Wat een informatiestroom op zo’n maandagochtend. Hoe zou ik dat destijds als 17 jarige jongen ervaren hebben? De krant, de twittertjes, de mailbox, de teksten van Linkedin, facebook en al die andere geadresseerde boodschappen?

In je hoofd komen ongebreideld talloze signalen binnen. Niet alleen het gezoem van de Nespressomachine, maar ook de geur van koffie, de jeuk aan mijn oog en de smaak van een appel. En daar moeten al die headlines, die allemaal vooraan willen staan blijkbaar nog bij. Het is onze rechter hersenhelft die – volkomen in het ‘hier en nu’ – gretig al die signalen binnenhaalt. In eenvoudige bewoordingen legt de Amerikaanse Jill Bolte Taylor bij TED.com uit hoe vervullend dat gevoel in de rechter hersenhelft moet zijn. Want daar is alles tijdloos en volkomen verweven met de wereld om ons heen. Onbaatzuchtig en kritiekloos nemen we rechts alles aan wat er aan signalen ons hoofd weet te bereiken. En als ik haar beschrijving moet geloven, herken ik daarin de dromerige meisjes in mijn klas vroeger, die urenlang konden voelen aan een versleten plekje van hun boekentas, of staarden naar de trillerige reflectie van zonlicht in het linoleum, alsof ze in een tijdloze wereld zaten. Hun linker hersenhelft zal waarschijnlijk op halve kracht hebben gewerkt, want daarin gaat het normaal heel anders toe. In deze helft regeert de logica en is het bewustzijn van het eigen belang dominant. Dus zit daar een soort informatiemanager die uit al die prikkels en beelden precies die details verzamelt, die ons persoonlijk verder kunnen brengen. Zo wordt ons dossier ‘algemene ontwikkeling’ of ‘carrière’ voortdurend aangevuld met feiten en handigheidjes, beweert Jill overtuigend.
Zou het werkelijk zo gaan dat ik uit die krant met haar enorme gehalte aan absurde berichtgeving, de stroom aan irrelevante twittertjes, mijn mailbox die uitpuilt van andermans problemen, de aanhoudende headlines van Linkedin en facebook en al die andere overlopende emmers die schreeuwen om aandacht, steeds maar weer die enkele relevante snippertjes weet op te rapen, omdat ze me toch iets brengen? Verwondering, kennis, inzicht of verstrooiing? Dan moet ik, vergeleken met de 17 jarige jongen die ik ooit was, behoorlijk bedreven zijn geraakt in het selecteren. Toen was er niets te selecteren, ik las zelden een krant en verder was er niets. Maar vandaag doe ik niet onder voor mijn dochters van 17. Ik ben als een hongerig kind op een oneindige vuilnisbelt, op zoek naar eetbare stukjes afval. Met om mij heen duizend twitterende meeuwen en andere kinderen die me proberen af te leiden, me allerlei rotzooi toewerpen die er niet toe doet: politie bij massavaccinatie, zelfmoord arrestant, dwaling Roda, chirurg verminkt geslacht, Chinese mijnramp, wat ga ik daar allemaal mee doen? Misschien weet die hersenmanager er toch steeds creatiever raad mee en vult hij daarmee dossiers als: ‘wereldwaanzin’ en ‘cultuurspagaat’ en ‘borderheadline’ of de map ‘blogthechaos’. Voorlopig kan ik vooruit want TED is nu ook wegens mondiaal succes in Amsterdam neergestreken. En Prinses van Oranje Wisse Smit deed er al haar woordje. En noemde Obama the president of the United ‘Change’ of America. Dat was nog eens pareltje om op te slaan in de linker hersenhelft.

