The dictionary definition of fun is something that provides mirth or amusement; enjoyment or playfulness. In my opinion the most important aspect of this is the enjoyment part. I believe that anything you enjoy doing can be considered fun. That being said, fun could be anything, however, the one thing that is the same between people is what goes on in the brain when experiencing this emotion. When in the process of completing an activity that we perceive as fun, neurons in the part of our brain called the prefrontal cortex experience electrical charges causing us to experience this emotion as charges are received, processed and re-transmitted through synapses . It isn't quite understood yet by scientists what causes the differentiation among emotions, since this same process happens for almost all of them. One thing scientists have been able to measure is the electrical activity in the brain through a device called an electroencephalograph. They have concluded that the brain can produce the same amount of power necessary to power a 60 watt light bulb.
QOTW 3/9-3/16 Why is the same activity fun for some but not for others?
According to Psychiatrist Karen Miller, the answer to this lies withing your genes and your upbringing. Your genetics determines two things; the types of serotonin and dopamine receptors in your brain, and personality traits such as intelligence, extroversion or introversion, and temperament. According to Lewis Goldberg the five types of personality traits are:
1) Openness to Experience: tendency to be imaginative, independent, or open to variety
2) Conscientiousness: tendency to be organized, careful, and disciplined
3) Extroversion: tendency to be sociable, fun-loving, and affectionate
4) Agreeableness: tendency to be softhearted, trusting, and helpful
5) Neuroticism: tendency to be calm, secure, and self-satisfied
The environment in which you grow up mainly determines self-concept, self directness, goals/interests, and self-transcendence.
QOTW 3/17-3/23 What is my most fun thing to do?
Although there are many possibilities of answers to this question, I believe that the one that ranks the highest because it is consistently the most fun; is spending time with the people I love in my life whether it's my family, my girlfriend, or my closest friends. I have found that any activity, no matter how boring it may seem, can instantly become more fun when I include these people especially my family and girlfriend. No matter how bad of a day I have had or whatever is going on in my life, these people can instantly make me feel better. I am so thankful and blessed to be in a family that genuinely loves one another and, considering how many of my friends don't have this, two parents that love each other and are happily married.
QOTW 3/24-3/30 Is there a correlation between scary and fun in the brain?
As I mentioned in the question from two weeks ago, there are two main chemicals in the brain that control this. Dopamine is released by the mesolimbic dopamine pathway which is basically the pleasure center of the brain. When dopamine is released it creates strong positive feelings causing and individual to feel rewarded and reinforce whatever activity initiated the release of dopamine. The amygdala releases seratonin which causes strong negative feelings and thus when this part of the brain is active we perceive the activity that initiated this response as scary or stressful. These chemicals bind to nerve cells in the brain and the signals called synapses are what causes these feeling. The receptors on the cells that receive these chemicals are determined by genetics. Therefore, your genes determine what activities you perceive as fun or not based on what receptors the nerve cells in your brain have. So yes there is a correlation between scary and fun in the brain.
QOTW 3/31-4/6 What is the world's most popular fun activity?
I couldn't find the answer to this question and I imagine that is because it is almost impossible to calculate and collect data on. Therefore, I focused on as aspect that I was able to find information on. I was able to find an article by Kirk Kunad that lists the top ten most popular sports in the world. In order they are;
- Futbol (Soccer)
- Tennis
- Cricket
- Baseball
- Table Tennis
- Basketball
- Hockey
- Golf
- Rugby
- Volleyball
QOTW 4/7- 4/13 How do you make a time capsule?
I watched a Howcast video on Youtube that describes things that you may not think about but will really help to make a time capsule better.
Things to Remember:
- Get fresh packs from beef jerkey packages to control moisture
- information from current events ie newspaper clippings or photos
- information from every day life
- mark the tree that you are burying it next to with a plaque
- register it with the international time capsule society
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