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"If you ain't scared," Alby said, "you ain't human. Act any different and I'd throw you off the Cliff because it'd mean you're a psycho."

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"At that moment, Thomas realized with a sickening lurch that he had no idea how old he was. His heart sank at the thought—he was so lost he didn't even know his own age."

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"Confusion, Curiosity. Panic. Fear. But laced through it all was the dark feeling of utter hopelessness, like the world had ended for him, had been wiped from his memory and replaced with something awful. (2.12)"

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"He didn't know which was worse-that they were being sealed in or that they were being protected from something out there" (29)

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Society wanting the main character to forget his past

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Society wanting the main character to forget his past

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“His memory loss was strange. He mostly remembered the workings of the world—but emptied of specifics, faces, names. Like a book completely intact but missing one word in every dozen, making it a miserable and confusing read. He didn’t even know his age” (Chapter 3, p. 15).

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“‘Think about it. Our memories are wiped. We live inside a place that seems to have no way out, surrounded by bloodthirsty monster-guards. Doesn’t that sound like a prison to you?’ As he said it out loud, it sounded more and more possible. Nausea trickled into his chest” (Chapter 9, p. 64).

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“‘Most of the physical effects are caused by something else. First the delusions start, then animal instincts begin to overpower the human ones. Finally it consumes them, destroys their humanity…We won’t let them do this to children. We’ve sworn our lives to fighting WICKED. We can’t lose our humanity, no matter the end result’” (Chapter 61, pp. 366-367).

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fotografixx/Getty Images

A Chinese research team has developed the ability to mind control a rodent, building a wireless brain-to-brain system that enables a human to move the "rat cyborg" through a maze.

The research, published in Nature's Scientific Reports on Feb. 4, details a brain-to-brain interface (BBI) that connects a human brain to a computer, which then decodes and stimulates the rat brain to move. The researchers detail their methodology in a delightful section of the published paper called "rat cyborg preparation", explaining how they implanted electrodes in two sections of the rat brain.

The researchers then "trained" the rats by using the electrodes to produce certain movements, which they wirelessly sent to the rat's brain via a tiny rat-backpack containing the stimulator.

Their first test for the rat cyborg involved a maze shaped like an eight-armed asterisk. The rat started in one arm of the maze and was tasked with moving into another arm. The human controller was fitted with a device known as an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure brain signals. The EEG was connected directly to a computer. The computer would then decode the human brain signal and pass it through a model to stimulate the rat's brain and tell it to move in a particular direction.

Using the EEG to measure the human brain signal means the researchers don't have to directly connect electrodes to a human brain -- that's a good thing, but it makes the signal weaker.

"EEG measures electrical activity in the brain, through the skull. EEG gives us a fast signal, but because the skull and skin are not very conductive, and are quite thick, it doesn't give a good spatial signal from the brain," says Angus McMorland, a biomedical engineer at the University of Auckland and not associated with the study. McMorland compares the signals from the EEG to reading a book "through several layers of frosted glass."

Using such a method prevents information from being parsed quickly from human brain to rat brain -- which means there's a type of input lag that humans need to account for when guiding the rat through the maze. The brain signals for left and right can be decoded, but to move the rat forward, the researchers used an eye blink. However, on average, the rat cyborg still moved through the maze in around three minutes.

The rat cyborg was also subjected to a slightly more complex maze with a predetermined route. On average, moving the six rats through a predetermined route through the maze was successful 90 percent of the time, over 10 consecutive tests.

Researchers have worked on brain-to-brain interfaces before with varying degrees of success. In 2013, a BBI linked a human brain with a rat, enabling the human to influence the movement of the rat's tail. In 2016, a human brain was linked up to a cyborg cockroach and enabled the human to move the cockroach through an S-shaped track with limited success.

This is the first time that a brain-brain interface has been used to complete a complex navigation task.

In a previous paper, the team suggested that rat cyborgs may have great potential in search and rescue operations. The rats would be able to slip in and out of danger zones, potentially controlled by a human from a safe distance.

