Finally

Someone has finally developed an MP3 player that syncs music in time to your workout--in this case, the beating of your heart. I've long been of the opinion that matching up your running pace or other exercise routine with the pace of your music helps motivate you. One of my hare-brained schemes was to start a workout music consultancy with special mix tracks, complete with exhortations from the customer or Mr. T ("run, fool, run!").

Of course, the new Bodibeat does look a BIT like a horrific instrument of torture. But I'm sure it's not that bad once you insert the prongs and constrict the deathbelt around your face. Or whatever it is you're actually supposed to do.

Adam Smith and mind-reading brain cells

Once upon a a time, Adam Smith wrote a book called the Theory of Moral Sentiments in which he provided a two-step argument for the evolution of a moral society: 1) We can never really know what anyone else is thinking. 2) Thus, all of our moral sentiments and emotional interactions are second-hand, driven by the empathy and good opinion we imagine that we share with other people.

It just got more interesting. According to a tittilating expose in today's New York Times Science section, there is a whole set of neurons in our brains, "mirror neurons," that fire in the same way when we see someone else do something or when we do it ourselves. "Empathy" isn't just a fuzzy idea, it's a biochemical process that can be identical to a personal experience.

The news is thrilling not only to psychotherapists, but cultural theorists of all stripes. "The human brain has multiple mirror neuron systems that specialize in carrying out and understanding not just the actions of others but their intentions, the social meaning of their behavior and their emotions."

Culture is in our brains! Our brains! Cool.