Éste es un ejemplo de las muchas e interesantes charlas que se pueden ver en la página TED (Ideas worth spreading), y que incluye a muchos y relevantes científicos en su faceta más divulgadora. Para presentarla aquí se ha escogido a Jill Taylor, una neuroanatomista norteamericana. Su particularidad no consiste meramente en su faceta profesional, sino en lo que un día le ocurrió: como si a un niño que quisiera ser astronauta

(y qué niño no quiere ser astronauta)

le concedieran unas horas a sus anchas por la luna, a Jill Taylor “le concedieron” la oportunidad de sufrir un infarto cerebral. Es decir, “le ofrecieron” la oportunidad de vivir todo aquello que antes sólo miraba desde fuera y desde muy lejos.

De lo que le sucede y de lo que alcanza a ver es de lo que trata su charla. Apasionante, pero, y esto es especialmente para quien llegue al final, controvertida.

Sólo por resumir:

El hemisferio izquierdo del cerebro se encarga fundamentalmente de las ideas lógicas, de anclarse al mundo. En cierto modo (pero posiblemente sólo en cierto modo) de sobrevivir. El derecho, por el contrario, asocia más libremente, más que anclarse parece flotar. En cierto modo, por tanto, “mistifica”.

Así pues, y como la propia Jill Taylor llega a preguntar: ¿cuál elegirías?; y si pudieras: ¿cuándo lo elegirías?

Jill Bolte Taylor’s, My Stroke of Insight is a perfect argument for metaphysics.  A renowned scientist who experiences and describes nirvana better than a lot of the books currently on the market. Dr. Taylor’s description of the brain and its “plasticity” is fascinating made more so by her vivid description of the experience of having a stroke and the journey back.

My Stroke of Insight begins with a description of the person Dr. Taylor was before the stroke.  A published neoroanatomist, Dr. Taylor first became interested in the study of the brain because of a family member who suffers from schizophrenia. She describes the work she was doing with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and how that work led her to the championing the cause of brain donation and the Harvard Brain Bank.

The ’simple science’ chapters make the brain accessible and really help the ‘non-scientist’ understand what happens to the brain during and after a stroke. I think any reader who has questions about how the brain works would be helped by reading this book. Personally, as a person with multiple sclerosis I found the science chapters very helpful. In fact, Dr. Taylor answered questions I didn’t know I had about the brain and it’s function. I have some renewed hope that I can build some new pathways in my own brain. If you or someone you know is suffering from an illness that involves the brain this book could change your life.

Dr. Taylor’s stroke is described through the eyes of a scientist. She started that day like any other and it was a while before she understood what was happening. As I was reading I found myself mentally trying to help her and imagine what I would do if this brain emergency was happening to me? I mean, Dr. Taylor is a brain scientist and it took her  some time to realize what was going on. The numbers are sobering. According to one study there are about 500,000 strokes a year in the US and 150,000 people die. This makes Dr. Taylor’s journey even more remarkable.

Dr. Taylor writes,

“I realized that the blessing I had recieved from this experience was the knowledge that deep internal peace is accessible to anyone at any time. I believe the experience of Nirvana exists in the consciousness of our right hemisphere, and that at any moment we can choose to hook into that part of out brain.”

That one quote literally sums up what metaphysicians  believe.  We believe in the power of the mind to achieve grace and oneness of the spirit with the creator. I believe that oneness of the spirit is what our souls seek.

The beauty of Dr. Taylor’s Stroke of Insight is that she is a scientist. This gives her credibility and she is less likely to be dismissed by the scientific community. Further the book is a bestseller which means a lot of people will understand the power of peace and the right brain. I believe if people read this book they may give a second look to understanding the power that metaphysics can have in their lives. I understand that many people are wary metaphysics. Many think of it as new age nonsense.  Dr. Taylor’s experience should help dispel that stereotypical notion, at least I hope so.

]]> http://mikezenz.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/what-it-is-like-to-be-a-right-brain/ Thu, 28 May 2009 02:11:14 +0000 mikezenz http://mikezenz.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/what-it-is-like-to-be-a-right-brain/

A couple weeks ago I was in the car headed out of town and I was able to listen to this episode of Fresh Air (NPR) featuring Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist,  describe the experiences of her own stroke.   I recommend this to everyone; it was truly enlightening.

