Category Archives: Impact of Technology

Still STEAMing!

Art, education, Impact of Technology

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Walking on Air, by Marilynne Eichinger
Painting made after visiting Bath, England.

The following article was written by my son, Ryan Rosenberg for the Los Gatos Education Foundation. It is an appropriate follow-up to my blog about STEAM education. Thank you for the many comments and suggestions you made to that particular article. The only parts I changed were the pictures.

Study finds arts, music can be the “secret” to a successful tech career 9/26/2016

Successful tech entrepreneurs seem to have a surprising “secret” to their accomplishments – studying art, music, and hands-on creative activities (such as wood or metal working).

A study published in the journal Economic Development Quarterly (1) found that participation in artistic activities boosts the chance of entrepreneurial success in technical fields.

Researchers followed a group of Michigan State University honors college graduates from 1990 to 1994 who majored in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).

Graduates who were successful entrepreneurs — those who went on to found companies or produce patents — were significantly more likely to have had participation in art, music and hands-on creative activities than those who did not.

And it’s not just entrepreneurs who benefit from the arts; a strong link was found with STEM graduates overall. In fact, the STEM practitioners in this study were 62% more likely to have had classes in visual arts than the general population, 59% more likely to have been taught music, 39% more likely to have had dance instruction, and 38% more likely to have taken acting lessons.

So how does their music, arts, and hands-on creative experience help these engineers and scientists in the real world? It seems artistic thinking is crucial to their work.

The study asked participants to identify the types of tools they used for problem-solving and found, “as one would expect of science and engineering professionals, the vast majority reported using logic while doing their work…[but] an overwhelming majority also reported using ‘artistic’ styles of thinking: 95.3% reported using exploratory play as a method of problem solving; 80% reported using either intuition, imagination, or both; and about 80% reported using analogies. In other words, these successful STEM professionals use ‘artistic’ types of thinking at work just as often as they use stereotypical ‘scientific’ modes of thinking.”

In summary, researchers determined that “participation in various arts and crafts positively correlates with the production of patentable inventions and the founding of new companies, and can differentiate the entrepreneurs from less innovative individuals, even among a group of highly successful individuals such as Honors College STEM professionals.”

Reference:
Arts and Crafts: Critical to Economic Innovation
LaMore et al., Economic Development Quarterly, August 2013, 27 (3), p. 221

Guest Author – Ryan Rosenberg for the Los Gatos Education Foundation

artwork is always for sale. Contact me at marilynne@eihingerfineart.com.
Walking on Air -Acrylic on Canvas / 25.5” by 49.5” / $ 650

My Mysterious DNA

Art, Impact of Technology, science, , ,

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Three Suns by Marilynne Eichinger
Mystery surrounds us; in our environment, with relationships, and within our bodies. Seeking…. we sometimes find ourselves.

My Mysterious DNA

Twice over the past several years I have had DNA tests. The first time was after my daughter asked me to find out if I had a gene that made me vulnerable to breast cancer. Though it cost a bundle, she was so insistent that I decided to take the test.
I went into the geneticist’s office and was greeted by a young man who carefully explained why my background might lead to a positive result. He discussed the odds, wanting to make sure that I understood limitations of the study, and my options. After having my blood drawn there was a waiting period during which I was nervous. Since results could not be given on the phone, I had to subject my self once more to an explanation of possibilities before he presented the findings. His wordiness only added to my feelings of angst. ‘Why was he talking so much?’ In the end the results were negative. I did not carry the gene for cancer that concerned my daughter and her doctor.

The second DNA test was a holiday gift from my partner Ray. He paid for my participation in the National Geographic Genome Study. I would be one among thousands of people tracking their ancient ancestors out of Africa. Since all human-kind is thought to have originated in East Africa approximately 180,000 to 200,000 years ago, DNA stories start there and continue by identifying paths traveled by various tribes as they moved thru North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

When studying an individual’s DNA, scientists look for certain genetic markers that result from occasional mutations. Because these variations are passed on to the next generation they become the new line to follow. Markers enable geneticists to plot the evolutionary trail of a particular family, and in my case, identify when my ancestors changed from hunter gatherers to farmers.

It was not long before a kit of cotton swabs arrived with instructions to rub them on the inside of my mouth before placing them in an envelope to be returned for analysis. The promised waiting period of six weeks dragged on for three months before my curiosity could be satisfied, but while I waited the researchers did make it easy to follow their progress online. Finally a notice arrived on my computer that the information was in hand and I could discover my story.

