Neuroscience
According to last Wednesday's New York Times, NFL players might be able to choose jersey numbers beyond the numbering system devised in the 1970s. This requires, for example, that linebackers can have numbers in the 50s, and quarterbacks may select any number between 1-20.
This year, Reggie Bush, running back (destined for a number from 20-49), wants the numeral 5 as he starts his #1 draft pick career with the New Orleans Saints. This isn't new, as a few players in the past few years have questioned the system. John Branch's article talks about the details, and if you like football & numbers, you'll enjoy the article.
My questions are more of a cognitive nature. If a running back gets a quarterback's number (Kerry Collins, former NY Giants QB, wearing jersey #5, for instance), will the fans think he's a running back or a quarterback? The Stroop Effect suggests that if words are presented in colors that aren't the same (ie, the word "blue" in red letters), it will take a long time for you to realize that the color is red rather than blue. So, I predict that fans will be more likely to ... well, they'll be confused by someone wearing a number that's not "right."
This got me to thinking about how players choose numbers, which led me to think of synethesia, where people see letters as colors (a = red) or feelings as color (pain = orange) for example. Do (some) football players & other athletes "see" themselves as a certain color in the same way a synesthetes see colors when they hear vowels? Maybe Reggie Bush "sees" himself as number 5 and nothing else will do.
You can take the girl out of the Cog Sci department, but you can't take cognitive science out of the girl.
- What Your Choice Of Best Ever Footballer Says About Human Memory
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- Forget Stroop, Here's The Snarc
You’ve probably heard of the Stroop effect (if not, see here), now let me introduce you to the SNARC. The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect is the observation that people are faster to make a judgment about a number if the...
- Concussions
Not surprisingly, the spate of concussions on Sunday, Oct. 17 yielded a lot of discussion among newspapers, magazines, and the blogosphere on the safety of the game of football as it's currently played in the National Football League. Here are some...
- Test To Assess Concussion
The NewsHour reported on Nov. 26, 2007 about a test that measures cognitive impairment after concussion, and is more accurate than the more common "how do you feel" assessments that are done before sending athletes back onto the field following concussion....
- Very Tangential To Cs, But Interesting Nonetheless
The New York Times covers football -- but this year, they have three (3!) *women* covering the NFL. At least preseason. Haven't seen many men over there writing about football. See: Judy Battista, Karen Crause, and Lynn Zinser. Great to see that women...
Neuroscience
Synethesia, the Stroop Effect, and ... Football?
According to last Wednesday's New York Times, NFL players might be able to choose jersey numbers beyond the numbering system devised in the 1970s. This requires, for example, that linebackers can have numbers in the 50s, and quarterbacks may select any number between 1-20.
This year, Reggie Bush, running back (destined for a number from 20-49), wants the numeral 5 as he starts his #1 draft pick career with the New Orleans Saints. This isn't new, as a few players in the past few years have questioned the system. John Branch's article talks about the details, and if you like football & numbers, you'll enjoy the article.
My questions are more of a cognitive nature. If a running back gets a quarterback's number (Kerry Collins, former NY Giants QB, wearing jersey #5, for instance), will the fans think he's a running back or a quarterback? The Stroop Effect suggests that if words are presented in colors that aren't the same (ie, the word "blue" in red letters), it will take a long time for you to realize that the color is red rather than blue. So, I predict that fans will be more likely to ... well, they'll be confused by someone wearing a number that's not "right."
This got me to thinking about how players choose numbers, which led me to think of synethesia, where people see letters as colors (a = red) or feelings as color (pain = orange) for example. Do (some) football players & other athletes "see" themselves as a certain color in the same way a synesthetes see colors when they hear vowels? Maybe Reggie Bush "sees" himself as number 5 and nothing else will do.
You can take the girl out of the Cog Sci department, but you can't take cognitive science out of the girl.
- What Your Choice Of Best Ever Footballer Says About Human Memory
Cruijff - the best ever player?Ask a friend to name the best ever footballer and they're likely to pick someone who was mid-career when they (your friend) was aged around 17. That's according to a new investigation into the "reminiscence bump"....
- Forget Stroop, Here's The Snarc
You’ve probably heard of the Stroop effect (if not, see here), now let me introduce you to the SNARC. The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect is the observation that people are faster to make a judgment about a number if the...
- Concussions
Not surprisingly, the spate of concussions on Sunday, Oct. 17 yielded a lot of discussion among newspapers, magazines, and the blogosphere on the safety of the game of football as it's currently played in the National Football League. Here are some...
- Test To Assess Concussion
The NewsHour reported on Nov. 26, 2007 about a test that measures cognitive impairment after concussion, and is more accurate than the more common "how do you feel" assessments that are done before sending athletes back onto the field following concussion....
- Very Tangential To Cs, But Interesting Nonetheless
The New York Times covers football -- but this year, they have three (3!) *women* covering the NFL. At least preseason. Haven't seen many men over there writing about football. See: Judy Battista, Karen Crause, and Lynn Zinser. Great to see that women...