Author Archives: Kevin Murnane

Unknown's avatar

About Kevin Murnane

I am a cognitive scientist, a freelance writer and author (Nutrition for Cyclists: Eating and Drinking Before, During and After the Ride), a musician (Parametric Monkey - stream on Spotify, Soundcloud and YouTube), a bookstore owner (Monkey Books - first edition mystery, science fiction, fantasy and more, listed on ABE books, Amazon and Biblio), and a retired house painter, children's theater actor & owner, and university professor. I'm also a regular contributor to the technology section at Forbes and I write a cycling blog called Tuned In To Cycling. You can follow me on twitter @TheInfoMonkey and contact me at murnane.kevin@gmail.com.

What Goes on in Your Head During Creative Musical Improvisation? Part 1

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

This is the first of a two-part article about goes on in your head when you’re improvising music. In this part we’ll look at what’s happening in the brain during creative musical improvisation. In the second part we’ll look at the conscious … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Neuroscience, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Bike Share Map

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

Originally posted on Tuned In To Cycling:
Over 700 cities around the world have implemented bike sharing systems that allow people to make use of public bikes for short trips within the city.  The motivation is to reduce air pollution, noise…

Posted in Information visualization | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How Much Snow Have You Had?

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

Boston has been buried in snow this winter as has much of New England. However, most of the rest of the United States has had less snow, and often much less snow, than normal. The map above compares an average winter’s snowfall with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Seasons, Weather | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Japanese Game Industry Today

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

  From the early 1980s to the early 2000s Japan was at the forefront of the gaming industry. Sony, Nintendo and Sega made the premier consoles. Nintendo dominated (and continues to dominate) the hand-held market. Japanese franchises like Final Fantasy, Super Mario, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaming | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Privacy in the Digital World of 2025

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

We live in a world where mega corporate entities require us to trade personal information in exchange for using the tools and toys they make available on the internet, where smaller companies surreptitiously mine everything about us they can from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Privacy, Technology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sources of Population Growth in the United States

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

In recent years the population of the United States has increased by approximately 0.7% each year.  Which areas of the United States experience this growth? Where does a local increase in population come from? Do the number of births outweigh the number of deaths? Do people move into the area? … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Information visualization | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Pink Floyd, NASA and the Dark Side of the Moon

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

Almost everyone has heard it but almost no one has seen it. Now you can do both. Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973. The album has since been re-released in a variety of formats, has sold … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Song Structure, Foo Fighters, and Parametric Monkey

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

I produce music under the name Parametric Monkey and a number of my tracks are structured so that the listener is taken to a different place at the end of the track than they were at the beginning. I often do … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Changing Musical Tastes

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

Paraphrasing the philosopher Immanuel Kant, good data without a good infographic is blind, a good infographic without good data is empty. The Music Timeline is a multi-layered, interactive infographic developed by Research at Google that is beautifully designed to illustrate the popularity of … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Information visualization, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Awesome Archery

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Kevin Murnane

    You thought Legolas was cool? Check out Lars Andersen. The video gives you the impression that archery as it is currently practiced in competitions and depicted in films and games is not anything like the way archery was practiced by … Continue reading →

Posted in Weapons | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment