tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post7001786920435336542..comments2024-03-18T23:52:31.939-04:00Comments on The Invisible Visible Man: Routes - and Why I Prefer Developing my Hippocampus to my QuadricepsInvisible Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-79755802061614672392013-05-28T15:46:03.592-04:002013-05-28T15:46:03.592-04:00Anonymous,
Thank you for the comment.
It was the...Anonymous,<br /><br />Thank you for the comment.<br /><br />It was the objection to the initial study that the causal relationship might not be real - that she might just be finding that people with bigger hippocampi opted to become taxi drivers. But I think it puts the tin lid on it that she found people who failed the Knowledge didn't develop bigger hippocampi, while those that passed did and then had them keep growing. The people who failed are likely to be from similar social classes and backgrounds and have similar personalities to the people who passed. So the growing hippocampus in those who passed does, as you say, strongly suggest the brain is altering.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-3492997843666197072013-05-28T15:39:40.096-04:002013-05-28T15:39:40.096-04:00"The posterior hippocampus – the rear part of..."The posterior hippocampus – the rear part of the structure - tended to be bigger and more complex in drivers who had passed the Knowledge than in would-be drivers who had failed it, she found."<br /><br />My first interpretation would be that candidates who had bigger hippocampi to begin with are just more likely to pass the test. Or did the author find evidence of an increase in the size of the hippocampus of the passing candidates during their training?<br /><br />I looked up one of her papers, http://www.pnas.org/content/97/8/4398.short , and it turns out there _is_ additional evidence to suggest that the hippocampus actually grows: there is a correlation between the size of the hippocampus and the time spent working as a taxi driver. Still not conclusive in my opinion, but strongly suggestive.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for pointing me toward this very interesting article!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-22970799137520414562013-05-24T13:34:37.820-04:002013-05-24T13:34:37.820-04:00Vannevar,
You got it right there, buddy (or somet...Vannevar,<br /><br />You got it right there, buddy (or something).<br /><br />I was indeed trying to replicate the idiom of my new home city, your old home city. But - get this - I don't actually talk like that yet. I was putting it on.<br /><br />I still sound painfully like a member of the educated Scots professional classes, transplanted to somewhere rather brasher than Edinburgh or Glasgow.<br /><br />People sometimes understand what I'm saying, though, so NBD (as I believe young people nowadays say).<br /><br />Thank you for your kind words,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-85937962057895407742013-05-24T11:32:29.711-04:002013-05-24T11:32:29.711-04:00When you wrote the photo caption, "Get used t...When you wrote the photo caption, "Get used to it already" I wondered if perhaps Invy's become assimilated as a New Yorker (speaking as a Gotham expat myself). Great post. Cheers, V.Vannevarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08513110035186346571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-49764946334220485192013-05-22T08:36:37.041-04:002013-05-22T08:36:37.041-04:00You're right that it's a joy to learn a ne...You're right that it's a joy to learn a new city. Not counting my brief excursion in DC, I've done reasonable amounts of cycling in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Budapest, London and now New York. That's just about ascending order of difficulty.<br /><br />One thing that adds spice in New York is the amount of water. Wherever one's going, if one's moving between Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, there's likely to be a bridge needed somewhere. But the bridges are great features, the highlight of many rides.<br /><br />You're right about the angry courier's tattoos - but I tend to think with nearly all prominent and obvious tattoos, "That's not going to look great when he/she is older."<br /><br />Finally, I can assure you that in New York there certainly isn't as yet a general spirit of cooperation between cyclists and taxi drivers...Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-40011744205498549102013-05-21T18:42:47.062-04:002013-05-21T18:42:47.062-04:00QMacrocarpa,
That's what I'm talking '...QMacrocarpa,<br /><br />That's what I'm talking 'bout right there. Yes indeed.<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-25518089008770865282013-05-21T18:39:24.972-04:002013-05-21T18:39:24.972-04:00I recently pondered my own vast smugness at succes...I recently pondered my own vast smugness at successfully arriving at a new destination a fair ways from home. I had taken the St. Louis-area light rail to an unfamiliar station in Illinois, then biked 4.5 miles, mostly on the shoulder of a busy, not-too-pleasant road, to get where I was going. My triumphant sense of success seemed a bit out of proportion at the time, but I guess it's a common experience among cyclists!QMacrocarpanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-52847305505655380732013-05-20T15:36:29.014-04:002013-05-20T15:36:29.014-04:00Ironic, yes. It is my contention that 90% of Londo...Ironic, yes. It is my contention that 90% of London cabbies are gents (particularly the ladies), but unfortunately it is the 10% with whom we are more acquainted. It would be my great joy to persuade cyclist and cabby alike that we should unite against the greater enemy: the private automobile, destroyer of our cities.<br /><br />Interestingly (perhaps) I am now working in Manchester - to learn two cities is an even greater joy than to learn one! But this being a smaller city one quickly becomes known to all the cabbies and vice versa. It soon becomes clear that co-operation is the better policy.<br /><br />That boy is going to have to grow old with his tattoos. Of course, he may not...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-38331674440812804512013-05-20T13:23:01.908-04:002013-05-20T13:23:01.908-04:00Zero,
Thank you for your comment. I've often ...Zero,<br /><br />Thank you for your comment. I've often thought about couriers' knowledge of cities. It would be interesting to see what happened to couriers' hippocampi as they got to know their cities (but it wouldn't make quite such straightforward subject matter for a study as there's no recognised standard, as there is with the Knowledge). My main use of my London cycle maps latterly in London was to use them as a check. I'd look at them to check whether my route really was the most efficient or there was some refinement I could fit in.<br /><br />The irony, I suppose, is that two of the groups that know the city best - taxi drivers and couriers - don't necessarily get on that well. I particularly remember the famous London courier (whom I'm sure you know) who has some crisp words about taxi drivers tatooed down the backs of his calves.<br /><br />All the best, <br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-89067519526029864612013-05-20T13:02:41.626-04:002013-05-20T13:02:41.626-04:00You have discovered one of the hidden joys of the ...You have discovered one of the hidden joys of the cycle courier. Our enjoyment of cycling and the flaunting of our physical beauty are obvious to all. What is less obvious is the pride we take in our knowledge of the city we work in. The long term courier hardly ever refers to their A to Z, in fact some of us no longer even carry one! (The fact that we all have smart phones with easy access to Google maps is a useful fallback to be sure...)<br />It is an oft repeated mantra: 'put the map in your head.'<br /><br />The research on taxi drivers hippocampus was quickly absorbed and circulated amongst us. Smug vindication....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-55421160246115932902013-05-20T08:34:24.193-04:002013-05-20T08:34:24.193-04:00Anonymous,
I'm a fair-minded man. I've lo...Anonymous,<br /><br />I'm a fair-minded man. I've looked up the difference between further and farther and decided you're right.<br /><br />Farther it now is.<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-47719940753219930632013-05-20T07:28:04.693-04:002013-05-20T07:28:04.693-04:00"farther""farther"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com