"Could they use this technology to navigate a rat carrying a small walkie-talkie and camera through a collapsed building looking for survivors? Yes, it looks like that would work, but a hand-operated remote control would be a lot more reliable," says McMorland.

For now, the technology remains in its infancy, but it does begin to raise ethical questions about the use of mind control on another species. In the study published on Monday, the team notes that all experimental protocols were approved by the Ethics Committee at the university.

CES 2019: See all of CNET's coverage of the year's biggest tech show.

NASA turns 60: The space agency has taken humanity farther than anyone else, and it has plans to go further.

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Scientists connect a human brain and 'rat cyborg' brain together

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A Chinese research team has developed the ability to mind control a rodent, building a wireless brain-to-brain system that enables a human to move the "rat cyborg" through a maze. The research, published in Nature's Scientific Reports on Feb.

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He wished for all the world he could remember something about his previous life. Anything. His mom, his dad, a friend, his school, a hobby. A girl. (3.75)

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They'd wiped his memory and put him inside a gigantic maze. It was all so crazy it really did seem funny. (4.39)

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"If you ain't scared," Alby said, "you ain't human. Act any different and I'd throw you off the Cliff because it'd mean you're a psycho." (2.26)

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"He felt a worrying shudder in his chest as if his heart wanted to escape, to flee his body" (2). "Thomas surprisingly didn't feel that intimidated. He rolled his eyes but then nodded" (101).-growth of character

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"'Banished? What does that mean?'...And then Thomas saw perhaps the most disturbing thing hed seen since hed arrived at the Glade. Chuck didn't answer; he only smiled. Smiled , despite it all, despite the sinister sound of what hed just announced. Then he turned and ran, maybe to tell someone the exciting news." (89) -Similar to the idea in "The Lottery"; by stoning people they sustain order(in Maze Runner they just banish people who break the rules).

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"Thomas knew he didn't have a choice...He moved...Forward"(112). "if you think that was brave coming out here, listen up. You're as good as dead"(113).-brainwashed to think there is no way of surviving the maze for a night; their mind is automatically set for failure(went out of their routine and are being punished in a way by their own mind).

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"But it was all gray. Not cloudy, not twilight, not the early minutes of dawn. Just gray" (218).-compared to the Utopia that is depicted at the beginning of the book(the green fields, rich forest, garden, animals), the situation here is darker and reflects the characters overall mood and the emotions they feel towards the Glade.

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"..they wanted to test us, see how wed react to what they call the Variables, and to that there is no solution. See if we could work together-build a community, even. Everything was provided for us, and the problem was laid out as one of the most common puzzles known to civilization- a maze.All this added up to be making us think there is a solution

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"WORLD IN CATASTROPHE: KILLZONE EXPERIMENT DEPARTMENT" (214

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"WORLD IN CATASTROPHE: KILLZONE EXPERIMENT DEPARTMENT" (214

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"It was you and me, Tom. We did this to them. To us." (184)

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"The walls, you shuck. The Doors. They didn't close tonight." (239)

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"WICKED is good. The subjects will eventually recall and understand the purpose of the hard things we have done and plan to do to them" (374)

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“’The subjects will eventually recall and understand the purpose of the hard things we have done and plan to do to them. The mission of WICKED is to serve and preserve humanity, no matter the cost. We are, indeed, ‘good’” (Epilogue, pp. 373-374).

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“‘You think we’re safe with these people?’ Minho asked. Thomas pondered the question for a moment. There was only one answer to hold onto. ‘Yeah, I think we’re safe’” (Chapter 62, p. 370).

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The Best Kind of Learning is the Kind that's Wrapped Up in a Game.

While puzzles may seem like mere child's play, researchers have discovered they are an important link in the cognitive development of young children. Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that children who play with puzzles between the ages of two and four develop better spatial and other important skills, including mathematical skills.