I learned that my family traveled through the Mid-East, stopping in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. My ancestors then went north through eastern Europe, eventually heading towards England. The most fascinating part, though, was to discover that I had minuscule amount of Neanderthal genes in my DNA. This information was certainly up-to date-science, because it has only been a short time since scientists realized that intermingling of Homo sapiens with Neanderthals in the Mediterranean area less than 100,000 years ago. About 2% of most people who descend from Europeans, Asians and other non-Africans is Neanderthal. In an article in Science and Nature last year geneticists speculates that cross-breeding my ave given humans genes that enabled them to live in cooler climates, but they also may have had increased fertility problems.

Ray also had his DNA analyzed, and his results tell a completely different and more thorough story. Because he has an XY chromosome both the female and male ancestors could be analyzed. My tests could only delve into the XX chromosomes that follow the female line. Some of Ray’s ancestors had traveled to Spain, intermarried with the Jewish population and remained there for about 5000 years before moving on. Part of his family went north through Eastern Europe while other traveled through Asia to Micro Oceana (Taiwan, Hawaii).

As a totem pole carver he has always been interested in documenting his native connections and now suspects that he probably has closer ties to Kennewick man than to the Clovis people who traveled in later years through the Bering Straits. This hypothesis can not be confirmed, however, because there DNA testing on Kennewick man is tied up in court battles though non-invasive bone analysis has occurred and Ray looks exactly like an artist’s rendition of what Kennewick man might have looked like. We suspect that Ray’s relatives arrived from Asia about ten to fifteen thousand years ago. It was thousands of years later that east met west, and his Asian ancestors intermingled with European pioneers who settled in Washington.

Anthropologists suggest a northern branch of Eurasians traveled an ice bridge connecting the islands of the Bering Strait, traveling as far south as Chile, 1000 years before the Clovis people arrived. Other scientists believe there were early migrations from Europe to eastern North America. There are still many unanswered questions. But as scientists continue to look for genetic markers, gaps in our understanding will get filled in to more accurately connect recent history with the distant past.

Many exciting developments have resulted from the human genome study. Fields such as forensics, pharmaceuticals, medicine, and agricultural have been impacted. Biology is the new frontier, undergoing major changes since I was in high school studying peas. It certainly is a field to pay attention to.

All art work is for sale: Go to www.eichingerfineart.com to learn more.

For More Information go to:
http://www.nature.com/news/modern-human-genomes-reveal-our-inner-neanderthal-1.14615; About interbreeding of Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/10/23/world/science-health-world/oldest-homo-sapiens-dna-contains-traces-of-neanderthal-genes-suggests-migration-into-asia-60000-years-ago/#.VLXekIs9ei4: about Shomo Sapiens in Asia with traces of Neanderthal genes.http://
www.nature.com/news/ancient-migration-coming-to-america-1.10562 : Arrival of Clovis people verses earlier migrations.

Bio-feedback: A Case of Nerves

Art, Impact of Technology, Psychology, science, , , , ,

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Mao
Do you use bio-feedback to control the electrical pathways emanating from your brain?     Bio-feedback; A Case of Nerves

The autonomic nervous system(ANS) has fascinated me ever since I watched a psychology movie of a person controlling an HO electric train set with his brain. Without conscious effort, the ANS sends impulses to organs of the body, and controls such things as heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, body temperature and other instinctive activities that maintain equilibrium. In the train experiment the subject had probes placed on two fingers and was told to make each digit a different temperature. Most participants were eventually able to make the toy train move. What the researcher had designed was a vivid use of bio-feedback as a way to teach the brain to move blood.

The film made such an impression on me that I decided to turn the experiment into an exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. A sound booth was built and placed adjacent to a circular HO train course. Visitors were directed to place two fingers on the temperature probes that were inside the glass booth that overlooked the course. Unfortunately, I was never successful in making the train move, perhaps because I did not spend enough time practicing. But I did observe others who were actually able to make one finger warmer than the other by directing different amounts of blood from their brain to each finger. Spectators were as amazed as I when the train started its slow journey around the track.

