done and done

This past Saturday, I officially graduated from the University of North Texas! It was a long, hard fight, but it has been pretty great to be finished.

I had a great party with my family this weekend and have moved on to figuring out what's next until I head off to Lake Buena Vista, FL for the Disney World College Program in late August. Gotta move out by the end of the month, so it's time to make some decisions!

Colored Thinking

Do colors make you think differently? I was reading up on Jonah Lehrer's blog and am just intrigued by this article:

http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/02/the_color_of_creativity.php

When we talk about design and branding, or the use of color in design and art, we rarely realize the actual effects. We assume that there are effects, because certain colors make us "feel" a certain way. But how much evidence do we have of all of that? Lehrer cites a study that has the evidence, or at least the beginnings of some. And I think his insight on having ideas in the shower is absurdly relevant to my current project-- and absolutely fascinating.

Gesturing Concepts

I ran across an interesting article from Yahoo news regarding the development of vocabulary in children, and how gesturing to them to illustrate concepts might be an indicator of a more sophisticated vocabulary comprehension as they begin to speak and read. It might be that they are able to create connections and form better understandings of words. Maybe the visual aspect of seeing the meaning of a word is a significant factor. Interesting!

http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/med_gesturing_toddlers.html

Anyone who's ever watched a tot perform the arms-raised "pick me up now" demand knows that youngsters figure out how to communicate well before they can talk. Gesturing also seems to be an important precursor to forming sentences, as children start combining one word plus a gesture for a second word.