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15/11/2016 bagiku semesta selalu menyisipkan pertanda yang sentiasa lincir direngkuh logika tanya yang menggelitik rasa dengan ragu tentang hakikat pelita syahdu di simpang perjalanan itu

neurosciencestuff

Using the outside world to save on brainpower

Every day, we rely on our physical surroundings–friends, gadgets, and even hand gestures–to manage incoming information and retain it. In a Review published August 16 in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, two researchers explain the myriad ways in which forms of assistance from gestures to GPS affect both what we know and what we think we know.

Evan F. Risko, a Canada Research chair in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Waterloo, and co-author Sam Gilbert, a Royal Society research fellow at University College London, call these behaviors “cognitive offloading”–physical actions that reduce the mental effort needed to perform a task. When required to remember an appointment, for example, people are faced with the choice of internally remembering it or “offloading” it, by writing it down in a calendar or setting a reminder with a smartphone. Similarly, your accountant may choose to use a calculator when going over your finances rather than mentally perform all of the necessary computations.

What’s happening here, say the authors, is the use of a physical action (writing, using a calculator) to eliminate the need for that internal effort–the cognitive burden. One of the key messages of Risko and Gilbert’s Review is that people will engage in such offloading behavior when they believe it is more efficient than their internal abilities. However, these beliefs do not always match reality.

“The growing interaction between people and technology has really brought interest in the subject to the forefront. People want to understand how technology affects the way we think,” says Risko. Gilbert adds, “Cognitive offloading undoubtedly brings huge benefits, but also potential costs. We are just beginning to understand these effects. For example, how can technology allow us to remain independent as we grow older, and what might the downsides be to relying on external devices?”

Though some people may think of offloading as harmful to one’s ability to remember, the truth is that these strategies are needed for everyday thinking and planning. People will usually turn toward these offloading strategies because we are “capacity limited” in our cognitive abilities. We may be able to remember a list of five, six, or seven numbers, but it’s unlikely that we could remember 47 of them. Offloading gives us the ability to “subvert our cognitive limits,” say the researchers, who point out that “devices such as smartphones allow us to be more confident and able to do things that we’ve not been able to do before.”

However, offloading can also have negative consequences. “If you’re allowed to store some to-be-remembered information on a computer, chances are you won’t devote cognitive real estate to remembering it,” says Risko. “As a result, your ability to remember that information without the computer will likely be reduced. There’s little doubt that these new technologies are affecting what we remember.”

Recent research has demonstrated some of the consequences of offloading, particularly when offloading onto electronic devices, such as personal computers or digital cameras. In one study, researchers gave museumgoers digital cameras and found that taking photographs degraded subjects’ ability to remember the objects they viewed, and specific details about those objects, when compared to their ability to remember objects not photographed. Another study, by Gilbert, showed that using reminders changed the physical activity inside volunteers’ brains when they remembered plans and intentions.

Moving forward, Risko and Gilbert want to focus on the way offloading changes the way we think, as well as what’s happening in the brain as a result of different offloading strategies. They are also interested in the long-term consequences of living in a modern, high-tech environment that allows us to constantly offload our cognition.

Risko stressed that these are all questions that can only be answered with time. “There’s a lot of conversation about whether devices like smartphones are ruining us cognitively or not,” says Risko. “There isn’t a lot of research available yet that addresses the long-term cognitive consequences of offloading. What our Review has shown is that similar scientific principles apply to our use of a wide variety of devices, such as pen and paper, GPS trackers, and smartphones. This should make it easier for researchers to fully understand these devices’ consequences in the future.”

Aku tidak peduli keadaan susah dan senangku. Karena aku tidak tahu, di manakah di antara keduanya yang lebih baik bagiku.

Ada yang menisbatkan qaul ini kepada Umar bin Khattab, meskipun saya tidak tahu juga apakah shahih atau tidak. But I'm so glad I can finally nod to this saying :)

Kalau yang kamu serukan kepada mereka itu keuntungan yang mudah diperoleh dan perjalanan yang tidak seberapa jauh, pastilah mereka mengikutimu, tetapi tempat yang dituju itu amat jauh terasa oleh mereka. Mereka akan bersumpah dengan (nama) Allah: "Jikalau kami sanggup tentulah kami berangkat bersama-samamu". Mereka membinasakan diri mereka sendiri dan Allah mengetahui bahwa sesungguhnya mereka benar-benar orang-orang yang berdusta.

