Why do we like what we do?

Thanks to George M. for this:

I have always wondered what makes us, as humans, like a certain food, or laugh at a joke. Why are things funny? Not sure if I buy all the points brought up in this video, but I thing it brings a larger question to mind and stabs at the answer. Also, I couldn't help but be reminded of Mr. Benson.

Your Brain on Improv

Thanks to Julia B. for this one:

Most people think that music and science have nothing to do with each other. This TED talk shows that this is not true at all. Its really cool to see how something that people think is all about creativity is really something that has to do with science.

Lanuage Development in Infants

Thanks to Paul:

This article talks about how babies just over a year old are able to distinguish between language and non language sounds. Even though some can not speak yet, they can often interpret the meaning of the language being thrown at them. This may not seem that impressive seeing as babies learn to talk shortly after this period in their lives. However, the most exciting part of the study shows that these infants are using the same areas of the brain as a fully developed adult would. By the time a baby is first learning words, this area of the brain is already fully functional. This experiment was very similar to the one we looked at in class, where an MRI is used to look at which areas of the brain are associated with creativity. Scientists were able to use MRI's to determine that baby's use the same areas of the brain as adults to process language.