FilmmakerIQ.com

TIME’s 2009 Best and Worst Inventions of the Year

TIME senior writer Lev Grossman discusses some of the top choices for 2009 Best and Worst Inventions of the Year.
You can read the full article here.
2009 Best Inventions of the Year

Worst Inventions of the Year

Will Brain Scans Replace Test Screenings?

Film producer Peter Katz has used fMRI brain scans to measure scariness of horror movies. He teamed up with researchers to scan brain activity of subject viewing his film. Data from scan gives real-time view of what’s going on inside the brain. He wants to use brain scans to […]

Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain

A panel discussion with some of today’s best brain researchers, sponsored by the NSF, The Franklin Institute, and DISCOVER magazine.
VIA: discovermagazine
The 12 Individual Videos:
The Ups and Downs of Forgetting
Why Do We Remember Old Pop Songs But Forget Where Our Keys Are?
Where in the Brain Is Consciousness Located?
Humans: Natural-Born Teachers
Are All […]

Did you know?

Created by Karl Fisch, and modified by Scott McLeod; Globalization & The Information Age. It was even adapted by Sony BMG at an executive meeting they held in Rome this year.
VIA: buencaminos

Golan Levin makes art that looks back at you

Golan Levin, an artist and engineer, uses modern tools — robotics, new software, cognitive research — to make artworks that surprise and delight. Watch as sounds become shapes, bodies create paintings, and a curious eye looks back at the curious viewer.
VIA: TEDtalksDirector

Are we in control of our decisions?

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, uses classic visual illusions and his own counterintuitive (and sometimes shocking) research findings to show how we’re not as rational as we think when we make decisions.
VIA: TED.com

Magic and the Brain: Teller Reveals the Neuroscience of Illusion

The silent man of Penn and Teller, discusses how magic is all about exploiting the gaps in human perception, in this fascinating Wired article by Jonah Lehrer. Filmmakers should take note.

…One of the first tricks in Penn and Teller’s Las Vegas show begins when Teller—the short, quiet one—strolls onstage […]

MIT’s Wearable $350 Sixth Sense

This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some.

Dan Dennett: Cute, sexy, sweet, funny

Why are babies cute? Why is cake sweet? Philosopher Dan Dennett has answers you wouldn’t expect, as he shares evolution’s counterintuitive reasoning on cute, sweet and sexy things. For a topping, try his introduction to a new theory by Matthew Hurley on why jokes are funny.

TEDTalks is a daily video […]

Why certain blockbusters blow your mind

Movie studios spend millions trying to make films that will attract huge audiences and big box office profits, but new research in brain imaging may provide insight into why certain movies set off more brain activity than others. NBC’s Robert Bazell reports. (Nightly News)