At-Taubah: 49 (Ayah Al-Qur'an App) Tidak ada yang bilang jalannya akan mudah.

Dari Bawah yang Sangat Bawah

Andaikata kau hanya menilainya dari remuk redam yang meretak relungnya Kukira, kau akan… ah, entahlah – sanggupkah kau menerka jalan yang telah dilaluinya?

Di dalam hatinya mungkin akan kau temukan sebait do’a –yang dia kulum di dalam getir

“Wahai Dzat yang Maha Penyayang, aku meminta dengan segala kerendahan hati harapan dan kebahagiaan

dari jalan mana saja di antara jalan-jalan yang Engkau ridhoi.”

Sometimes what defines us are not who we truly are, but instead, the circumstances imposed to ourselves. And I find that saddening.

twitulama

“Maka Jibril menyerunya ( Maryam ) dari tempat yang rendah: “Janganlah kamu bersedih hati…. “ (Maryam : 24) Jibril tidak berkata kepadanya, “Janganlah kamu berangan-angan kematian“ Justru Jibril berkata, “Janganlah kamu bersedih hati “ Karena kesedihan yang mendera Maryam itulah penyebabnya. Periksalah pangkal penyebab derita orang yang engkau cintai dan jangan engkau cukupkan diri sekedar mendengar keluhannya.

@dr_Balgasem - Dr. Abdullah bin Balqasim, lulusan S3 Universitas Darman, Sudan. 10/4/2015 (via twitulama)

poeticislam

اللهم إنك عفو تحب العفو فاعفو عنى

Allahumma innaka `afuwwun, tuhibbul-`afwa, fa`fu `anni

O Allah, You are Most Forgiving, and You love forgiveness; so forgive me.

This is the famous du'a (supplication) to be made while seeking laylatul qadr (the night of decree which is one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan). Remember, this was given by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to one of the most beloved of all people to him: Aisha (radi'allahu anha) when she asked him specifically what du'a was to be made during this blessed time (Sunan at Tirmidhi and others). Some other things that make this du'a special:

‘afoo means to wipe away without a trace and to have leftovers/to prosper, meaning the sins will not be mentioned on the day of judgement, as if you never committed them (unlike maghfirah which means to forgive the sin but it will still be documented and presented to you on the day of judgement).

Al-’Afuw is one of the majestic names of Allah.

Recite this du'aa as much as you can! Especially in these last days of Ramadan.

Artis Youtube!!!

Belakangan ini kepikiran, buat jadi "artis youtube". Sambil mengisi waktu menunggu internship. Kayaknya seru juga, bisa sharing banyak hal lewat video yang dibikin sendiri. Ada dorongan di dalam batin ini untuk berbagi ilmu yang udah dipelajari, ya meskipun ga banyak juga sih, seputar ilmu kedokteran dan biomedis. Tsaaah. Ada beberapa dorongan yang kepikiran buat memulai hal ini: 1. Latihan ngomong. Rencana masa depan saya salah satunya berkaitan dengan kemampuan buat bicara di hadapan banyak orang. Jadi artis youtube, bisa banget buat melatih dan mengasah hal ini, sepertinya ~ 2. Review lagi ilmu yang pernah dipelajari, bahkan dari jaman tahun pertama kuliah S.Ked. Hahaha udah berguguran semua padahal :" Secara mau bikin video buat "ngajarin" orang. Jadi harus belajar lagi dong lebih dalam? Katanya sih gitu.. 3. Pengalaman. Kapan lagi punya kesempatan buat jadi artis youtube! This is my chance!!! 4. Lagipula sayang aja skill video yang dimiliki selama ini menjadi nggak berguna sama sekali setelah lepas dari dunia kegiatan kemahasiswaan. Mubazir coy. 5. Kalau viewcountnya banyak, bisa jadi penghasilan sampingan juga. Meskipun mungkin ga banyak juga sih, karena genre video yang mau saya garap ini cukup komunal. 6. Jadi femes. FAMOUS!!! Nanti konten di channel youtube yang saya bikin bakalan macem-macem, ada yang ditargetkan buat mahasiswa kedokteran, koas, sampai masyarakat umum juga. Mungkin bakal bikin beberapa channel juga buat segmentasi pemirsa. Menarik? Hmmmm kita lihat kelanjutannya ~

neurosciencestuff

(Image caption: Because babies born prematurely are still developing, they typically have smaller brains than full-term infants. Shown are depictions of the cortical-surface area of the brain at different points in gestation. Illustration by Eric Young)

Breast milk linked to significant early brain growth in preemies

Feeding premature babies mostly breast milk during the first month of life appears to spur more robust brain growth, compared with babies given little or no breast milk.

