ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections: Pop Music, Playing Music, Complex Brains
By Jason G. Goldman
This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Here are my Science Seeker Editor's Selections for the past week:
"There's a sense that the hits from yesteryear had an innocence and feel-good quality that's missing from today's pop offerings," and there might be something to that sense, according to Christian Jarrett, writing at BPS Research Digest. Pop music is getting sadder and more emotionally ambiguous.
At Brainwaves, Ferris Jabr writes, "On the most fundamental level, electrical circuits and neurons are made of the same stuff—atoms and their constituent elementary particles—but whereas the human brain is conscious, manmade gadgets do not know they exist." Does Self-Awareness Require a Complex Brain?
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Learning to play music as a child can confer incredible benefits that last through adulthood. At Smithsonian's Smart Science blog, learn how Playing Music as a Child Leads to Better Listening as an Adult
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