Ouvir música ajuda na recuperação de pacientes que sofreram um acidente vascular cerebral (AVC). É o que sugere um estudo apresentado na revista “Brain”, reproduzido no site Saúde na Internet:

Investigadores finlandeses, da Universidade de Helsínquia, analisaram mais de 60 pacientes em reabilitação, depois de terem sofrido um AVC. O tratamento começava assim que o paciente era hospitalizado.

Os cientistas dividiram os pacientes em grupos que ouviram música diariamente, outros ouviam histórias gravadas (áudio-livros) ou só recebiam o tratamento convencional de reabilitação.

Após três meses de tratamento, os pacientes do grupo que ouvia música apresentavam 60% de melhoras na avaliação da memória verbal, o grupo dos livros gravados também mostrou progresso, porém mais modesto, apenas 18%. Da mesma forma, a atenção e a capacidade de resolver pequenos problemas melhorou quase 20% naqueles que receberam estímulos musicais, em comparação aos restantes pacientes que não apresentaram diferenças.

Um outro aspecto importante foi o facto dos pacientes expostos à música apresentarem menos depressão e estarem em melhor estado psíquico, quando comparados aos restantes pacientes.

Os cientistas acreditam que o tratamento deva ser iniciado o mais cedo possível, antes da fase de adaptação das funções cerebrais que se segue a um AVC.

A matéria foi encontrada aqui.

Leia também:

O Poder de Cura da Música
(Peter Jaret)

Quando Debbie Clark levou Adam, seu filho autista de 3 anos, a um musicoterapeuta, o menino mal conseguia falar. Na clínica da Universidade Estadual da Califórnia, os terapeutas incentivaram o garoto a se expressar, tocando instrumentos e tambores. E musicaram conversas a fim de fazer Adam falar. “Em três meses a transformação foi fenomenal” diz Debbie. “Antes, Adam nunca olhava pessoas desconhecidas nos olhos, muito menos falava com elas. Agora, dá adeus aos terapeutas e diz: ‘Tchau, Jim. Tchau, Ron. Até semana que vem.’ Pode acreditar: isto é música para os meus ouvidos.”

Pesquisadores vêm descobrindo que a música pode ajudar a curar de várias maneiras. Vítimas de queimaduras estimuladas a cantar quando lhe trocam as ataduras sentem menos dor. Pacientes de câncer que ouvem música e aprendem a tocar instrumentos, por exemplo, vêem os níveis de hormônios do estresse cair e o sistema imunológico se fortalecer.

Parte do poder da música resulta da capacidade de reduzir a ansiedade – que pode comprometer as defesas imunológicas, bem como intensificar a sensação de dor. A música, em especial o canto, desvia a atenção da pessoa do sofrimento e alivia a tensão.

As experiências com crianças autistas como Adam Clark sugerem que os efeitos da música vão além, influenciando mesmo o desenvolvimento cerebral. O uso terapêutico da música parece ativar partes diferentes do cérebro, inclusive áreas associadas a controle motor, memória, emoção e fala, explica o neurocientista e músico Michel Thaut, da Universidade Estadual do Colorado.

Em seu trabalho, Thaut vem se valendo da estreita ligação entra música e movimentos para ajudar vítimas de acidente vascular cerebral, paralisia cerebral, distrofia muscular e mal de Parkinson.

Segundo o musicoterapeuta Ron Borczon, “há séculos os curandeiros usam músicas e tambores. Estamos apenas redescobrindo o que sempre souberam: a música, por meio de sua profunda repercussão sobre a mente e o corpo, pode ser uma arma poderosa para curar as pessoas”.

(Citado na edição brasileira da revista Seleções do Reader’s Digest de dezembro de 2001. pág. 131)

…..