Studying preterm infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the researchers found that preemies whose daily diets were at least 50 percent breast milk had more brain tissue and cortical-surface area by their due dates than premature babies who consumed significantly less breast milk.

The researchers, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, presented their findings May 3 at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, in Baltimore.

“The brains of babies born before their due dates usually are not fully developed,” said senior investigator Cynthia Rogers, MD, an assistant professor of child psychiatry who treats patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “But breast milk has been shown to be helpful in other areas of development, so we looked to see what effect it might have on the brain. With MRI scans, we found that babies fed more breast milk had larger brain volumes. This is important because several other studies have shown a correlation between brain volume and cognitive development.”

The study included 77 preterm infants. The researchers retrospectively looked to see how much breast milk those babies had received while being cared for in the NICU. Then, the researchers conducted brain scans on those infants at about the time each would have been born had the babies not arrived early. All of the babies were born at least 10 weeks early, with an average gestation of 26 weeks, or about 14 weeks premature. Because they are still developing, preemies typically have smaller brains than full-term infants.

First author Erin Reynolds, a research technician in Rogers’ laboratory, said in gauging the effects of breast milk on the babies’ brains, the researchers didn’t distinguish between milk that came from the babies’ own mothers and breast milk donated by other women. Rather, they focused on the influence of breast milk in general.

“As the amount of breast milk increased, so did a baby’s chances of having a larger cortical surface area,” Reynolds said. “The cortex is the part of the brain associated with cognition, so we assume that more cortex will help improve cognition as the babies grow and develop.”

Preterm birth is a leading cause of neurologic problems in children and has been linked to psychiatric disorders later in childhood. Rogers and her team plan to follow the babies in the study through their first several years of life to see how they grow, focusing on their motor, cognitive and social development. As the babies get older, the researchers believe they will be able to determine the effects of early exposure to breast milk on later developmental outcomes.

“We want to see whether this difference in brain size has an effect on any of those developmental milestones,” Rogers said. “Neonatologists already believe breast milk is the best nutrition for preterm infants. We wanted to see whether it was possible to detect the impact of breast milk on the brain this early in life and whether the benefits appeared quickly or developed over time.”

Rogers said further investigation is needed to determine specifically how breast milk affects the brain and what is present in the milk that seems to promote brain development. She explained that because all of the babies in the study were born early it isn’t clear whether breast milk would provide similar benefits for babies born at full term.

Setiap orang punya waktunya masing-masing, katanya?

Aku juga meyakini hal itu, tapi entahlah. Kudapati hidup dengan segala kefanaannya membuatku terdisorientasi. Ya, aku punya mimpi. Bisa kubuat daftarnya, apakah yang versi singkatnya atau yang versi panjangnya. Kulihat, lalu kulihat lagi lamat-lamat, ah, betapa indahnya. Tentang hal-hal yang aku kira merupakan sebuah kebaikan dan kemudian aku dambakan. Juga tentang inspirasi yang kudapat orang-orang di sekitarku yang tergerakkan oleh cita-citanya, dan mampu membawa apa yang mereka dambakan itu ke tataran realita.

Sepercik bisikan aku ujarkan dengan lantang ke benakku. aku bisa! Aku juga harus bisa! Aku bisa berkontribusi untuk menjadikan dunia ini lebih baik, jika mimpi-mimpi ini terwujud. Dan ya, aku harus mulai berusaha mewujudkannya!

Kemudian, mentransformasi mimpi menjadi realita melalui rencana dan aksi. Kulihat apa yang kumiliki kini. Harusnya aku juga memiliki segala perangkat yang kubutuhkan untuk mewujudkan hal itu, begitu kukira. Namun entahlah, apa yang kulihat pada diriku?

Membuatku terdiam sejenak dan membisikkan tanya ke benakku, “Apakah kamu layak, Muhsin?”