Commercial devices are now available that can translate the brain’s electrical patterns to make objects move, as well as alter sound waves. NeuroSky, a San Jose-based company, developed a toy that enables the player to turn the blades of an eight inch helicopter and make it soar. The participant experiences success by concentrating on a single thought, turning on electrical patterns inside his brain. The outcome not only makes the helicopter fly but changes his emotional state to produce a sense of calm and relaxation.

A number of years ago I observed a medical application of mind-body control being conducted in a Portland bio-feedback lab that helped those suffering from severe migraines. A patient was hooked up to electrical sensors and told to pay attention to the line on a monitor that responded to change in blood flow. The idea was to send the blood away from the head to body extremities such as hands or feet. With practice hot hands, as it is often called, can be an effective way to reduce headaches.

The Mayo clinic is one among many health centers active in training people to control such things as heartbeat, asthma, anxiety and muscles to reduce pain. Bio-feedback gives the patient power to control thoughts in mind and body in order to improve health and physical conditioning. Use of a bio-feedback machine does take time, however, and practice sessions may be costly. Relaxation techniques and meditation are a less expensive alternative.

Chemicals are more widely used to control parts of the brain. Everything from pain killers to sleeping aids are found in medicine cabinets throughout the country. In the 1960s and 70s my Boston friends were playing around with LSD. I remember one neighbor telling me that the idea behind acid was to gain insight into the brain’s possibilities so you could then work to achieve that state without drugs. The woman who spoke to me had experienced brilliant colors and sharp images while on an acid trip. She spent months afterwards meditating in order to relive the experience at will.

As an aside, I do not recommend that you try this chemically induced state. When I worked in a mental health center I observed patients who took LSD and could not come out of the experience. According to a 2013 Popular Science article, there is renewed interest among scientists in studying the use of pharmaceutical grade hallucinogenic drugs in psychiatry. Clinicians believe that it could help cure some of our most debilitating problems such as alcoholism, depression and PTSD. It will be interesting to see if their experiments turn out to be successful.

I have been meditating on and off for forty years and have found it to be most beneficial. Several years ago I had to undergo a series of operations and wanted to make sure that I would be a stress-free patient. Meditation did help me enter the hospital with a calmness of mind. Yogis say that once your realize that your body/mind is within you but you are not your body/mind everything changes.

Scientists have studied change by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on meditators while they practiced two forms of meditation, one non-directive and the other concentrative. In an article published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience researchers under the direction of Svend Davanger at the University of Oslo in Norway found “that when participants practiced non-directive meditation, they had higher brain activity in areas associated with processing self-related thoughts and feelings than when they were resting. But when subjects practiced concentrative meditation, their brain activity was nearly the same as when they were resting.”

Dr. Davanger suggests that non-directive meditation “allows for more room to process memories and emotions than during concentrated meditation.” He was also surprised to learn that “a mental task like non-directive meditation results in even higher activity in this network than regular rest.”

Many people ask me how I can carve out time to meditate in a busy schedule and my answer surprises them. For every minute I spend mediating I reduce my need for sleep an equal amount or more. Meditation puts my brain waves into a relaxed state, and it has a creepy-crawly effect that expands to fill my mind throughout the day.

To review my art go to eichingerfineart.com.

For more information about the autonomic nervous system:

http://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/nervous/organization/pns.html- about the peripheral nervous

system.http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/21/263078049/brain-games-move-objects-with-your-mind-to-find-inner-calm – move objects with your brain.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/biofeedback/basics/definition/prc-20020004- Bio-feedback and control of body functions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19935987 – research on bio-feedback and migraines.

http://thelazyyogi.com/post/34377765370/meditation-why-what-and-how – about meditation.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276959.php- article in Medical News about how the brain works during meditation, May 19, 2014

The Unsung Revolution

Art, For Parents, Impact of Technology, social commentary, , ,

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A Pretty How Town
How has technology changed the balance of power within the family? The above 3-D painting is based on ee cumming’s poem written in response to cookie cutter suburbs built in the early 60’s. Today another revolution is happening inside the homes of these Pretty How Towns.

The Unsung Revolution
When I hear the word revolution I am not thinking about the Arab Spring or Syria. Instead I am focused on a revolution occurring inside most of my neighbor’s homes. What I have observed is the shift of power from father, to mother, to child. According to Webster’s definition, revolution refers to a fundamental change in power. That transition has definitely occurred within families, for the young dominate the household.

