Author Archives: Faith In Geeks

Neuromarketing- A Christmas and Boxing Day Shopping Special

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A few years back I noticed that my shopping experience started to change, I would walk into a regular high street store and the music would be fast and loud, personally, causing me to want to walk right back out. Then I noticed, calming music being played at particular underground stations during rush hour traffic..hmmmmmm.

A little research pointed me in the direction of a new “trend” in the capitalistic states we live in defined as “neuromarketing”.

It boils down to this, Scientist advise stores to waft spicy “jingle smells” such as cinnamon and brandy through their stores to loosen their customers’ wallets. They recommend fast-paced seasonal music to impart some urgency to the spending spree, and to deck the halls with psychologically arousing colours such as red.

Now if you think that is interesting, you aint seen nothing yet :-/

Taking it a step further, companies are paying scientist to figure out how to “get inside” the heads of Christmas shoppers using “neuromarketing” – the use of a machine to read your mind as you weigh up your gift options. A Californian company, NeuroFocus, has unveiled a headset that can measure the brain’s electrochemical activity as a shopper wanders around a mall, allowing a computer to collect all that cerebral data remotely. This can provide “critical knowledge and insights into how consumers perceive their brands, products, packaging, in-store marketing, and advertising at the deep subconscious level in real time”, according to Dr A K Pradeep, its chief executive.

I managed to find a video of the man himself, explaining his view on the topic. Very interesting choice of words…

Digging a little bit more I came across a google tech talk on the topic

Some of you may be on your way out to do some lastmin.com Christmas shopping (apparently the shops are open until midnight this eve!), and some of you may be getting ready to hit the sales on boxing day. It would be interesting to know what you came up across in terms of neuromarketing? Leave me a feedback comment on your return.

Happy Shopping Geeks

Ex

Emeli Sandé Geek Out, Neuroscience, Medicine and BRIT’s Critics Choice Award

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A few months back I came across an article about Emeli in a magazine and I remember walking into my friends studio and calmly saying to him (holding down my geekdom, as you do sometimes)

“have you heard of this girl? she is gonna be really big in the music industry soon and she is studying medicine”

Inside this was happening:

” OMG look, look, this girl is really dope and she is cool and she is gonna be a Dr and famous, and she is a geek, a good role model for young girls and she is telling the whole world- Insert mini-me in my head doing the E shuffle”

Sandé studied medicine at the University of Glasgow, with an intercalated degree in neuroscience.  She said that education was one of the most important things to her, stating that if her music career failed, she has education to fall back on. Sandé said that her manager, Adrian Sykes, waited patiently since she was 16, saying “Adrian really respects that I want to get an education behind me. He also knows my parents are keen that I finish university.”

Although, she has not finished her degree, I am not mad at her. For one, she has been vocal about how hard of a decision that was, she was also being REAL, this is her time to fulfill one of her dreams and she should be proud of herself for realising it. And she is pretty good at it, winning the BRIT’s Critics Choice Award. Check her out here

here is her new single

Q E, I want to know if red wine is good for the heart or not, once and for all please?

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The good ol’ red wine and heart Question! aaah yes, I do get asked this frequently and actually it’s my area of “expertise” as I worked in the cardiovascular arena for 5 years.

So here it goes, I hope you’re all ready for this? I promise to try and keep it simple 🙂 but just in-case click play for some background music

Yes, red wine (or white) is good for the heart, IF you drink it moderately and you are generally “healthy”! That means if you are unhealthy or “at Risk” don’t be fooled into thinking that wine is your savior, it will do you more harm than good if you go over moderate!

Right, now that’s out of the way, I’ll explain why?

1- The reason red wine is quoted more than white is because the types of grapes that red wine is made from contain a higher concentration of Flavonoids. Flavonoids are polyphenolic antioxidants found in many plants and vegetables but are especially abundant in red grapes.

2- Now here is the Science bit; Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) the “bad” cholesterol/fat that you hear about on TV is the stuff that undergoes oxidation and initiates the process of atherogenesis (fat deposits in your arteries/heart), which can lead to heart disease.

3- Put 1 and 2 together and you can see why red wine is good as the higher concentration of flavonoids following wine consumption act as an ANTI-oxidant, hindering that process.

4-Wine also contains alcohol, and prospective epidemiological studies have suggested that alcohol, in all of its forms, increases plasma High Density Lipoprotein and it’s major apolipoprotein, Apo A1. HDL is the good protein, which protects against heart disease and a increase in HDL concentration is inversely related to a 50% reduction in atherosclerosis.

HOWEVER

5-Studies DO NOT show these benefits to be highly-significant especially as the fitness, diet and honesty of cohorts varies so much in studies. But studies DO show absolutely that alcohol, especially in excess, does have detrimental effects, in most groups and outweigh its benefits. Other interventions, including dietary modification, are far more effective at reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Hence the confusion!

To Conclude:

regular light-to-moderate alcohol intake, especially in those at risk, whose diet is steadfastly Western will, at the very least, do no harm and almost certainly lead to benefit. For those who have a healthy diet and lifestyle, you can probably push it a little more? I’m just saying tho, disclaimer!!

Now you gotta decide what light-to-moderate is in relation to your personal level of fitness and make an educated guess LOL

Click here for one of the best reviews I have read for further details, history and info

Hope that helps, if you have any more questions leave me a comment and I will do my best to reply.

Happy light-to-moderate drinking

Peace.

Ex

Q- E, my son insists that music helps him learn better? Is this true?

