UO E-clips, Jan. 29

Humans can only think about four things at once, study says (Informationweek.com): Many executives see themselves as prodigious multitaskers -- checking e-mail while simultaneously talking on the phone, eyeing stock quotes, and performing all sorts of other busywork. But they're probably doing a lousy job if they're trying to focus on more than four things at once, a recent study maintains. Researchers at the University of Oregon have concluded that the human brain has a built-in limit on the number of discrete thoughts it can entertain at one time. The limit for most individuals is four, according to the research team led by University of Oregon psychology professors Edward Awh and Edward Vogel.

UO gets legal Ducks in a row in Portland (The Oregonian): Twelve law students from the University of Oregon moved north from Eugene to Portland this semester to launch a new urban outpost of the state's only public law school. For the first time, the UO School of Law is offering four classes in Portland, allowing advanced students to live, work and study for a semester in the city where many hope to find jobs after graduation. The law school's new program is part of the university's plans to expand its Portland presence this year in the White Stag building downtown. The new Portland center opens this spring with more space for architecture, journalism and other programs that benefit from being close to the state's business and population hub.

Tool use is just a trick of the mind (Science Magazine): Don't take that hammer for granted. Using tools may seem like second nature, but only a few animals can master the coordination and mental sophistication required. So how did primates learn to use tools in the first place? A new study in monkeys suggests that the brain's trick is to treat tools as just another body part. Primates, with their four flexible fingers and opposable thumbs, have a highly evolved ability to grasp and manipulate objects. … Scott Frey, a neuroscientist at the University of Oregon, Eugene, says that in humans, this ability to represent tools in the brain, combined with a capacity for innovation, "was no doubt a fundamental step in the development of technology."

Linguists flock to special session (The Telegraph of India): Gauhati University’s department of linguistics, in association with the Research Centre of Linguistic Typology, La Trobe University, Australia, organised the third international conference of the North East Indian Linguistic Society at Don Bosco Institute at Joypur, Kharghuli from January 20 to 22. More than 40 participants including 15 linguists from the US, Norway, Germany, Japan and Australia, presented papers on different aspects of the northeastern languages such as Bishnupriya, Kamta, Rajbongshi, Proto-Bodo-Garo, Hajong, Tawang, Monpa, Manipuri, Purum, Mising, Tani, Pnar, Khasi, Chothe, Thangal Tangsa Naga, Deuri, Mishmi, Marma, Karbi, Nocte, Jingpo and Assamese. In a special session held on January 21, eminent Tibeto-Burman linguist Scott Delancey from the University of Oregon, and language expert Stephen Morey spoke about the urgent need for the description and documentation of the languages of the region.