A ray directly from “Delhi University”

A series of ‘bizarre delusions’ from patients diagnosed with schizophrenia described in a new paper just published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine:

“Some rays are there in me, which create magnetic field and I have the power to affect TV signals. Body is producing charge; whenever I touch anything I get electric current. Some heavenly body comes and makes me powerful and communicates with me.”

“My hands are changed into cat’s paws.”

“I have some special power, if I call the Sun then it will come to me, whenever I look at the Sun, it smiles back at me.”

“My rib-cage is left behind in the bathroom; while I was bathing it got washed away.”

“The heart is moving round the clock in different areas of the trunk.”

“A ray directly from “Delhi University (DU)” used to teach me the engineering course.”

Delusions are one of the central symptoms of psychosis and despite the fact that they can be both distressing and disabling, are often quite amazing in their complexity and content.

Link to article from Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine.

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Report from TED University Session 3

At the final session of TED University, we learned how to draw mindmaps, predicted a future in which buildings are self-assembling, and heard a touching story about a passenger’s life after the Hudson River plane crash. Here were some of the highlights:

Bill Gates talks about state budgets, corrupt processes, and what this means for our schools. Watch his talk here.

TreeHugger founder Graham Hill reflects on the joys of less and letting go of the extraneous: http://lifeedited.treehugger.com/

Google engineer Matt Cutts challenges us to do something new for 30 days, like biking to work or giving up sugar.

AnnMarie Thomas transforms science class by building kid-friendly circuit boards out of – yep, that’s right – play dough. Learn more about this project at http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/apthomas/.

Photos: TED / James Duncan Davidson

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Report from TED University Session 1

At TED University Session 1, we learned about modernist cooking … saw a flower unfold in sped-up time … met a woman who grows her own clothes … and heard one of the most exquisite musical instruments ever made. A few highlights from this session:

Cellist Joshua Roman, a TED Fellow, played his (borrowed) Stradivarius.

Nathan Myhrvold’s new cookbook Modernist Cuisine cuts food, pots, pans, even ovens in half to explain the science behind cooking. Here he’s explaining how he and his team got this shot of the inside of a pot of noodles.

TED Fellow Suzanne Lee, a fashion designer, describes the process of growing your own completely organic fabric. Including the jacket she’s wearing onstage.

Joe Crump from Razorfish studied digital development in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro — where, he says, the digital divide is dead: in Brazil, 9 out of 10 PCs are bought by the emerging class, many who live in the favelas themselves.

All photos: TED / James Duncan Davidson

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