A propósito de AVCs e curas:

“A cientista que curou seu próprio cérebro” é um livro escrito por Jill Bolte Taylor, neurocientista que, aos 37 anos, sofreu um AVC, uma hemorragia no hemisfério cerebral esquerdo causada por uma má-formação artério-venosa (MAV) e que gerou dificuldades em seus movimentos, na sua compreensão da linguagem e no falar, entre outras. Do site da Ediouro:

Para a neurocientista Jill Taylor, ter um derrame foi mais do que uma tragédia superada. Acostumada a tratar seus pacientes, viu-se dentro do mundo que fazia parte de seu dia-a-dia. Convencida de que o derrame foi uma das melhores coisas que poderia ter lhe acontecido, decidiu escrever o livro “A cientista que curou seu próprio cérebro” para mostrar a todos como é possível superar um problema de saúde tão grave e ainda aprender a cuidar melhor do corpo e da mente.

Para a autora, este “episódio”, que é como ela trata o derrame, lhe ensinou que é possível alcançar a paz de espírito tão almejada por todos nós, bastando, para isso, que estejamos atentos às mensagens enviadas por nosso cérebro.

Este não é um livro para cientistas. É um livro sobre uma longa jornada de reflexões – um testemunho emocionante que toca o fundo do coração, mostrando que a paz interior é verdadeiramente acessível a todos. Basta querer.

Leia um trecho do livro aqui:

http://www.ediouro.com.br/acientista/leia.asp

No Youtube, há videos de palestras da dra. Jill:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0O0Il8Vn_g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thWwpYNN3-A

Jill Bolte Taylor,

Neuroanatomista, intelectual. Dra. de Harvard, dedicada al estudio de enfermedades mentales, amaneció un dia con una embolia cerebral en donde tuvo la oportunidad de estudiar en carne propia los efectos de un derrame en la parte izquierda de su cerebro. Jill Bolte tuvo un golpe de realización cuando se dio cuenta que el Nirvana se percibe con el hemisferio derecho del cerebro y que siempre está presente para todos nosotros.

Gracias a dotcom97 por subir y subtitular los videos..

Esse relato vale muito a pena.

Ela era neuroanatomista quando teve um derrame.

E viveu uma experiencia muito bonita e reveladora.

Levou oito anos para se recuperar do derrame.

E depois trouxe ao mundo esse relato cheio de entusiasmo,  (aquela vibracao contagiosa que nasce no espirito de quem estiver aberto a ela, e acredito, pode mudar o mundo).

aqui estah a primeira parte

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0O0Il8Vn_g&feature=related

a segunda voce pega lah mesmo

Aproveita!

We love lists and it’s the new year so here are tips that many health experts recommend to sustain a healthy lifestyle.

1) Drink 8 glasses of water a day.

2) Do some stretching and deep breathing daily.

3) Detox in some way regularly (ie a colon cleanse, deep skin brushing, miracle ii detox bath).

4) Find ways to get rid of emotional baggage and stress instead of letting it build up.

5) Eliminate soda, smoking, trans fatty acids, processed foods with no nutritional value, aluminimum cookware.

I’ll add more regularly but look these over and try to incorporate 1 or 2 in this week. That is the best way to have change stick. Don’t overwhelm yourself because then you’ll end up rebelling or resisting. Just pick a few tips that click for you and add them in to your life. If you feel deprived, you won’t sustain a new lifestyle. Don’t look at this as punishing yourself but free-ing yourself fromj the old patterns that were entrapping. This outlook change makes all the difference. Also give yourself time to adjust to the new changes. You will love stretching and deep breathing. It is relaxing and helps your mind not get into it’s usual chatter. Remember that Jill Taylor said in ,”My Stroke of Insight” that she felt so free letting go of 37 years of emotional baggage. It’s so true.

And the award goes to: Jill Taylor

If Jill isn’t intentionally dialing up the steamiest tile man in all of Detroit to fix a problem that Tim could do blindfolded, or going to the gym to pursue her sexual interest with some stranger, or convincing Tim to take her to her 25 year high school reunion just so she can lay eyes on her ex-boyfriend, shes probably nagging Tim about the very thing that makes everyone love him, his unique and relentless whit. According to her, he’s never serious enough, he never does anything for her, hes a bad father, and a complete failure.