Aku hanyalah seseorang, di antara miliaran orang di dunia ini, yang terjebak di dalam keadaan. Di satu sisi lebih baik daripada kebanyakan orang, di sisi lain mungkin… ah entahlah, mungkin hanya aku yang kurang bersyukur. Terkadang aku merasa, bahwa aku bagaikan sebuah benda yang kehilangan momentumnya dan kebingungan untuk bagaimana mendapatkannya kembali. Aku bagaikan sebuah bola salju yang sempat bergulir dari atas gunung namun membentur batu atau pohon, membuatnya terserak. Batu dan pohon itu, umpama keadaan, realita, dari dunia di mana aku hidup. Atau mungkin, aku umpama api yang terguyur hujan sebelum mampu memberikan kehangatan. Atau mungkin, pohon mangga yang terus-menerus diguyur hujan, tak kunjung mendapatkan musim kemaraunya. Atau mungkin, padi yang terus-menerus dilanda kekeringan, sehingga tak mampu memberikan bulir-bulir beras kepada dunia. Atau ah, entahlah.

Tapi, bukankah setiap orang punya waktunya masing-masing, katanya? Waktu, untuk mendapatkan sebuah dorongan, sebuah momentum, ke arah apa yang selama ini diimpikan.

Dan setiap orang diciptakan menurut kadarnya, ada yang lebih dan ada yang kurang. Tidak sempurna, mungkin memang begitulah semestinya. Tapi seringkali nyatanya bukan ketidaksempurnaan yang menjebak diri untuk melaju, tapi justru kehendak diri-diri kita sendiri untuk tetap terlamun dalam diam.

Sambil menunggu momentum itu tiba. Entah darimana datangnya, apakah dari luar atau aku sendiri yang memantiknya. Layaknya aku mempersiapakan diriku, dengan pasti meski perlahan, menanggalkan koreng-koreng lama yang menggelayuti diri. Menjadi diri yang lebih baik lagi. Tumbuh dan berkembang. Lebih mengenali seperti apa tubuh yang dititipkan kepada entitasku ini. Terus melakukan apa-apa yang baik, dan benar, sampai batas kemampuanku. Dan menitipkan segala mimpi yang kumiliki itu, ke tali-tali yang terulur, tinggi dari atas langit.

Dan untuk semua hal itu, kukira tidak cukup jika diri ini hanya sebatas bermain kata.

(Dia) Pencipta langit dan bumi. Dia menjadikan bagi kamu dari jenis kamu sendiri pasangan-pasangan dan dari jenis binatang ternak pasangan-pasangan (pula), dijadikan-Nya kamu berkembang biak dengan jalan itu. Tidak ada sesuatupun yang serupa dengan Dia, dan Dialah yang Maha Mendengar dan Melihat. Kepunyaan-Nya-lah perbendaharaan langit dan bumi; Dia melapangkan rezeki bagi siapa yang dikehendaki-Nya dan menyempitkan(nya). Sesungguhnya Dia Maha Mengetahui segala sesuatu.

Asy-Syuraa': 11-12

Dan tidakkah mereka mengetahui bahwa Allah melapangkan rezeki dan menyempitkannya bagi siapa yang dikehendaki-Nya? Sesungguhnya pada yang demikian itu terdapat tanda-tanda kekuasaan Allah bagi kaum yang beriman.

Az-Zumar: 52

poeticislam

Islam Basics: What is Ramadan?

“O you who believe! Observing al-sawn (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become al-muttaqoon (the pious).” (Qur'an, al-Baqarah 2:183)

Many of you may be wondering, what is this thing called ‘Ramadan’? Every year Muslims seem to get very excited about this ‘Ramadan’. You may know a family member, neighbour, co-worker, friend who is fasting throughout Ramadan.

What is it and what makes it so significant?

Ramadan is the name of the ninth month of the Islamic Calender, and the month in itself changes by 11 days each year as it follows the lunar cycle. However Ramadan is like no other month for Muslims, as it is a month in which we perform one important pillar of our religion-fasting.

Every year for 30 days, over a billion Muslims from all over the globe abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, as well as foul/unpleasant language and anything that is ill-natured or excessive; from dawn until the sun sets. It is a holy month for Muslims and a chance for them to review themselves, their spirituality and their character so they can improve for the better. Just as large corporations have annual reports, the Muslim analysis his/her own self and their relationship with God and others in this one month in order to note down what they have been doing wrong (and strive to change that) and to improve their good aspects.

