Check out my brain!
The new blog io9 pointed out something recently that was a bit surprising to us -- and maybe it will be to you, too: people seem to be really into posting images of their brains on the photo sharing site Flickr. A lot of the images seem to be of the "hey, check out my brain!" variety, like the one above from Flickr user Liz Henry (on the image's Flickr page, check out the annotations made by Henry and her friends). But other images seem to be a way for people to share intimate details about themselves -- about brain tumors or a diagnosis of MS, for example.
Maybe this shouldn't be surprising, though. As our culture becomes more aware of neuroscience and the role of the brain, the sending of postcards from our brains just becomes another way of connecting with other people. As io9's Annalee Newitz comments, "... I like any trend that leads us closer to a day when people flirt online by exchanging MRIs of their brains."
-Greg Dahlmann
image from Flickr user Liz Henry re-posted under a CC license
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I would confess to a 'check out my brain' post after I was a volunteer in an MRI research project. The sum total of my payment was the picture :)
- by emily on Jan 3, 2008 at 10:04 AM | link
The comments on the Flickr page were funny and sometimes even anatomically correct. I read brain MRI's everyday and can't imagine screening anyone I'd like to flirt with based on those images. I think this actually points to how infatuated society is becoming with neuroscience, but how little actual understanding there is.
That said . . . the mammillary body I can see looks pretty hot!
- by Bob on Jan 3, 2008 at 9:05 PM | link