I cant think of another person in the world of television that I would rather drink beer with than Tim “The Tool Man Taylor”. For some reason, Jill just cant see his worth. Tim wakes up every morning, to star on a popular home improvement show that everyone in the greater Detroit area loves. Everyone except Jill. He works. She sits at home all day and TALKS about being a psychologist.  Does she cook dinner, tend to the kids and other household chores? Yes. But what good American mother doesn’t? Tim works hard at a job he is passionate about and Jill has no need to enter the corporate world. Tim is the bread winner. And how does she repay him? By mocking his show, being short tempered, not appreciating his humor or rugged good looks, his knowledge of everything locomotive,  his unique style of parenting, and his desire for education through convos with Wilson. I just get the feeling that Jill is never happy and that doesnt sit well with me at all. Tim is a stallion.

Ill never forget the episode when Jill needed the garage to help Mark with an art project for school. Apparently the basement want good enough for her so she felt like she needed to intrude on Tim’s sanctuary. She, being the self-centered person she is, decides that Tim’s hot rod, which he had been working on for three years, is an inconvenience to her completion of the project. What does she do? She irresponsibly and inconsiderately pulls Tim’s pride and joy out of the garage and onto the uncovered car port. Little did she know what Mother Nature had in store. Some time passes and Brad and Randy come home from school talking about how much it had snowed in the recent hours. The boys go on to inquire about their fathers car. It is then when Jill realizes that she is in fact a worthless pile of domestically challenged bull trash. She left it out in the weather to die. Of course, she eventually went on to apologize, and ultimately save the day. The fact is, Im tired of her apologies. I’m tired of her using her knowledge of psychology to explain why she is never wrong. Basically, I’m just tired of her. Tim should shack up with Heidi.

This week my students are all busy with their Integrative Project, the one that serves to bring together the core courses taught in Semester 1.  It seems to be going OK but with a bit of settling in as this is very different from classes.  This morning we, among other things, had the National Advertising Awards (not to be confused with the real thing) with awards for the groups’ advertising posters – one winner and two runner-ups.  Our good friends, Jill Taylor and Kevin Bird from family came in and acted as experts.

Next week we will go into revision before six exams and then it is Christmas.  As it happens it’s only another month to go today.  Well, it is for Danes as we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve.

Behind the scene we work on a review of our MBA.  It is essential to do this regularly so that you know that your offering is in line with what is required by the market.  This makes it sound very business-like and running a business school is like running a business.  We should be aware of what the market requires.  Otherwise, why would you want to come to the University of Edinburgh Business School for your MBA?

I usually don’t skip pages. Usually.

In the beginning of this book Daniel explains the difference about the two hemispheres of our brains as scientists see them today. I know you know it, but you still can watch this video about Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke; it will fill the gaps.

Then he explains how skills driven by the right hemisphere (design, story-telling, synthesis, empathy, play, and [deeper] meaning) will be more appreciated that those controlled by the left one since they can be easily automated or cheaply outsourced.

Is there anything surprising in this book? No. Is there any reason you should pick this book over Friedman’s The World Is Flat? No. Do I have the slightest idea why Seth Godin recommended this book? Hell no.

Fortunately I am reading a very interesting book now; stay tuned for the next review.

Ted Talks have changed my life…and not. I like brainy stuff just as much as the next chick, but most of it goes over my head. Yeah, my own friends call me smart, but there are times when I wonder if I’ve collected a pile of friends dumber than me just to feel smart. I was wandering around iTunes podcasts one day and landed on a TED Talk. I don’t remember was it was, but I remember saying “TOTALLY COOL!” and “REALLY?” several times. Then “This is freakin GREAT!” came soon after. TED Talks are smart people talking about amazing stuff. Smart stuff, dumb stuff, interesting stuff. They have those great jobs where they get to wander around in their own heads and think for a living. And what they think of is changing our world. I subscribed immediately and hung on for dear life until a new podcast arrived. Every single podcast was an investment in brain growth. Info I learned turned out to be useful in a varied set of situations. I even sounded smart about dark matter on a date!
Back when I started the TED addiction, podcasts were on a catch-up schedule. TED had lots of older recordings, but they were only posting the casts every so often (about one a month). Nowadays, casts arrive about every week or everyday in a good week so I was salivating early on. I breathed, ate and drank in each and every podcast and learned about amazing things, like the fact that villages in Africa naturally build their structures in fractal patterns. I learned Mathematicians are sexy. Well anybody is sexy when they are passionate about their subject matter. I also learned about advances in replacement limbs for war veterans that are getting so close the real thing we may soon be able to order long model-like hands on eBay (kidding). Quite a range of information and quite an eye-opening experience.