My great-grandparents worked along side their elders on the family farm. After several poor harvests they moved from their rural community outside of Riga, Latvia to Philadelphia, a city teaming with immigrants. To make ends meet their children sold newspapers and shined shoes. Earned income was handed over to their parents to help support their multi-generational family.

My own parent’s changed that pattern by living as a small nuclear unit. My father worked long hours to pay for household expenses while Mom stayed at home, available to chauffeur me to activities around town so I could reach “my potential.” Her word was law when it came to most daily activities. The money I earned from babysitting or being employed as a camp counselor stayed in my hands and was not turned over to support my family.

I behaved in a similar way with my own kids. When my children were under foot my husband worked and I, as suburban mom, drove them to activities and play dates. I made sure that homework was completed on time and that sporting and cultural events were part of their diet. We spent a great deal of face-to-face time together.

Now my children and their friends are parents and they operate in a changed landscape. With single, same sex and two working-parent families their generation has ongoing pressure to juggle daily responsibilities. To keep in touch with their children they rely heavily on electronics, and it is their use of technology that has spurred the latest revolution. Cell phone, text messaging, YouTube and Facebook rule!!! Even email has become cumbersome.

Adults contribute to the technology boom by paying outrageous mobile phone bills and annually upgrading home tablets and computers. By doing so they have inadvertently changed the power structures within their family unit. This article is my way of saying “buyer beware!” Know what is happening with your kin and learn how to manage both good and bad consequences.

In a seminar conducted by anthropologist Jan English-Luck titled “Technology and Social Change: The Effects on Family and Community,” results he collected from interviewing Silicon Valley families were shared with the audience. A typical story he related is illustrated by Sharon, a mother who is in constant contact with her children through computer and mobile phone. Dr. English-Luk claims that Sharon’s children feel safer, stay out longer and are more independent than earlier generations since they are in constant contact. Yet the family no longer operates as a unit. The only time parent and children were physically together over a two week period was when the anthropologist visited their home for an interview.

Today’s youth text in short blips rather than communicate more fully by phone or in person. Since texting is limited, it is rare that the entire story gets through. Voices portray emotion and face-to-face encounters give non-verbal cues that transmit between-the-line messages. Through texting it is possible to discover the location of your child, assuming that he is truthful, but you will never know what he or she thinking. Full descriptions of situations and events are rarely given. Gone are opportunities to develop verbal communication skills needed for future employment. And because letter writing and now e-mails are also becoming obsolete, the written word is suffering as well.

Benefits of cell phone use are many . . . contact, entertainment, safety, wellness help, and photography. But the hazards are also many. With the introduction of smart phones, parents started working around the clock answering texts and emails. Instead of paying attention to their children while at home they often find their mind wandering to the latest business or social communication. Conversations between family members are interrupted by a constant stream of incoming calls and messaging.

Since technology is the root cause of this power shift it is not surprising that role reversal occurs when the child knows how to use a new gadget better than the adult. When parents do not fully understand a device’s potential they find it difficult to control it’s use and as a result are faced with a host of new problems.    I’ll mention a few:

Bullying and harassment: text messages increasingly are sent by bullies
Memory: Use of cell phones is destroying short term memory.
Eye strain and digital thumb stress: Heavy use puts children at risk for early myopia.
Bacteria – Devices are not cleaned and are crawling with germs.
Sleep disorders – Teens tend to keep their phone on and are awaked during the night by incoming text messages.
Reliance – Impacts daily routine.
Dishonesty (39% of users 18-29 are not always honest about their location) they find it easy to cheat on tests.
Cost – Parents have sticker shock.
Health risks – Question of brain damage still unresolved.

Yes, technology is great and not going away! It is wonderful to have a computer for researching papers, scheduling activities, staying in touch with the news, finding directions and even getting gossip through one minute news blasts. Mobile devices can be helpful additions if precautions about their use and costs are taken into account and rules of etiquette established.

But it is good to remember that educating a child and maintaining relationships with family members still requires personal interaction. Face-to-face communication can not be replaced by gadgetry. Electronic transfer of information does not take the place of a hug or chat in the warmth of your home.

Staying in control rather than being controlled by your children requires both time and patience. Keeping parental power is the main way to pass on your values. To be a respected boss it is important to be on the job.

For more information about children and cell phone use go to:

http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/kids_cell_phones_staying_connected – kids and cell phone use.