With almost 400 circulating puzzles available, the Islip Public Library is one of only a few libraries in Suffolk County that permits patrons to take up to five puzzles home for a week. Recently, the Library has expanded its puzzle lending policy to include out-of-district patrons, and renewals for an additional week for each puzzle checked out. In the supportive environment of their own homes, parents and children can play together to enrich a toddler's learning capacity and other skills.

Additionally, there are more than 30 puzzles, from large-knob puzzles, to mix-and-match puzzles, to alphabet puzzles, and more, suitable for infants to kindergarteners for in-library play.

Psychologist Susan Levine, a professor at the University of Chicago and a leading expert on mathematics development in young children, believes that children who play with puzzles perform better on tasks that are indicators of future math skills. Parents who interact with their children during puzzle play further advance their children's future skills in several different areas. Very young children can be guided by their parents, while pre-schoolers and kindergarteners enjoy putting puzzles together on their own.

Levine is the lead author of an academic paper studying children and parents as they engaged in puzzle play. For the research, 53 parent-child pairs from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds participated in a study in which researchers video-recorded parent-child interactions for 90-minute sessions that occurred every four months between children aged 26 to 46 months old. Researchers determined that children who play with puzzles at home improve future math-related skills.

​Other researchers have learned that puzzle play increases fine motor development in young children, skills that eventually help with handwriting, drawing and even playing a musical instrument. Manipulating both large and small pieces of puzzles into the proper place requires eye-hand coordination, a most important skill in child development.

Larger puzzles can be solved by two or more children, which in turn helps increase a child's social skills. Solving puzzles as a group helps youngsters understand patience, teamwork and taking turns, according to an article on Huffington Post online. The Islip Public Library circulating puzzle collection includes a number of intricate layered puzzles, which are ideally suited for group puzzle solving.

​Research indicates that toddlers who work on puzzles often progress to jigsaw puzzles and larger floor-sized puzzles, which are available online and in toy stores at nominal cost. Crossword, game and logic puzzles challenge children and aid in their cognitive development. Some good sources of puzzles for all ages is Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Toys-Games-Toddler-Puzzles/zgbs/toys-and-games/196611011), and Lakeshore Education Products ( http://products.lakeshorelearning.com/learning/Wooden-Puzzles). The website for Fine Wooden toys offers Melissa & Doug puzzles, which make a variety of interesting puzzles ( http://www.finewoodentoys.com/). Very high-quality handmade solid wood puzzles are available for sale at Kidpuzzles ( http://www.kidpuzzles.com/).

www.amazon.com
Discover the best Toddler Puzzles in Best Sellers. Find the top 100 most popular items in Amazon Toys & Games Best Sellers.

www.finewoodentoys.com
At Fine Wooden Toys we offer a beautiful and unique selection of hundreds of top-quality educational and developmental wooden toys, blocks and puzzles for babies ...

products.lakeshorelearning.com
Wooden Puzzles found in: Lakeshore Preschool Puzzle Library with Rack, Wild Animals Puzzle Set, Big Knob First Puzzle Set, Chunky Puzzles Set...

Perhaps most importantly, puzzle play gives beginning learners a huge sense of accomplishment. Watching toddlers put the last piece into a puzzle is a wonderful sight. Puzzles are fun, educational toys that challenge young minds, and the Islip Public Library's puzzle collection helps its youngest patrons achieve important skills.

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While puzzles may seem like mere child's play, researchers have discovered they are an important link in the cognitive development of young children. Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that children who play with puzzles between the ages of two and four develop better spatial and other important skills, including mathematical skills.

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PUT GOOD PEOPLE IN AN EVIL PLACE? DOES HUMANITY WIN OVER EVIL, OR DOES EVIL TRIUMPH? THESE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE POSED IN THIS DRAMATIC SIMULATION OF PRISON LIFE CONDUCTED IN 1971 AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY.