THE BUMMER—–
One day, life was kind and I got one of those giant Mac screens to have on the desk when my macbook is parked at home. I enlarged my iTunes window and TED descriptions appeared. I never expanded my iTunes window on the macbook because real estate on a 13″ screen is far too valuable. Up to this point, I only had a name to go on for each podcast and let’s face it we often don’t remember the names of super smart people (if only we could have a current day Einstein as a childhood hero instead of a rapper whose bullet wound count marks the height of his stardom) so I watched everything. Now I can filter my viewing choices. These stinking descriptions have become TIVO for TED. I hate it. I no longer stumble across fascinating information. I evaluate whether the subject interests me up front and then decide if I want to watch it. Of course, I only watch Ted Talks on things I already have some connection to (we like the familiar dontcha know) and I think I miss what could be life bending subject matter. The Internet in general has the same affect. Early on I wandered and learned, but now I live on about 10 sites when there’s a smorgasbord of stuff out there.

So then it came to me. We need Grab Bag Tags. Everyone should have to pull an item out of the Internet grab bag at every logon. Sure you grab what you need or browse what you like, but then you have to go to the grab bag and expand your horizons. Why is this important? I make this observation as being akin to distant travel. You know when you take a trip to a far-off place, you enjoy the food, the sites, the sounds and even enjoy complaining about the hotel shower so when you return home there’s that thank goodness I have my life feeling, yet you turn around to connect to everyone around you and talk about your adventures in the far-off place. We need that-a way to physically socialize the Internet. Information is only as good as our ability to transfer it to another. And mathematicians need to have more dates anyway.

More about TED Talks-
If you haven’t heard of TED, stop reading me and go check out the TED Talks. They’re on iTunes too. Subscribe today! You’ll learn mucho…like how to end a sentence properly and not with mucho like a dog with a hanging dingleberry.

So far I have a few favorites:

Jill Taylor – This woman is a neuroanatomist. That alone made me fascinated. What the heck does a neuroanatomist do? In this talk, she describes her stroke. Which is mind blowing because she’s one of the few people in the world that could explain what having a stroke does in the brain!

Robert Ballard – The ocean is our last great place of discovery. Who knows what gift we have, but haven’t yet seen?

David S Rose – How to pitch to venture capitalists. I wonder if this the same as a screenwriter’s pitch to a suit in Hollywood?

A.J. Jacobs – A year of living biblically, but the first part of his talk mentions the best month of his life, when he outsourced his life, having a staff in Bangalore handling his life (answering his email, fighting with wife..)

Jane Goodall found@ TED.com

“Jane Goodall, dubbed by her biographer “the woman who redefined man,” has changed our perceptions of primates, people, and the connection between the two. Over the past 45 years, Goodall herself has also evolved — from steadfast scientist to passionate conservationist and humanitarian.” ~From TED.com

A few days ago I found this video. I am very glad to share this piece with you & please believe me that all of it, every minute of it, is worth the time out of your life. Also, due to this video I am now an avid and faithful viewer of all TED videos. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design which started in 1984, which is a conference of the worlds leading intellectuals, leading thinkers and designers. AT TED you will discover “Ideas Worth Spreading.”

“Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.”

Especially coming from a Harvard scientist, where this talk led to went past my expectations. Beautifully so.

Ricordati: a Las Vegas puoi diventare quello che vuoi…

Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth) in “21″, di Robert Luketic (2008)

21 (2008)

Had this movie been a story about a rock band it might have been entitled: “Micky Rosa and The Sub-Rosas.” Bur its a story about Ivy League eggheads enticed into Las Vegas gambling by a professorial Fagin. Bummer? Not entirely.

