God and brain - Michelangelo’s Secret message in the Sistine Chapel

God and brain - Michelangelo’s Secret message in the Sistine Chapel: A juxtaposition of God and the human brain of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam".I love Art and paintings,but n'r new about this coincidence and interpretation before. Some call it fascinating,others 'brainy' and yet others describe it as, 'cooler than the DaVinci Code.'.Read on and have a beautiful Sunday...

The Creation of Adam (1508-1512) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel has long been recognized as one of the world’s great art treasures. In 1990 Dr Frank Lynn Meshberger, M.D from St John's Medical Center in Anderson, described what millions had overlooked for centuries — an anatomically accurate image of the human brain was portrayed behind God. He argues that Michelangelo used his knowledge of Neuroanatomy to portray the brain symbolically in his ''Creation of Adam''.
In the famous fresco, Adam and God face each other, arms outstretched, index fingers almost touching, while a crowd of angels and an apprehensive Eve peer from God's side.

On close examination, borders in the painting correlate with sulci in the inner and outer surface of the brain, the
brain stem, the basilar artery, the pituitary gland and the optic chiasm. God’s hand does not touch Adam, yet Adam is already alive as if the spark of life is being transmitted across a synaptic cleft. Below the right arm of God is a sad angel in an area of the brain that is sometimes activated on PET scans when someone experiences a sad thought. God is superimposed over the limbic system, the emotional center of the brain and possibly the anatomical counterpart of the human soul. God’s right arm extends to the prefrontal cortex, the most creative and most uniquely human region of the brain.

The painting depicts God bestowing intellect on man, arguing that Adam’s eyes are open in the painting, God and the angels take on the distinct shape of a brain, and that Michelangelo was well aware of human anatomy from the many cadavers he dissected in his study of the human form for his art.

Dr. Meshberger's theory appears in The Journal of the American Medical Association and here is the Wellcorps article by him.If you can comprehend medical terms have a look at the article.It has lot more info.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_26xUByFu4-Nzg2ZmI0NDYtZGUxMi00M2E2LWJiMjEtYTJjNmRmYjg2NDBj&hl=en_US

Pic Credit - Pic from Paluzzi et al.,Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2007 to which i added some greens.

Jackie Chan was in womb for 12 months ??

Jackie Chan was in womb for 12 months ?? I just happened to read this and couldn't believe it, but seems to be true !!!!
He is quoted as saying:- "Most babies are born in 9 months. I, on the other hand, stuck around an extra 3 months, until my mother was forced to go to a surgeon to bring me into the world, kicking & screaming, by Cesarean section"!! This is taken from his Biography, I am Jackie Chan - My Life in Action. You forget all the things, you just do it!
The pic here is that of Jackie Chan and his parents.

Who's on the picture?

Who's on the picture?
Scroll down for some interesting details and scientific explanation....
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Who's on the picture?

How you perceive the image depends on the distance from which you are viewing it.

This is one of a series of hybrid images created by Aude Oliva of the Computational Visual Cognition Lab at MIT.Here's an explanation of how these images work.

The work carried out by Oliva's group shows that the brain extracts large-scale features slightly earlier than fine-grained features. Large scale features are processed within 50 milliseconds, giving an overall impression of the visual scene. The processing of fine-grained details begins slightly later, at around 100 milliseconds. The fine- and coarse-grained features are extracted separately, and processed in parallel through different channels, in successively higher order areas of the visual cortex. In a process called perceptual grouping, the information from the channels is then seamlessly recombined at visual cortical areas of the highest order to produce a coherent, and usually unambiguous, image.

Nature's Heart

Nature's Heart - This heart-shaped island looks man-made but actually is a work of nature and was highlighted by Google Earth. This cute Croatian island, lined on every side with golden sands, is located in Zadarski Kanal (Zadar Channel) between Zadar and Island of Pasman.

"Boulevard du Temple",

"Boulevard du Temple", taken by Daguerre in 1838 in Paris, was the first photograph of a person ever taken.The first photograph to ever include a human being.In fact a portrait known as Daguerreotypes.Can you spot all the people here?

