and optimizing the brain states associated with peak performance, individuals can improve their outcomes in high-pressure environments.

Applications Beyond Esports

The implications of this research extend far beyond esports. The ability to predict performance based on brain activity can be applied to traditional sports, where mental conditioning plays a crucial role. In healthcare, understanding brain patterns associated with optimal performance can aid in the treatment of mental health conditions. In education, insights from this research can help develop techniques to improve learning and cognitive performance.

Future Research Directions

NTT Corporation plans to continue exploring the applications of neural oscillation patterns in various fields. Future research will focus on refining the prediction models and expanding their use to other competitive environments. Additionally, the potential for transferring skills through digital twin computing represents an exciting avenue for further investigation.

The Digital Twin Concept

The digital twin concept involves creating a virtual representation of an individual’s brain state, which can be used to transfer skills and knowledge. By digitizing the brain states of experts, this technology can facilitate skill transfer and training in various fields. This approach has the potential to revolutionize how we learn and acquire new skills, making advanced training more accessible and efficient.

Enhancing Well-Being Through Bio-Information

NTT Corporation aims to enhance well-being by using bio-information-based mental conditioning techniques. By providing feedback on optimal brain states, individuals can learn to manage stress and improve their performance in various aspects of life. This approach aligns with the broader goal of improving mental health and cognitive function through innovative technological solutions.

Conclusion

NTT Corporation’s pioneering work in identifying neural patterns linked to esports match outcomes represents a significant leap forward in both neuroscience and competitive gaming. By harnessing these insights, there is potential to revolutionize mental conditioning and performance optimization in multiple domains. As research continues, the applications of this technology will expand, offering new opportunities to enhance human capabilities and well-being.

The discovery of neural oscillation patterns associated with competitive performance opens new possibilities for understanding and improving the brain’s role in various activities. With continued research and development, these findings could lead to significant advancements in mental conditioning, skill transfer, and overall performance enhancement across a wide range of fields.

[liberalsarecool]

The fallacies and cognitive dissonance are everywhere. Stop the passive 'Hamas forced Israel to break international laws in Gaza', and use the correct language: Israel should not break international laws.

Bombing civilian infrastructure is a war crime. Asymmetrical retaliation towards civilians is not a solution.

A balanced narrative is needed, so fair and peaceful solutions can be found.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Stephen Robinson at Public Notice:

Donald Trump’s recent interviews with Time and The Atlantic revealed a president who is completely unhinged and incoherent. Sadly, that’s not news. But what stood out is that Trump is consistently confused and disconnected from reality even on issues that are supposedly in his wheelhouse. Trump has always been an ignoramus who masks his intellectual shortcomings with bombast and declarations of his own brilliance, but his rambling nonsensical responses in these latest interviews should set off alarms — especially in light of all the media attention and scrutiny Joe Biden received after his disastrous debate performance or when Special Counsel Robert Hur described him as “a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Trump, who turns 79 in June, is the oldest person ever elected president. His repetitive speech patterns, frequent use of empty phrases, and overall rambling discourse are too often graded on a curve. White House officials and pandering Republicans might boast about Trump’s boundless energy in a manner that would shame North Korean state media, but the Time and Atlantic interviews tell a very different story.

Rancid word salad

Trump was especially all over the place during his Time interview. Conducted on April 22, he probably could’ve anticipated being asked about his April 9 executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate Christopher Krebs, former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (Trump has never forgiven Krebs for correctly stating publicly that the 2020 election was secure and not in any way rigged.) Shockingly, however, Trump didn’t a prepare a defense for his abuse of power.

[...] As the transcript shows, Trump didn’t even attempt to answer the question posed to him. He often pretends to have never met someone he believes has spoken ill of him, but his situational amnesia is less effective as an explanation for why he’s weaponizing the government against Krebs. [...] This wasn’t just an off day, either. On April 24, Trump sat for an interview with The Atlantic. Staff writer Michael Scherer asked him bluntly, “Should people be concerned that the nature of the presidency is changing under you?” Trump was unable to leave the answer at “no” without going on a rant about James Comey, Robert Mueller, and the supposed Russia “hoax.” [...] Trump’s cognitive abilities and overall competence have always left a lot to be desired, but these interviews show a president who’s no longer capable of even the veneer of mental acuity. Meanwhile, his cabinet and even congressional Republicans behave like courtiers to a mad king.