This diverting movie proves that sometimes you get what you want. It is a fantasy trip for a drab, bland but brilliant MIT student, played by Jim Sturgess. His character, “Ben Campbell,” has dreamed all his life of attending Harvard Medical School. Why? The movie gives no clue. One is left to speculate. Still, the moviegoer learns that it isn’t cheap. It’ll take a cool 300 “big ones.”

So, early in the movie, the problem which “Ben” faces is broached. How will he get the money?

It should be stated from the outset that “Ben” is a super-brain among big-brains. There are so many “pointy heads” at MIT that the campus appears to be a gaggle of gothic cathedrals. Sturgess’ character has some MIT pals with whom he is especially chummy. They are working on a project to win the “209″ competition–an invention contest. He hopes, also, to win the “Robinson Scholarship,” which will pay the winning student 100% of his Harvard Medical School costs.

At a meeting with the man who will make the decision who gets the Robinson Scholarship, Ben is informed that all applicants have impressive credentials. This man wants to be “dazzled” by a story which relates the inner fireworks of the candidates. Woo me, he seems to be saying. Whichever student’s “woo” is most wonderfully illuminating will attract this grant-giver, as a moth to a flame.

The bland, ernest lad gulps. What can he say?

Folks, you need not get stressed! Kevin Spacey’s professor has been so impressed by Ben’s towering intellect that he believes Ben may be ready to join his Vegas card-counting team. One would not be too far off the mark if one compared Prof. Micky Rosa with “Fagin” of Oliver Twist fame. At any rate Ben is asked to become a member. He isn’t ordinarily interested in this sort of thing but does need that $300,000 for Harvard Medical. He agrees and finds out that Prof. Rosa could make a lot of things happen on campus favorable to his career. Ben is impressed by his brainy colleagues–all MIT “brain studs.” Also, he secretly admired campus cutie, “Jill Taylor” (Bosworth), who is also a member. He definitely would like to be friends with her.