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Even Books Need A Little Music: LOVE

oh yes, I remember telling my mother and farther the same thing while I was studying for exams. They complained a lot, I ignored them a lot and eventually they stopped telling me, a lot.

The simple answer, is yes and no lol

Yes, it is true when it comes to memory recall. It has been proven that if you associate a concept to a song and/or the word within a song or the melody of a song it helps you recall the concept from memory much easier. This is good for subjects like history, humanities, geography, Biology, Psychology etc

No, it is not true when it comes to learning figures or facts. So subjects like maths, physics, charts, tables etc. However, converting equations into song-form has been proven to increase grades in students.

What is important to understand is that music has lots of benefits, including making you feel better and surely a happy student will do better than a less happy student without his music. You can then advise him on how to use his music to help him study better by suggesting he links some of it to his subjects or pay careful attention and see if you can make the links for him? then suggest them in that way that only a parent can do 🙂

Have a read of this link and see for yourself how music affects the Brain and how you can use it to your advantage.

Hope that helps

Ex

Mind Over Matter

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Hello Geeks,

I am a believer, so I think all illnesses are  a combination of Health (Science/Mind), Life (Soul/Faith) and Love (Heart/body). I firmly believe that disease can be overcome by focusing on all three of these things. One will not do.

I came across this short animation. It is a beautiful story about a little girl from Sudan who was born with Polio and has achieved much despite the odds, very inspiring.

Press Play:

Do you Agree or Disagree? post a comment/tweet me

Share and Like please

Peace and Love

Ex

Robots At War

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Last week, I went to the Science Museum to visit the RobotVille exhibition. Very exciting stuff. the Robotics field is advancing very fast, probably much faster then we are allowed to know!

The latest bunch of Robots on show had a range of skills. Some could follow your emotions and mimic you (e.g if you smiled it would smile back at you). Some could respond to orders and questions, others can shake your hand, grab a ball from you and even hand it back. Amazing.

Robots create a whole bunch of questions in my mind. Exactly what are they going to be used for when they have reached the levels of Will Smith’s i-robot?

Robots are already being used successfully in the medical and technology fields. They have huge educational benefits and are an exciting way off attracting young people into the fields such as mechanics, engineering and technology.

But, a part of me really fears what comes next? War? Medical Morals? Domestic Aids?

I managed to sneak in some photos and videos on my phone to share with you all;

Chillin’ like a Villain

Catch me if you can

 

Do the Robot Dance

The Audios attached to the videos are from the EP When Robots Go To War- featuring Ty and Motet  produced (an original composition)  by Gus  ‘Steve Austin’ Modeste  (Catch me if you can) and remixed by Daz I Q (Do the Robot Dance) who are members of  Uprock Recordings. If you do not know about these music geeks already, DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR click on the links and check them out.

You can also support them by buying the EP from itunes

And if you enjoyed reading the post and videos please support me by sharing the blog via FB and/or twitter and leave me a comment.

Peace and all that good stuff.

Ex

Musicology

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Music is a Scientific Art. A great musician is also a great artist and great artists usually have a learned and/or innate understanding of the science and technology behind the process, how music is made and heard.

So when I came across this Ted video I just had to share.  An inspiring rendition on how one Dr believes that science should not ignore the importance of music for deaf people. Currently, Scientist can restore hearing of language and speech but perfecting the hearing of music is still very much on the backburner.

Check out the Video and let me know what you think?

It is no secret that I am a big music fan. I know I would find it very difficult to get through most days without my daily dose of musical pleasure. I would most definitely choose the sense of sound over sight.

Q-If you had to choose between sight and sound, which would it be?

Etta said it; I would rather go blind

Peace and Love

Ex

Water Got No Enemy!

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I feel really chuffed about this one, as I have been telling my close friends for a while now that drinking bottled water all the time instead of tap water is actually bad for you. I was always received with the “fake smile” and or “the vacant stare” equaling to, thanks E but I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that lol!

Well, the Geeks at Harvard have recently published an article proving me right!

I told yah so is just too too sweet lol

Important Note: Mothers please read carefully as you may find it interesting to know that these chemicals are also found in baby bottles.

Here is what I want you to do;

1-Click on the Fela link below and crank up the volume

2- Now, Click on this Link and Read the Article to find out why

If you want to read “the hardcore science article” click on this link

3-All you bikers, runners, health bods go out and invest in a glass bottle or a bottle made without the use of  BPA Here is a link to some I found on-line, no excuses.

4- Leave me a comment/tweet with your thoughts, especially mothers. I am interested to know what you think, if you have a question, tweet me and I will answer it in the next Knock Knock post.

5-Share this with your near and far and like the page (if you haven’t already done so)

Thanks for reading, Stay tuned for more 🙂

Ex

RIP Sócrates, Brazil’s Hero, My Hero Dr.

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I woke up to such sad news today, I couldn’t even bring myself to do the mandatory RIP on Facebook. I have had a “secret” crush on this man as far back as I can remember, a little girl watching football in Sudan on a small TV surrounded by my dad and my uncles. The more I learned, read, heard, saw of him the more I grew to love him.

My Dr Hero and Secret Crush

The world has lost another beacon of light. A Genius. A truly remarkable man. Besides football, a doctor, a writer, a musician, a political activist and even a theater director. He is and always will be my idol Geek, and I shall continue to look up-to to him. May you rest in perfect and absolute peace. Ameen.

Here is a short but nice article published in the Guardian on the man himself and a beautiful tribute video


Post up any tributes you found and/or your own tributes in form of song, words or photos.

Ex