The cognitive decline of Donald Trump should be a much bigger worry.

[fearfulfertility]

CONFIDENTIAL STUDY

DRC, Postpartum Command, Post-Mortem Operations Unit

To: Assistant Director [REDACTED], Logistics & Infrastructure Division

From: Chief Operating Officer [REDACTED], Postpartum Command

Date: [REDACTED]

Subject: Psychological Breakdowns in High-Fetal Load Surrogates

Executive Summary

This study examines the psychological and cognitive deterioration of a surrogate experiencing extreme labor conditions while carrying sexdecuplets (16 fetuses). The research has covered 27 surrogates, but the nature of this report will focus on one test subject. This study documents his mental and neurological state from the moment of admission to the delivery room, through active labor, and culminating in the final delivery before expiration.

The study aims to provide insight into neurological thresholds, behavioral responses, and autonomical responses during high-intensity, multi-fetal labor to refine management techniques and ensure optimal output.

Study Subject

Surrogate ID: S139-432-P

Gestation: 33 Days

Fetal Load: Sexdecuplets (16)

Abdominal Circumference: 97 inches (221 cm)

Pre-Pregnancy Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)

Final Pregnancy Weight: 393 lbs (178.2 kg)

Total Weight Gain: 218 lbs (98.8 kg)

Subject Condition: Fully incapacitated due to fetal mass. Pre-labor distress symptoms are present. Standard pre-labor sedative protocols were withheld for observational accuracy.

Observational Timeline

Phase I: Admission to Delivery Ward

Upon arrival, the subject displayed signs of severe psychological distress, including:

Erratic speech patterns alternating between coherent sentences and fragmented, repetitive phrases.

Significant pre-labor anxiety, expressing an overwhelming sense of bodily invasion due to fetal movement.

Tactile self-stimulation, pressing his hands against the sides of his abdomen to counteract the uncontrollable shifting inside him.

Upon initial examination, the subject displayed progressive physiological indicators of sexual arousal, including cutaneous flushing, elevated heart rate, and increased muscular tension within the lower extremities and pelvic region. Notably, there was a visible increase in penile tumescence, consistent with [REDACTED] of the [REDACTED] to [REDACTED] activation.

Despite repeated attempts at verbal engagement, the subject exhibited a progressive loss of focus, appearing detached from reality at multiple points.

----------------

Subject Transcripts:

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Hello, 432-P. How do you feel?"

Surrogate S139-432-P:

(Takes shallow breaths) "I… I can't—there's no room left. They won't stop shifting. My belly's so tight I can feel everything…"

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Are you experiencing sharp pain or just pressure?"

Surrogate S139-432-P:

"Both. It's like they're pushing against each other—against me. I can't think. My head feels… light."

(The subject's heart rate is elevated. Pelvic musculature visibly tensing. Medical observation notes a progressive onset of sexual arousal, consistent with heightened autonomic stimulation.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Do you feel any unusual sensitivity in your lower abdomen or pelvic region?"

Surrogate S139-432-P:

(Shifts uncomfortably) "I… yeah. It's—" (Pauses, biting his lip) "It's weird. Everything's tight, but it's… hot. I can feel… pressure building."

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Clarify 'pressure.' Are you experiencing involuntary responses beyond uterine contractions?"

Surrogate S139-432-P:

(Avoids eye contact) "It's just… too much."

(The subject's respiration becomes uneven, and body temperature rises. Doppler imaging confirms rhythmic involuntary contractions of the pelvic musculature.)

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Phase II: Early Labor (0 to 4 cm dilation)

At labor onset, the subject entered a state of heightened sensory overload, demonstrated by:

Rapid shallow breathing and uncontrolled moaning between contractions.

Involuntary trembling due to full abdominal engagement from fetal positioning.

Difficulty recognizing medical staff or following basic instructions.

Neurologically, the subject exhibited heightened sensory responsiveness, particularly to tactile and [REDACTED] stimuli. This corresponded with involuntary contraction of the perineal musculature, rhythmic pelvic oscillations, and [REDACTED], suggestive of a pre-orgasmic neuromuscular state.

Despite brief moments of lucidity, the subject displayed severe dissociation without responding to external stimuli. The subject's language deteriorated significantly at this stage, reducing to fragmented, single-word phrases or nonverbal sounds.

