May You Live in Interesting Times (UK)

The May You Live in Interesting Times Festival of Creative Technology is happening at Chapter in Cardiff (Wales) October 22-24, 2009. The Festival will look at ‘do-it-yourself’ through a range of commissions, projects, exhibitions, discussions and artist-led events across all art forms.

The three-day programme is a celebration of the latest intriguing uses of everyday technology and social innovation, enabled through shared ideas. It also includes Wales’ first ever “micro” Maker Faire.

Expect lots of events where people can share their thoughts and ideas, including asking participants to lead conversations on technology. Plus there will be a series of sandpits and workshops. Check out their Web site for more information.

They are looking for a few more tinkerers to share in the fun. If you’re interested, send a link to your website or url to your work, and no more than 250 words telling us what you would like to do at the Faire, to Hannah at [email protected]. Deadline for proposals: Friday 18 September at 5pm

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Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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