GMU:Different Worlds/Paul Alexander Mundus: Difference between revisions

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Exactly the same development I saw with my friend who was also a little bit deterred by Physarum at the beginning, but obviously got closer and closer. So she started to send photos and to look after him.

This observation gave me the idea that at first we associate Physarum in our mind with negative terms and images, but with the time we took care of him, the emotional attachment and thus the appreciation towards an organism increased''.

'''== Why Physarum? =='''

Why do I work with Physarum polycephalum and not with another slime mold or a mushroom in general?

My thesis: "People form an emotional bond with Physarum because it is intelligent" may be true, but it is certainly not the only characteristic.

So it is necessary to find a discriminating characteristic.

It seems rather unlikely that there is only one discriminating characteristic. I rather assume that the common occurrence of characteristics leads to an emotional bond.

''To the intelligence:''

First the question arises, how intelligence can be understood in connection with a slime mold. According to Prof. Döbereiner of the University in Bremen, intelligence should be expanded and understood as the ability to solve complex problems.

Physarum is not the only slime mold that is intelligent, there are numerous other slime molds that are considered intelligent, here is a list:

Google spits out when searching for "Intelligent Fungi" [Yes I know Physarum is not a fungus, I was just looking for other fungi species that could be Intelligent]. For the most part, Physarum out.

It seems that this slime mold is a prototype of intelligent slime molds.

In my opinion, intelligence is a characteristic that definitely strengthens the emotional bond with Physarum. However, since other slime molds are also "intelligent", intelligence cannot be the only reason. [What constitutes intelligence?]

''Color:''

In our conversation with Miga, we were thinking about color. Basically, any kind of happening that stands out from the everyday world stays more in our memory and leaves a stronger impression.

Ex:]

If I see a clown on the street on a unicycle juggling, then this probably remains in our memory for a very long time.

[

If you look for other slime molds, or mushrooms in general, you will notice that most of them have a less conspicuous color. I believe that the color of the slime mold definitely has an influence on the bond formation.

''Behavior:''

The intelligence shows itself above all in the obvious behavior. The slime mold reacts to stimuli from the outside. Other slime molds also show this behavior, but Physarum shows this change relatively quickly.

''Food:''

Another aspect is food. Physarum can feed on many things, here is a listing:

Oatmeal is often given with the meal. Sharing basically the same food with Physarum also has an influence on the formation of the bond, in my opinion.

== '''How is the emotional bond measured?''' ==

The topic of the project deals with the emotional bond between an organism and a human being. Therefore it is important to measure this bond.

Now the question arises how emotions can be measured. I have read up a bit on the theory of testing and came up with the following possibilities:

One possibility would be the measurement with the help of magnetic resonance imaging. With these the activation of different emotional networks in the brain can be measured.

Of course, I do not have the necessary tools for such tests.

Another possibility would be the measurement by measuring facial expressions, but this is also not possible, because I am not with the persons the whole time.

Another possibility would be questionnaires. Questionnaires bring some problems with them. They easily lead to bias and require a certain amount of introspection.

With this type of quantitative method, the empirical data will obviously not be significant, but that is not too bad for this context.

The type of scale I use is a Likert scale with pairs of opposites. However, I will combine this method with a qualitative interview to gain even deeper insights.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Exactly the same development I saw with my friend who was also a little bit deterred by Physarum at the beginning, but obviously got closer and closer. So she started to send photos and to look after him.
 This observation gave me the idea that at first we associate Physarum in our mind with negative terms and images, but with the time we took care of him, the emotional attachment and thus the appreciation towards an organism increased''.
+'''== Why Physarum? =='''
+Why do I work with Physarum polycephalum and not with another slime mold or a mushroom in general?
+My thesis: "People form an emotional bond with Physarum because it is intelligent" may be true, but it is certainly not the only characteristic.
+So it is necessary to find a discriminating characteristic.
+It seems rather unlikely that there is only one discriminating characteristic. I rather assume that the common occurrence of characteristics leads to an emotional bond.
+''To the intelligence:''
+First the question arises, how intelligence can be understood in connection with a slime mold. According to Prof. Döbereiner of the University in Bremen, intelligence should be expanded and understood as the ability to solve complex problems.
+Physarum is not the only slime mold that is intelligent, there are numerous other slime molds that are considered intelligent, here is a list:
+Google spits out when searching for "Intelligent Fungi" [Yes I know Physarum is not a fungus, I was just looking for other fungi species that could be Intelligent]. For the most part, Physarum out.
+It seems that this slime mold is a prototype of intelligent slime molds.
+In my opinion, intelligence is a characteristic that definitely strengthens the emotional bond with Physarum. However, since other slime molds are also "intelligent", intelligence cannot be the only reason. [What constitutes intelligence?]
+''Color:''
+In our conversation with Miga, we were thinking about color. Basically, any kind of happening that stands out from the everyday world stays more in our memory and leaves a stronger impression.
+Ex:]
+If I see a clown on the street on a unicycle juggling, then this probably remains in our memory for a very long time.
+[
+If you look for other slime molds, or mushrooms in general, you will notice that most of them have a less conspicuous color. I believe that the color of the slime mold definitely has an influence on the bond formation.
+''Behavior:''
+The intelligence shows itself above all in the obvious behavior. The slime mold reacts to stimuli from the outside. Other slime molds also show this behavior, but Physarum shows this change relatively quickly.
+''Food:''
+Another aspect is food. Physarum can feed on many things, here is a listing:
+Oatmeal is often given with the meal. Sharing basically the same food with Physarum also has an influence on the formation of the bond, in my opinion.
+== '''How is the emotional bond measured?''' ==
+The topic of the project deals with the emotional bond between an organism and a human being. Therefore it is important to measure this bond.
+Now the question arises how emotions can be measured. I have read up a bit on the theory of testing and came up with the following possibilities:
+One possibility would be the measurement with the help of magnetic resonance imaging. With these the activation of different emotional networks in the brain can be measured.
+Of course, I do not have the necessary tools for such tests.
+Another possibility would be the measurement by measuring facial expressions, but this is also not possible, because I am not with the persons the whole time.
+Another possibility would be questionnaires. Questionnaires bring some problems with them. They easily lead to bias and require a certain amount of introspection.
+With this type of quantitative method, the empirical data will obviously not be significant, but that is not too bad for this context.
+The type of scale I use is a Likert scale with pairs of opposites. However, I will combine this method with a qualitative interview to gain even deeper insights.