"How we went about testing these questions and what we found may astound you. Our planned two-week investigation into the psychology of prison life had to be ended after only six days because of what the situation was doing to the college students who participated. In only a few days, our guards became sadistic and our prisoners became depressed and showed signs of extreme stress. Please read the story of what happened and what it tells us about the nature of human nature."
- Professor Philip G. Zimbardo

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PUT GOOD PEOPLE IN AN EVIL PLACE? DOES HUMANITY WIN OVER EVIL, OR DOES EVIL TRIUMPH? THESE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE POSED IN THIS DRAMATIC SIMULATION OF PRISON LIFE CONDUCTED IN 1971 AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY. "How we went about testing these questions and what we found may astound you.

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Young pupils who work in groups learn how to compromise and show significant improvements in maths, science and reading, study reveals.

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ight now, many Americans listening to their president are experiencing what I experienced frequently a child. Nothing means anything, and reality is being canceled. There is confusion, there is chaos, everything is upside down and inside out. When facts and truth are being discredited, how is it possible to know what to believe, especially when it comes from someone we expect to embody both ethics and etiquette?

It's obvious to those already initiated. To those new to the phenomena: the president and the current administration are gaslighting us. It's a term we are hearing a lot of right now.

The term "gaslighting" refers to when someone manipulates you into questioning and second-guessing your reality. It derives from a 1944 movie - and the play and another film that preceded it - in which this happens to the heroine. What perhaps people don't understand is how to manage and cope with it. For me, all it's very familiar. I know this behavior well and I know how to navigate it.

As a child, I was experiencing a world where there was no emotional safety while being consistently told that I had a beautiful and happy childhood and that I was ungrateful. What was I complaining about? Yet what I was exposed to caused me to feel unsafe. And those feelings had a verifiable origin. Whether it was witnessing violent arguments or being on the receiving end of inappropriate behavior, when I confronted my mother with the truth, it was denied; my reality was disavowed and asserting it would only instigate conflict. I was told that what I saw with my own eyes hadn't happened.

When I would confront my mother with things that she had said, or things that she had done, she would say I was making it up, that it was a lie. When I confronted her with facts, they were batted away. So it wasn't just that my reality was canceled, but that my perception of reality was overwritten.

As I wrote in my memoir, An Abbreviated Life, it wasn't the loudest and scariest explosions that caused the most damage. It wasn't the physical violence or the verbal abuse or the lack of boundaries and inappropriate behavior. What did the real damage was the denial that these incidents ever occurred.

The erasure of the abuse was worse than the abuse.

When I was in my mid-30s, I had an encounter with someone who recognized me from when I was a child. "Are you so-and-so's daughter?" he asked. I nodded. He had been a guest at one of my mother's parties. After I left, he said: "I had always wondered how that little girl would survive. I had thought her only choices were suicide or murder."

When I was told he said this, I felt validation. And that line stayed with me for many reasons. This outsider observed what I was living through, and having him as a witness confirmed what I knew.

One of the most insidious things about gaslighting is the denial of reality. Being denied what you have seen. Being denied what you have experienced and know to be true. It can make you feel like you are crazy. But you are not crazy.

Dr Robin Stern, associate director at Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and author of The Gaslight Effect says that usually "when people are abused there are signs that you can point to that are much more obvious. Someone who has been hit or threatened for instance - it's easy to see and understand how they have been hurt. But when someone is manipulating you, you end up second-guessing yourself and turning your attention to yourself as the person to blame".

To illustrate this, she cites an example that is easy to understand. A close friend of hers was always running late. Initially, she pointed this out to him noting that it was not respectful. His response was to tell her she was "too sensitive". But over time, when this dynamic would continue to happen, it would lead to arguing and when she persisted he would say, "You really have a problem with time, don't you?" and she in turn, ended up thinking he might be right. She began to doubt herself. "I began to think - what's the problem if someone is late, maybe I'm not being flexible enough.'"

This is what she calls the gaslight effect. "Gaslighting over time leads to somebody experiencing the gaslight effect. Someone can try to gaslight you, but it can't happen unless you allow it."

This is the tricky part. Because when there is someone in a position of power or authority, someone you idealize, or even as in many co-dependent relationships - when there is someone you are afraid to lose - their insistence that their reality is the reality can often cause you to doubt what you know to be true.

