Forward Thinking

Could music be the answer to keeping us sharp in old age? Listen to Dr Judy Okely talk about an exciting new project looking at the potential connection between musical experiences and healthy ageing in the brain. Related links: Judy Okely  Forward Thinking blog Healthy mental ageing - the Lothian Birth Cohorts

Should we really be using baby words with infants? Linguists at the University of Edinburgh have been researching the use of baby talk words and Dr Barbora Skarabela is one of them. Barbora and her colleagues recently did a study which found that words like “choo-choo” help babies pick up language quicker than adult language alone! Listen to the podcast to find out more about this research into children’s language development.Related links:Wee Science | Learning from kids while they playForward Thinking | Research, news and views from Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences

Our ability to keep track of ongoing thoughts, plans, actions, current tasks, and changes around us is essential for everyday living. This ability is known as working memory, a system of the brain that allows us to focus on what we are doing, switch tasks, solve problems, or do several things at once such as walking and talking. However, scientists disagree about what limits our working memory ability, and how those limits change as people grow older.The project Working Memory Across the Adult Lifespan (WoMAAC) brings together three research groups who disagree with different theories of how and why working memory changes with age. Here to discuss are psychology researchers Professor Robert Logie and Dr Alicia Forsberg, both part of the University of Edinburgh project team. Related links:WoMAAC project website

How can we understand how language changes over time?Historical linguists aim to map this language change through time by looking at both the structure and sounds of the language as well as its social environment. Minority, non-European languages such as indigenous American ones are barely represented in research on language change and limits our understanding of language change as a whole. Linguistics researcher Dr Ben Molineux is creating the first digitally-based account of change in Mapudungun, the endangered, ancestral language of the Mapuche people of Chile and Argentina.Related links:Corpus of Historical MapudungunBen Molineaux

Traditionally, politics has been about compromise. Being part of a shared community, whether local, national, or international, has been about negotiation, reciprocity, and trust. How can territorial identity influence, and perhaps even distort, perceptions of fairness? Perceptions of intergroup (un)fairness and of being “left behind,” for example, provided much of the momentum behind the UK Brexit decision.  Here to discuss are Director of the Neuropolitics Research Lab Professor Laura Cram and Lecturer in Psychology Dr Adam Moore, both from the University of Edinburgh.Related links:Neuropolitics Research LabLaura Cram Adam Moore

How should Nietzsche's work influence our daily lives? MSc Public Engagement and Science Communication graduate Tremaine Billham talks to philosophy lecturer Dave Ward on what we can learn from Nietzsche.Related links:Dave WardDr Dave Ward: Research in a Nutshell On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche | GoodreadsForward Thinking blogForward Thinking podcast on iTunes

Linguistics is the scientific study of language and its structure, it looks at the nature of language and communication – which is integral to being human. So why don’t more people know about it? Here to discuss are Dr Graeme Trousdale and Dr Pavel Iosad, both lecturers in Linguistics and English Language at the University of Edinburgh. Both Pavel and Graeme are keen supporters of the Linguistics Olympiad, which is a competition, where students of all ages and abilities can compete to solve linguistic data problems. They are also working on introducing Linguistics as a school subject.Related links:Pavel IosadGraeme TrousdaleUnited Kingdom Linguistics OlympiadInternational Linguistics OlympiadTowards an A-level in Linguistics | Committee for Linguistics in Education

Did you know that Scotland is home to the longest study of human cognition in the world?  Contemporary Scottish Artist Fionna Carlisle and Lothian Birth Cohorts Director Professor Ian Deary discuss how they came to collaborate on an exhibition of the Lothian Birth Cohort participants, which is showing from Friday 26 October to Saturday 24 November 2018 at the Firestation Gallery at the Edinburgh College of Art.Related links:Forward Thinking blogFionna CarliseIan DearyCentre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology Godfrey Thompson Project | Documenting the understanding of human intelligence

How can we understand and challenge the oppression of women using philosophy? Senior Lecturer in Philosophy Dr Elinor Mason explains feminist philosophy, exploring gender roles as well as ways to challenge unconscious biases. Find out more about Elinor’s research and her upcoming show at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe which tackles the complexities inherent in women’s sexual refusal. Disclaimer: Whilst not explicit, this podcast does deal with adult themes. Related links: Elinor Mason #YesAllMen | Edinburgh Festival Fringe Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine | Blackwell’s Testosterone Rex by Cordelia Fine | The Royal Society I Am Not An Easy Man | Netflix Hannah Gadsby: Nanette | Netflix

Does speaking multiple languages make you smarter? Linguistics professor Antonella Sorace thinks bilingualism has many benefits that go beyond language, for example in task switching. Science communications student Susie (Shuoqi) Qu talks to Antonella Sorace about research into bilingualism and the work of her research and information centre Bilingualism Matters. Related links: Antonella Sorace Bilingualism Matters

What happens when we lose our sense of belonging? Interdisciplinary researcher Karim Mitha thinks joining a club or getting involved in a community can be a great way to support our mental health and also help us feel part of something. Science communications student Tremaine Billham talks to Karim Mitha about his research into acculturation, Islamophobia and depression. Related links: Karim Mitha Feeling Good app Berry, J.W., 1997. Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied psychology, 46(1), pp.5-34.