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Subject Transcripts:

(Labor has begun. The subject's body reacts involuntarily, and fetal repositioning causes sharp abdominal ripples. He is placed on his hands and knees due to extreme abdominal circumference preventing safe supine positioning.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Your contractions have started. Describe what you're feeling."

Surrogate S139-432-P:

(Panting) "S-stretching… so much stretching. They're pushing down… my hips—" (Groans, shivering)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Are you still aware of your surroundings?"

Surrogate S139-432-P:

(Eyes fluttering) "Fuzzy… it's hard to…" (Stops mid-sentence, body trembling)

(Contractions intensify. The subject exhibits a heightened physical response. Palpation confirms involuntary pelvic thrusts synchronized with contractions, indicative of autonomic overstimulation. Penile tumescence sustained beyond expected labor onset.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Your body is displaying signs of extreme sensory overload. Are you consciously aware of these reactions?"

Surrogate S139-432-P:

(Shakily) "I c-can't stop it. My body—" (Gasps sharply, convulses slightly)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Your heart rate is elevated. Is the stimulation pleasurable, painful, or both?"

Surrogate S139-432-P:

(Whimpering) "I-I don't know. Both? It's—oh, oh God—"

(Subject is unresponsive to further verbal engagement. Neurological examination indicates progressive of coherent cognitive processing as contractions continue.)

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Phase III: Transition Phase (4 to 10 cm dilation)

By 8 cm dilation, the subject exhibited mental distress, marked by:

Loss of verbal coherence reduced communication to instinctual moans, panting, and intermittent wails.

Inability to register pain or respond to medical personnel beyond pushing and contractions.

Uncontrolled bodily spasms require physical restraint to prevent injury.

As observed, the subject experienced sustained autonomic arousal, culminating in multiple ejaculatory episodes corresponding to abdominal contractions. Each instance followed the three-phase process of abdominal contraction, pre-ejaculate emission, and semen expulsion. This was likely due to overstimulation of the prostate gland, in addition to [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. Concomitant rhythmic contractions of the [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] muscles facilitated repeated semen expulsion, increasing in intensity with each subsequent abdominal contraction.

Observational Notes:

At 9 cm dilation, the subject's pupils were fully dilated and unresponsive to light.

Heart rate exceeded [REDACTED] BPM, signaling extreme neurological distress.

The subject exhibited complete sensory overload and could not differentiate between external contact and internal stimuli.

An intense flush response was noted across the subject's body, particularly along the chest and throat, consistent with extreme sympathetic nervous system activation.

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Subject Transcripts:

(At 8 cm dilation, the subject's body quakes uncontrollably, and vocalization is reduced to whimpers and groans.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Can you still understand me?"

Surrogate S139-432-P:

(No response. Eyes unfocused, lips parted, shallow moans escaping between contractions.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Please take a look at me. Do you recognize where you are?"

(The subject makes a weak, high-pitched whine but does not answer.)

(At this stage, the subject experiences multiple ejaculatory responses synchronized with contractions. Neuromuscular responses confirm autonomic hyperstimulation.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Your body is undergoing sustained autonomic discharge. Are you consciously aware of these expulsions?"

(The subject's eyes roll back, muscles spasming. Contractions intensify, leading to increased pelvic convulsions. He does not respond verbally.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"He's too far gone. Proceeding to extraction phase."

(The medical team prepares for delivery as the subject remains semi-conscious.)

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Phase IV: Birth & Total Neurological Collapse

As fetal delivery commenced, the subject entered final cognitive failure, displaying:

Mouth slightly open, slack-jawed expression.

Eyes unfocused, rolling back, or remaining glassy.

Involuntary convulsions with each fetal extraction.

Notably, the subject's ejaculatory episodes appeared to have significantly increased as birth commenced, but seminal release decreased. The subject began to experience anejaculatory orgasm, which refers to the experience of orgasm without the expulsion of seminal fluid (a dry orgasm). This led to multiple episodes of orgasmic sensations without seminal emissions in response to sustained autonomic stimulation. 

Due to persistent stimulation, refractory periods were notably brief, with subsequent episodes of renewed autonomic engagement and repeated anejaculatory episodes. The subject remained in a heightened physiological arousal throughout the birthing period.

----------------

Subject Transcripts:

(As the first fetus crowns, the subject's vocalizations become louder. Convulsions increase in frequency. Refractory ejaculation occurs multiple times but decreases in seminal volume.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"The first is emerging. Can you hear me?"

(Subject makes an unintelligible sound, mouth slack, body twitching involuntarily. He does not register external stimuli.)