"We are living in a time where a lot of people are having a tough time deciding what's real and feeling like they are being manipulated," Stern says. "If they know something is true and somebody tells you it's not true, holding on to your reality is essential. You can't be gaslighted if you stay inside your own reality and recognize the manipulation when you see it."

What's happening on a national level is activating and retraumatizing a lot of people who have been gaslighted in the past. The crazy-making, mind-bending, massive confusion-inducing effects of our current administration's recklessness with the truth and disregard for verifiable facts is creating an emotional and psychological whiplash. It's affecting people who have been subjected to abusive relationships; people who feel emotionally vulnerable and it seems to stoke a nearly unprecedented rage in those of us who can see it and feel powerless to do anything to combat it. When people in the mainstream media are being discredited, how exactly are you supposed to call this out?

There were some strategies - which I didn't know at the time were strategies - that helped me survive. And in these uncertain times, it is a way to stay sane.

Remain defiant

When I was a little girl about five or six, I wrote a story about running away from home. When my mother saw that story, she demanded I change it. Why would you write this story? It isn't about me, is it? She knew it was about her and the chaos at home. I refused to change the story and that defiance was key. Trusting my version of reality. Not allowing it to be altered on demand. Resistance. This anger protected me, because I knew what I knew. It couldn't be erased. Being defiant does not make you difficult. It makes you resilient.

Recognize there will never be accountability

The person who is gaslighting you will never be able to see your point of view or take responsibility for their actions. They will never get it. They will never say, "Oh, you're right - you have a point."

Acknowledgement is not on the cards. And asserting yourself is not just useless but harmful. Because the person gaslighting will never be able to respond to logic and reason - and so you have to be the one to recognize that logic and reason can't be applied.

Let go of the wish for things to be different

The wish for things to be different is very powerful and inoculates you to the tumult. It allows you to continue to believe logic and reason will prevail. You want to believe the person will change. You want things to make sense. But they won't. You want to feel you are on safe ground. You have to let go of this wish. Because things will never make sense. You will never be heard.

Develop healthy detachment

I had to develop certain coping mechanisms, but there was a price. Behavior that was adaptive as a child becomes maladaptive as an adult: I was not trusting and always needing verification.

I became hyper-vigilant about clarity. There was no room for misunderstanding; no margin for error. I needed certainty in an uncertain world. But we live in an uncertain world, so there has to be a way to find balance.

Detaching from the gaslighting does not mean total detachment. It means distinguishing between the world of the gaslighter and the real world.

"Someone can try to gaslight you and once you can identify what's going on, you can begin to turn off the gaslighting and heal," Stern says. She points out that often people are willing to give up their reality in favor of hanging on to a relationship rather than rupturing it.

There are, she says, many different signs to recognize when you're being gaslighted. "You feel confused and crazy. You're always apologizing, wondering if you are good enough, can't understand why you feel so bad all the time, or know something is wrong but can't put your finger on it. You thought one thing, they say another; you can't figure out which is right."

A tip she offers for handling things is to write down what actually happened in the conversation. "Once you are not flooded with emotion, you can reflect rationally. Look at the conversation and see where it took a turn."

When someone is so certain about what they believe and they keep on insisting and trying to convince you - over a period of time - it erodes your own perception. And having to verify reality is in itself destabilizing.

Stern poses an interesting question. "Are people upset because current leaders are telling them something they know isn't true, or is it because they are upset other people might be believing it?"

With gaslighting, it feels as though the ground is always shifting beneath you. There is no center of gravity. And while we're being told up is down and black is white, the only way to make sense of it is to remain resolute. Let people have their alternative facts. You'll stick to reality.

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How to survive gaslighting: when manipulation erases your reality

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ight now, many Americans listening to their president are experiencing what I experienced frequently a child. Nothing means anything, and reality is being canceled. There is confusion, there is chaos, everything is upside down and inside out.