Man as Industrial Palace: Famous 1926 Lithograph Brought to Life

In 1926, Fritz Kahn, a German gynecologist and anatomy textbook author, produced a lithograph called Der Mensch als Industriepalast (Man as Industrial Palace) that depicted the human body as a factory (see here), a chemical plant of sorts.

Kahn’s body came complete with mechanical lungs, a rock-sorting stomach, gears for a throat, and a switchboard for a brain, and it illustrated rather metaphorically the degree to which industrialization had taken over Western life, creating deep anxiety for some and curiosity for others.

More than eighty years later, Henning Lederer, a German artist, has brought Kahn’s mechanical body to life with some gifted animation. This dynamic version is currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of the “Health for Sale” exhibition.

To learn more about Lederer’s project, you will want to spend more time on IndustriePalast.com and particularly with this helpful PDF. Other animation by Lederer appears on Vimeo. Many thanks to Elliot for sending this along.

The Body Language of Liars

"Detecting deception is really about looking for discomfort at three critical junctures in an inquiry.

• The first is when the person first hears the question and how they respond to hearing that question (is there comfort or discomfort). 
• The second part has to do with how they process that information, how long they take to answer it, and how troubled they are to think about the answer. 
• The third phase has to do with how they answer the question; are there speech errors, hesitation, vocal inflections indicative of distress, discomfort displays or lack of emphasis. 

In all three of these critical phases, depending how well the question is formulated and asked, we have an opportunity to assess for comfort and discomfort."

"Having laid this information out, I would caution that the best we can say, unless we actually know the truth, is this: if the person did poorly in all three areas (hearing, processing, and answering the question), there are likely issues there that need to be explored because their behavior, lacking so much discomfort, is suggestive, but not conclusive of deception.

I would be reluctant to call someone a liar merely because they respond poorly in all three areas, but I would certainly pursue the topic further to see what caused this behaviour."

These are the words of Joe Navarro, a former FBI Counterintelligence Agent and the author of a fascinating book; "What Every Body is Saying."

For additional articles, look on his web site; www.jnforensics.com or follow him on Twitter: @navarrotells @navarrotells

Isopraxism: Body language makes a world of difference

Isopraxism is an anthropological explanation of how we pull toward the same energy. It is referred to in explaining why, when the person we're with steps off the curb, we follow him or her by crossing the road; or why at the dance, nobody wants to go on the dance floor when there's nobody out there, but as soon as it gets crowded everybody wants to go.

In team sports it explains how if one person gets discouraged, especially the leader, the entire group is immediately affected. In fact, the research says the more powerful the person is, in terms of status and admiration, the faster their mood and demeanour transfers to the rest of the group. This can be done equally quickly by their body language, in a non-verbal fashion.

Read more:

Body Language of the Hands

“Among all species, our human hands are unique -- not only in what they can accomplish, but also in how they communicate. Human hands can paint the Sistine Chapel, pluck a guitar, maneuvre surgical instruments, chisel a David, forge steel, and write poetry. They can grasp, scratch, poke, punch, feel, sense, evaluate, hold and mold the world around us.

Our hands are extremely expressive; they can sign for the deaf, help tell a story, or reveal our innermost thoughts.” (“What Every Body is Saying,” Harper Collins) No other species has appendages with such a remarkable range of capabilities. And yet if you asked most people about the nonverbals (body language) of the hands, they would be hard pressed to tell you all the things the hands reveal.

Despite the acquisition of spoken language over millions of years of human evolution, our brains are still hard-wired to engage our hands in accurately communicating our emotions, thoughts, and sentiments (“The Psychology of Nonverbal Communications,” Kindle Edition).

Therefore, whether people are speaking or not, hand gestures merit our attention as a rich source of nonverbal behavior to help us understand the thoughts and feelings of others.

It is interesting that our brain gives a disproportionate amount of attention to the fingers, and hands, as compared to the rest of the body. This could be in part because our first touch is with our hands and we seek the hands of our parents for safety or it is because the human hand can hold a weapon. For whatever the reason, we tend to focus on the hands and are mesmerized by them. Hitler used them to his advantage, as do magicians, orchestra conductors, and surgeons.

Our human need to see hands is so important you can try a simple experiment. Without revealing your intentions, hide your hands during a conversation, for the complete duration of the conversation. At the end of the conversation, ask the participants what they thought and what they felt as you conversed with them. You will find that people will sense something is wrong. In my work with mock juries, we found that attorneys, or for that matter witnesses, that hide their hands are perceived as less open and less honest by the jurors.

For more information read the full article here Body Language of the Hands

Movement to Action: A Nonverbal

We often think about nonverbal communications as only encompassing body language, but that is a very narrow view. In fact, anything that communicates, which sends a message that is not a word, however slight or nuanced, is a “nonverbal” message.

We are bombarded by images (subtle and not so subtle) all day long and they influence how we behave and our perceptions. A politician taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves sends a message: “I am like you and I will work for you.” That’s why we see those images every election year.

Similarly a Mont Blanc pen or Patek Philippe watch communicate something in their own right about their owners. You can decide whether it is a good thing or not.

A well lit gas station, research shows, encourages you to refill there because it appears more secure. The clean and orderly façade of the local bank attracts you to leave your money in a place worthy of your hard work. In both instances billions of dollars are affected by the “curb side appeal” (nonverbal message) of the business.

One of the things that communicates effectively how we feel about others is what I refer to as “movement to action.” A baby, within days, begins to notice movement in her environment, especially from her mother and caregivers. She responds not just to the movement but also to movement which acts in her behalf such as feeding.

Very quickly the baby learns to differentiate between mere movement and movement to action which satisfies her needs and visibly puts a smile on her face. As we get older our yearning for movement to action increases as we seek a treat or a toy, or any number of things to meet our expectations or gratification.

Movement to action is a nonverbal communication that sends a powerful message, in the same way that a mother running to greet a child with open arms sends a powerful message.

It is a physical act which says I care, and is in the interest of others and seeks to benefit them first and foremost.

When bank managers or account managers, for example, get up and move to greet old and new customers, those customers rate their experiences significantly higher than if they are merely met by someone behind a counter.

In my studies, I found that where clients were greeted by a receptionist who stood to greet them, rather than just sitting behind the desk, this had lasting positive effects in how those clients felt that day and several days later.

It makes sense, we feel special when people move to action on our behalf and it makes us feel appreciated. The renowned Ritz-Carlton hospiatlity leadership training course emphasises taking action as soon as possible.

For more information read the full article here Movement to Action: A Nonverbal

The Body Language of the Eyes

The Body Language of the Eyes

Our eyes also are formidable communicators of feelings including comfort and discomfort, which help us decipher others from a very tender age.

The eyes reveal excitement at mom walking into the room but also reveal concern when we are troubled. Often what is not spoken out loud is expressed exquisitely in the eyes.

While a mother’s eyes will reflect the hopelessness she may feel when her baby is hospitalized they conversely reveal the joy having found that the child is healthy and fine.

Few things reflect our emotions as well or as rapidly as the eyes. Babies which are just several days old already respond to the eyes of the mother and can tell the difference between a squint and wide opened dilated eyes.

Babies can tell the difference between a happy and contented mother and one who is stressed, just form looking at the yes.

The eyes serve as conduits of information we have relied on for thousands of years. We rely on them because of their accuracy.

The man who is asked to help someone move house will cover his eyes with his fingers rubbing them as he answers, “yes I will help you,” when no doubt this will be an inconvenience. This blocking behaviour authentically reveals how he really feels, even though he will assist.

To read the full article from Psychology Today click here