The Archers of Bhutan (Documentary)

Cool film for a Saturday morning.

Enjoy!

The Archers of Bhutan

Released in 2011



Few places on Earth share the beauty and isolation of Bhutan, an autonomous kingdom in the Himalayan Mountains. The eerie spectacle of an almost mystical landscape serves as the lush backdrop for a film detailing fierce competition. Here archery is the nation's game, steeped in honor and meaning, and considered very much an intellectual pursuit.

Entire villages turn out in the small South Asian country for a pastime celebrated there like nowhere else in the world. "The Archers of Bhutan" explores the deep-seeded cultural and historical importance the sport has achieved in that tiny nation, and the ironic and repeated Olympic disappointments it has suffered. For centuries, disputes in Bhutan have been resolved by way of bow and arrow. Like knives or even firearms in other lands, the significance of the weapon became deeply intertwined with identity, respect and pride. It also developed into a social structure of sorts, a ritual around which much of life in Bhutan is centered.

It's that tight focus the filmmakers are most intrigued by, one which has transformed archery for the Bhutanese people beyond just simple competition and into almost a national obsession. Yet despite an unparalleled enthusiasm for the sport, the country has never once even medaled in the Olympics. In fact, until 2012, Bhutan had only ever competed in Olympic Games in that one sport, though national variations to the matches and a seemingly unsporting attitude toward competitors has hampered their odds of success.

The film highlights how distraction is a choice strategy among Bhutan's competitors, continually hurling insults at opposing teams during matches, and making every physical and verbal attempt to throw players off their aim. This approach, though longstanding back home, has not always endeared Bhutan's Olympic archers to their international competitors. Much of the film follows a breakout star in the sport, a female archer who ultimately would become the first woman to represent Bhutan at the Olympics. Her intense devotion to training offers a captivating look at competition, self worth and dignity in the face of defeat.

Continually the film brings its narrative back to how profoundly connected the sport remains to the daily and weekly rituals of the country's proud people. Immense festivities surround the start of competitions, accented by fire, dance and a celebratory meal before even the first arrow is launched. Serving just as effectively as almost a travel documentary, "The Archers of Bhutan" guides a scenic tour through a land shrouded in misty mountaintops, deep heritage and an insatiable hunger for victory.

Watch the full documentary now

In 2009 researchers at Simon Fraser University discovered a system in the brain that helps us ignore irrelevant information - "the specific neural index of suppression". Now their research suggests that the problem in disorders such as ADHD is that the "filter" or "anti-distraction system" is not functioning optimally due to either environmental factors (my pick) and/or genetic factors.

For the sake of argument (in favor of the environmental piece), let's look at what we are doing to our children. Here is an image I found online within seconds.

This kid has more toys hanging from his stroller than s/he can possibly focus on.

Or check out this car seat thing for kids - what ever happened to staring out the window and daydreaming?

All the color and movement are training the kid's very neuroplastic brain NOT to focus on one thing at a time. By the time s/he is three or four, the kid will be walking around with a handheld game with lots of color, flashing images, and sounds. This does not even include television.

We are shaping the brains of our children to be ADHD brains. Too much stimulation is as bad for children as too little, but in different ways.

ADHD: Scientists Discover Brain's Anti-Distraction System

Date: April 18, 2014
Source: Simon Fraser University

Summary:
Psychologists have made a brain-related discovery that could revolutionize doctors' perception and treatment of attention-deficit disorders. This discovery opens up the possibility that environmental and/or genetic factors may hinder or suppress a specific brain activity that the researchers have identified as helping us prevent distraction.

Psychologists have made a brain-related discovery that could revolutionize doctors' perception and treatment of attention-deficit disorders. Credit: © Feng Yu / Fotolia

Two Simon Fraser University psychologists have made a brain-related discovery that could revolutionize doctors' perception and treatment of attention-deficit disorders.

This discovery opens up the possibility that environmental and/or genetic factors may hinder or suppress a specific brain activity that the researchers have identified as helping us prevent distraction.

The Journal of Neuroscience has just published a paper about the discovery by John McDonald, an associate professor of psychology and his doctoral student John Gaspar, who made the discovery during his master's thesis research.

This is the first study to reveal our brains rely on an active suppression mechanism to avoid being distracted by salient irrelevant information when we want to focus on a particular item or task.

McDonald, a Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, and other scientists first discovered the existence of the specific neural index of suppression in his lab in 2009. But, until now, little was known about how it helps us ignore visual distractions.

"This is an important discovery for neuroscientists and psychologists because most contemporary ideas of attention highlight brain processes that are involved in picking out relevant objects from the visual field. It's like finding Waldo in a Where's Waldo illustration," says Gaspar, the study's lead author.

"Our results show clearly that this is only one part of the equation and that active suppression of the irrelevant objects is another important part."

Given the proliferation of distracting consumer devices in our technology-driven, fast-paced society, the psychologists say their discovery could help scientists and health care professionals better treat individuals with distraction-related attentional deficits.

"Distraction is a leading cause of injury and death in driving and other high-stakes environments," notes McDonald, the study's senior author. "There are individual differences in the ability to deal with distraction. New electronic products are designed to grab attention. Suppressing such signals takes effort, and sometimes people can't seem to do it.

"Moreover, disorders associated with attention deficits, such as ADHD and schizophrenia, may turn out to be due to difficulties in suppressing irrelevant objects rather than difficulty selecting relevant ones."

The researchers are now turning their attention to understanding how we deal with distraction. They're looking at when and why we can't suppress potentially distracting objects, whether some of us are better at doing so and why that is the case.

"There's evidence that attentional abilities decline with age and that women are better than men at certain visual attentional tasks," says Gaspar, the study's first author.

The study was based on three experiments in which 47 students performed an attention-demanding visual search task. Their mean age was 21. The researchers studied their neural processes related to attention, distraction and suppression by recording electrical brain signals from sensors embedded in a cap they wore.

Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Simon Fraser University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:
J. M. Gaspar, J. J. McDonald. (2014). Suppression of Salient Objects Prevents Distraction in Visual Search. Journal of Neuroscience; 34 (16): 5658 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4161-13.2014