Storyline: Brilliant MIT student needs $300,000 to graduate from Harvard Medical Scvhool. At wit’s end how to come up with the money, he agrees to join a card-counting gang, led by a professor of linear equations, Micky Rosa, which gang specialized in weekend raids on Las Vegas casinos. After some practice at learning the system which would allow them to operate “below radar,” they head to Vegas with their new “counting star,” Ben (Jim Sturgess). Ben has been comforted by the knowledge that it isn’t illegal. In Vegas Prof. Rosa provides them with fake IDs (now THAT seems illegal). The plan goes into effect and they do very well. Ben is converted, and now he is also admired by the others (a sort of meal-ticket). This keeps going until they have so much money that conspicuous consumption transpires. Still, no one in Vegas seems to notice this group that appear regularly at casinos, acting as if strangers, yet at all other times hanging together and spending freely. Well, Vegas casinos do hire security and hightech intelligence types to watch for card-counting and cheaters. The casinos aren’t charity. Occasionally, some one wins a lot of money. For the casinos, these are a sort of “loss leader.” Still, generally speaking, gamblers are suppose to leave their money in the “pits.” Laurence Fishburne, as “Cole Williams,” is this flick’s major Vegas nemesis to casino card-counters and cheats. And woe to the man that Cole takes to his subterranean den! You can best believe Cole’s going to put on his rings. Not good! Ben is putting away a lot of loot. Insanely, he is stashing his Vegas winnings above his ceiling. He has pushed up a panel and stuck $315,000 topside, just above his bed. Smart? Go figure! Ben has done so well at card-counting that a film-inevitability occurs. What goes before a fall? Class, you have one minute to write down your answer. Ben breaks the rules and ends up losing two hundred thousand dollars. Prof. Rosa is incensed. You’re out of the gang! Micky pretends to head to Boston. Ben, licking his wounds, tells the others that they don’t need Rosa. They can play the “21″ tables, just as they always do, and keep all the winnings for themselves. With Rosa they had to fork over one half the winnings, and he didn’t do anything. The other brains saw the logic. Yeah, they said. “Let’s do it!” They do well but Cole sees them on his monitors, knows that they are counting cards, and, upon careful scrutiny of backup video, discovers the system cues. Folks, this is hardly difficult, as they use the same techniques over and over, and the gang is hardly subtle about the cues. This is so even taking into consideration that the director dwells for excruciating moments on each of their signals. Also, the director seems to want to distract you from the natural boredom attendant upon watching people play “21″ for hours on end by having Mr. David Sardy play his original music as loudly as possible. At any rate Cole Williams and his team of beefy men head for Ben’s table like charging water buffalo. In disguise Prof. Rosa, angered by this mutiny, has “dropped a dime” on Ben. While Cole does get a bit physical with Ben, trying to make the point that casinos really, really don’t like card-counters. Well, it was a bad trip to Vegas. Mal paso and all. How welcome the environs of civilized old MIT! Ben gets home to find that his loot has been grabbed, that he has failed to graduate from MIT, and was denied entrance to Harvard Medical. Professor Rosa! Ben knew that he had to get on the good side of Micky once again. He apologizes and relates to the professor that he has a great new scheme to hit Vegas, requiring two high rollers. Maybe the professor could be one? Micky gets that old feeling. From something that Cole Williams had said the moviegoer realized that Rosa had been observed in the past and advised against playing his schemes again in Vegas. That’s the real reason he never participated with the gang. In Ben’s plan, however, everyone would wear disguises. THis intrigued Micky. Maybe he could go as a “red-neck.” The plot was on. All the crew gathered. No one suspected that a ruse had been put into motion–one conceived by Cole. Ben probably helped here and there. At any rate the Vegas trip was very successful. Then came Cole and his charging, red-eyed steer. Everyone in the team split. The chase was on. They divide. Ben had won a lot of money. Jill managed a bag flip-flop, and Prof. Rosa hightailed it with a bag–but not the bag. The professor is nabbed by Cole and taken to the merciless dungeon. Ben and Jill started for the airport, but, before escaping the casino, they were cornered by the porky Laurence Fishburne character. He was thinking of retiring some day soon and believed that their bag of chips would help his retirement be a comfortable one. He noted that with their brains, they will one day be able to have whatever they want. Although a common superstition, it fitted their own vain self-appraisal, and they agreed to part with the money. Cole’s exposing a handgun stuck in his waistband was undoubtedly calculated to give his argument “magnum force.” The youngster went back to Boston. Jill & Ben have become pretty tight. Also, Ben makes a point to return his relationship with the old 209 project pals to its previous harmonious level. Then he sees the man in charge of the Robinson Scholarship, because he now believes that he has a story worth telling. From the expression on the face of the grant dispenser, the moviegoer might well assume a positive astonishment. And, indeed, with a little help from his old buddies, “Vegas-calling’ transformed into: “can you say high rollers, baby.”

The flick begins and ends with a “Ben” narration. Between these are heavily padded film moments, as the director tried desperately to make an interesting story, especially in Vegas. Lots of pretty women traipsing about always diverts the viewer. Still, a thin storyline was pursued, and there was not included any pithy romantic subtheme to add strength and interest, and with an antagonist as bland as watered milk, all these accumulated together to proclaim: There’s not much here. What can a director do? He tried to sell sizzle. Still, for intellectual weight-watchers, this movie may prove enjoyable.

All rights reserved. Gobigfoot, 2008.

Sharing must be the most powerful path towards human growth.

This is a groundbreaking, brave, innovative and touching account of human transcendence made public by TED talk. I was rapt from beginning to end. Beautiful and hopefully both meaning- and useful to any who would appreciate a testimony from someone who crossed the boundary, lived, was allowed and willing to tell.

It lasts about 18 minutes so take your time and enjoy!

George, thank you! for pointing to this; in a world where sound and images flow from all quarters, this, of all, was worth my time.