The image shows a street, but because of the over 10 minute exposure time the moving traffic does not appear. The exceptions are the man and shoe-shine boy at the bottom left, and two people sitting at a table nearby who stood still long enough to have their images captured.

Today 18th Nov happens to be the B'day of Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre who was a French artist and physicist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography.

Daguerreotypes were usually portraits; the rarer views are much sought-after and are more expensive. The portrait process took several minutes and required the subjects to remain stock still.

Invisible Monk -

Invisible Monk -
Spanish monk Saint Vincent Ferrer, who lived from around 1350 to 1419, was a person of great authority at the court of Aragon, partly because of his natural abilities and partly because of the miracles attributed to him.
The king’s wife Queen Yolande was curious to see the inside of the cell where Ferrer lived. When he refused her permission to enter, the queen ordered the door to be forced open. She entered with her entourage, but there was no sign of him. Yet the monks present assured her that he was there – they were amazed that the Queen and her attendants, could not see him as clearly as they did.
A monk asked Ferrer why the Queen could not see him. He replied that he had never allowed any woman to visit his cell. God was punishing the queen for having forced her way in, and she would suffer with partial blindness for as long as she remained there. Humbled, the queen immediately left the cell, apologizing to Ferrer for her intrusion.
Various examples of temporary invisibility are reported in connection with other saints. When a runway took refuge with Saint Lydwina of Schieldam (1380-1433), God made him invisible to his pursuer. And when Saint Lucian of Beauvais, who died in AD 290, went walking in the street, he became selectively wanted to notice him. A similar episode occurred when the king of Naples sent 60 soldiers to arrest Francis of Paola (1416-1507). Knowing that Francis had taken refuge before the altar of the church, the soldiers entered, but even though they touched the holy man, they could not see him.

Amazing Story of a Man Who Survived Being Buried Alive for 40 days - Amazing Power of the Mind

Amazing Story of a Man Who Survived Being Buried Alive for 40 days - Amazing Power of the Mind
According to a fascinating report printed in the London Telegraph in 1880, a man was buried ‘in a condition of apparent death’ for 40 days and survived. No tricks or tomfoolery were involved, so how did he do it?

It’s often the case that when someone professes to be able do something remarkable, that great gift of human nature kicks in – skepticism. So when Maharajah Ranjeet Singh heard from an Indian fakir who claimed he could come back to life after being buried for several months in an apparent state of death, the Maharajah could only reply with one statement – proof or it didn’t happen.

At once, the fakir, named Haridas, was summonsed before the Maharajah – who regarded the idea as possibly fraudulent – to act out exactly how he could accomplish this amazing feat.

In full view of the Maharajah and nobles of the court, within a short time, the fakir appeared comatosed. One of the witnesses at the time, an Honorable Captain Osborn, made his own account of the event:

“When every spark of life had seemingly vanished, he was wrapped up in the linen on which he had been sitting, and on which the seal of Ranjeet Singh was placed. The body was then deposited in a chest, on which Ranjeet Singh, with his own hand, fixed a heavy padlock. The chest was carried outside the town and buried in a garden belonging to the Minister; barley was sown over the spot, a wall created around it, and sentinels posted.”
So was the mistrust of the Maharajah.

After 40 days the fakir was exhumed and the chest opened in the presence of the Maharaja, his court, and the French and English doctors who had been previously present at his interment. His apparently lifeless body was washed with hot water, massaged, and ghee placed on his eyelids and tongue; in a short time, he had recovered.

According to Claude Wade, the British Resident at the Maharaja's court: "From the time of the box being opened to the recovery of the voice, not more than half an hour could have elapsed; and in another half hour, the Fakir talked with myself and those about him freely, though feebly, like a sick person.

When the Fakir recognized Runjeet Singh sitting close to him, articulated in a low sepulchral tone, “Do you believe me now?””
The Secret was meditation and Power of the Mind.

The Maharajah did indeed believe him and presented the fakir with gifts of a pearl necklace, gold bracelets and pieces of silk and muslin, those that are normally reserved for people of distinction.
Power of the Mind....Amazing!!!!!!