Ramadan is also significant for several other reasons:

God says in the Qur'an:

“The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion…” (Qur'an, al-Baqarah, 2:185)

The Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the month of Ramadan, and this is of huge significance to a Muslim as the Qur'an is a close companion to the Muslim. It is what we believe to be God’s word which speaks to each Muslim on a personal level, yet also addresses all of Mankind.

Ramadan also offers Muslims a chance for all their previous sins to be forgiven. It offers three opportunities:

1-: By fasting in Ramadan, if with sincerity, they will be forgiven their previous sins 2-: By praying at night in Ramadan and 3- By praying during the last 10 nights of Ramadan as one of those nights will be 'The night of decree’, as in the specific night the Qur'an was revealed.

This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven .” (Sahih Bukhari, Book 32, Hadith 231)

And:

“Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Sahih Bukhari, Book 32, Hadith 226)

Ramadan conveys an extraordinary sense of emotional enthusiasm and religious eagerness among Muslims of all ages. Even though fasting is compulsory for capable adults alone (children, the elderly and the ill are exempt from fasting), children as young as eight readily observe or take part in partial fasting with their elders. Children look forward to the thrill of the moon sighting and eating unique meals with their relatives. Adults are grateful for the chance to double their rewards from God and ask for pardon for their past sins. Ramadan highlights Muslim brotherhood and sisterhood, customs and brings about a special feeling of closeness, both to God, and the community.

poeticislam

‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (ra) said: “Verily knowledge is more precious than wealth. Knowledge preserves you, while you preserve wealth. Knowledge judges while wealth is judged upon. The possessors of wealth have died, while the possessors of knowledge live on. Their (the scholars) bodies have passed away, but they are still present in the hearts of the people.” [Adab Al-Dunya Wa Al-Deen, p.48]

neurosciencestuff

Research finds that wisdom is a matter of both heart and mind

The fluctuations of your heartbeat may affect your wisdom, according to new research from the University of Waterloo.

The study suggests that heart rate variation and thinking process work together to enable wise reasoning about complex social issues. The work by Igor Grossmann, professor of psychology at Waterloo, and colleagues based at the Australian Catholic University, appears in the online journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

Their study breaks new ground in wisdom research by identifying conditions under which psychophysiology impacts wise judgment.

“Our research shows that wise reasoning is not exclusively a function of the mind and cognitive ability,” says Prof. Grossmann. “We found that people who have greater heart rate variability and who are able to think about social problems from a distanced viewpoint demonstrate a greater capacity for wise reasoning.”

The study extends previous work on cognitive underpinnings of wise judgment to include consideration how the heart’s functioning impacts the mind.

A growing consensus among philosophers and cognitive scientists defines wise judgment to include the ability to recognize the limits of one’s knowledge, to be aware of the varied contexts of life and how they may unfold over time, to acknowledge others’ points of view, and to seek reconciliation of opposing viewpoints.

The new study is the first to show that the physiology of the heart, specifically the variability of heart rate during low physical activity, is related to less biased, wiser judgment.

Human heart rate tends to fluctuate, even during steady-state conditions, such as while a person is sitting. Heart rate variability refers to the variation in the time interval between heartbeats and is related to the nervous system’s control of organ functions.

The researchers found that people with more varied heart rates were able to reason in a wiser, less biased fashion about societal problems when they were instructed to reflect on a social issue from a third-person perspective. But, when the study’s participants were instructed to reason about the issue from a first-person perspective, no relationship between heart rate and wiser judgment emerged.

“We already knew that people with greater variation in their heart rate show superior performance in the brain’s executive functioning such as working memory,” says Prof. Grossmann. “However, that does not necessarily mean these people are wiser – in fact, some people may use their cognitive skills to make unwise decisions. To channel their cognitive abilities for wiser judgment, people with greater heart rate variability first need to overcome their egocentric viewpoints.”

The study opens the door for further exploration of wise judgment at the intersection of physiological and cognitive research.

الْأَخِلَّاءُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقِينَ.

“Teman-teman akrab pada hari itu sebagiannya menjadi musuh bagi sebagian yang lain, kecuali orang-orang yang bertakwa.”

(QS. az-Zukhruf [43]: 67)

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