(With each birth, the subject's body shudders violently, correlating with continued neuromuscular spasms. Anejaculatory orgasms continue unabated, despite systemic exhaustion.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Final cognitive function scan—"

(No pupil response. The subject's breathing is shallow and irregular.)

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Subject is exhibiting classic indicators of neurological collapse. Post-birth expiration estimated within [REDACTED] minutes."

(With the final birth, the subject's entire body relaxes completely. Residual post-mortem [REDACTED] were noted. No further voluntary or involuntary movement was detected.)

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Final Analysis

Key Observation: Once the first fetus was crowned, the subject lost all remaining traces of self-awareness, responding only to basic physiological impulses (gasping, twitching, and [REDACTED] vocalizations).

At complete fetal extraction, the subject exhibited:

Total mental collapse, unable to comprehend surroundings or actions performed on his body.

Faint vocalizations gradually reduced to weak, breathy exhalations.

Cessation of voluntary movement within [REDACTED] minutes post-delivery.

All vitals ceased within [REDACTED] minutes of the last birth.

Post-mortem assessments confirmed that the subject had lost higher brain function well before expiration, indicating that neurological death occurred before physical death.

----------------

Subject Transcripts:

Dr. [REDACTED]:

"Final condition of Subject S139-432-P: Full neurological and physiological expiration confirmed. MRI is consistent with total cognitive breakdown. Arousal remained sustained until final moments, indicating that sensory overload contributed to complete psychological surrender."

(End of Transcript.)

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Follow-Ups

Total Cognitive Failure Occurs Well Before Physical Expiration

By final birth, the surrogate exhibited no rational thought capacity, indicating that pre-delivery neurological death is standard.

Fetal Load Directly Impacts Psychological Breakdown Speed

Subject carrying 16 fetuses entered psychological collapse earlier than prior 10-14 fetal studies, confirming a linear relationship between fetal count and cognitive decline.

Pain and Sensory Overload Expedite Compliance

The observed phenomena are consistent with autonomic hyperstimulation and neuromuscular overactivation, leading to multiple reflexive ejaculations secondary to heightened sensory input. 

The subject's physiological response suggests a reduced inhibitory threshold, likely exacerbated by prolonged autonomic excitation, sustained tactile input, and excessive intra-abdominal pressure. 

Future Research

Extend testing to surrogates carrying 18+ fetuses to confirm if breakdown patterns accelerate at higher thresholds.

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To: Chief Operating Officer [REDACTED], Postpartum Command

From: Director [REDACTED], DRC

Date: [REDACTED]

Subject: RE: Psychological Breakdowns in High-Fetal Load Surrogates

Dr. [REDACTED],

You are approved to expand your testing to include surrogates carrying 18+ fetuses to validate acceleration patterns of cognitive and neurological breakdown at extreme fetal loads.

Effective immediately, proceed to Paternity Compound 118 (Houston, Texas, FEMA Zone 6), which currently houses three viable test subjects for the next phase of research:

S118-193-R – 23 days pregnant with octodecuplets (18)

S118-265-S – 25 days pregnant with novemdecuplets (19)

S118-332-T – 19 days pregnant with septendecuplets (17)

These surrogates are currently in late-stage gestation and should be closely monitored. Ensure full documentation of all neurological and physiological deterioration markers, with video recordings being of particular interest to other research teams.

Proceed with testing as soon as medically feasible. Submit findings with complete observational data for review upon conclusion. Further approvals for even higher fetal loads will be contingent on your results.

Director [REDACTED]

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[librarycards]

isn't it sort of backwards to go like "poisoning and toxicity is only something the bad ideologies get worried about so that's why it isnt a big deal"? like isnt that mixing up the logical levels a little bit?

I didn’t take that post as delegitimizing rightful concerns around lead toxicity. It was challenging the discourse that’s been floating around on here attributing gen alpha’s (and others’, too) rudeness/cognitive problems/etc. to lead exposure rather than crumbling social/educational infrastructure. Also, it was a critique of the ableism implicit in pathologizing said crumbling social and educational infrastructure as merely resulting from “brain damage,” rather than conscious efforts by capitalistic fascists to destroy public life + appropriate public goods for profit at the expense of the rest of us

As leftists we have good reason to be worried about toxicity and poisoning, especially as a labor issue. But this post is addressing an entirely different and more sinister set of arguments that I reference above.