Are the video games that we play affecting our moral compass?Psychology researcher Eva Murzyn thinks gaming has more to do with self-exploration than simply siding with the ‘paragon’ or the ‘renegade’ within games.Science communications student Alex Perry talks to Dr Eva Murzyn about her research into single-player gaming ethics and the effects of playing video games with other people.Related links:Eva MurzynMurzyn, E. and Valgaeren, E. (2016). Our Virtual Selves, Our Virtual Morals: Mass Effect Players' Personality and In-Game Choices. International Conference on Interactive Technologies and Games (ITAG).The Guardian - Learning morality through gaming

What makes a good relationship? Relationships lab director Dr Sarah Stanton gives us relationship advice based on the latest research.Sarah is a psychology lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and is the director of HARP Lab which looks at how close relationships affect our health and wellbeing. She is particularly interested in promoting positive relationship experiences and how these can benefit us in the short- and long-term.Related links: Sarah Stanton: https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/sarah-stantonHealth and Relationships Processes (HARP) Lab: https://www.sarahcestanton.com/StayGo App: https://staygoapp.com/The Science of Relationships: http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/

Is it ethical for robots to lie to us? Edinburgh philosopher Alistair Isaac thinks so! He argues that robots need to be able to lie to us in order to interact better with humans.Science communications student Alex Perry talks to Dr Alistair Isaac about his recent paper published in the book Robot Ethics 2.0.Related links:Alistair Isaac: https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/alistair-isaacGizmodo article - Why we'll eventually want our robots to deceive us:https://gizmodo.com/why-well-eventually-want-our-robots-to-deceive-us-1819114004

How do we work out, and act on, what matters to us?Rosa Hardt, a PhD student in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, explores how emotions influence our ability to make moral judgements and why storytelling is important for the judgements we make.Find out what made her pursue a PhD in philosophy and get introduced to philosophical concepts such as moral agency and mental time travel as we discuss her research.Related links:Rosa Hardt: http://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/rosa-hardt Storytelling agents: why narrative rather than mental time travel is fundamental.Hardt, R. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-017-9530-2

Dr Sarah MacPherson discusses frontal lobe functions in healthy, ageing and damaged brains, her main research interest.Sarah is a Senior Lecturer in Human Cognitive Neuroscience in the Psychology department of the University of Edinburgh.Last year she co-authored and published a book, The Handbook of Frontal Lobe Assessment, which discusses the importance of assessing patients using different types of frontal tests.

Maddie Long is a PhD student in Linguistics and English Language at the University of Edinburgh. She works with linguists and psychologists to explore questions at the intersection of cognitive ageing, second language acquisition and the pragmatics of human communication.Maddie is one of six finalists who compete in the UK final of the 3-Minute-Thesis competition on 12 September 2016.

Dementia: it’s difficult to think of a more pressing topic. But what do we really know about dementia and about the ways to prevent it?Dr Tom Russ tells us that people living in the north of the UK and Sweden are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop dementia.Why is this the case?Tom explains that we have some good candidates to explore in more detail.

Francesca Rossi talks to the philosophy lecturer Dr Aidan McGlynn about his paper 'How pornography works: Pornography as undermining propaganda and freedom of speech.'Disclaimer: Whilst not explicit, this podcast does deal with adult themes.

Dr Lauren Hall-Lew, a lecturer in sociolinguistics, talks about her research into tourist attitudes to Scottish accents.Lauren and her team hit the streets of Edinburgh during a recent Edinburgh Festival Fringe to quiz tourists about their attitudes to Scottish accents in different contexts.Can we think of accents as a commodity like shortbread or tartan? Does authenticity matters to tourists, even if it means they can’t understand what someone is saying?

Dr Caroline Watt introduces us to this fascinating area of research by using examples of research the unit carries out. From studies on the existence, or not, of extrasensory perception and psychokinesis (for example the ability to mentally communicate with others) to studies on precognitive dreaming (the idea that you can dream about future events), there is a lot to discover about what lies behind these experiences.2016 was the 30th Anniversary of the Koestler Parapsychology Unit. To celebrate, Dr Caroline Watt tells us more about what parapsychology really is, why it is important to carry out serious scientific research in this area and what lies behind unusual experiences.People believe in the paranormal much more than they admit. 50% of the population report paranormal beliefs and almost half of them think they have had paranormal experiences. But what does paranormal really mean? The question has no easy answer. “Parapsychology is in fact still an unusual area of research” - Caroline says - “with plenty of unanswered questions and experimentation still to be done”.Related links:Dr Caroline Watt: www.ed.ac.uk/profile/caroline-wattKoestler Parapsychology Unit: koestlerunit.wordpress.com/Online Parapsychology Course: koestlerunit.wordpress.com/online-course/