‘Science of Compassion’ conference in Telluride delves into deepest mysteries, debunks them

Here’s a story that made the rounds at a scientific conference this weekend: Researchers interested in the effects of mediation on the brain recruited Buddhist monks for a study. When they started attaching electrodes to the monks’ heads, the monks started laughing. Why, the scientists asked, were the monks laughing? The researchers were attaching wires to the wrong part of the body, the monks said. They ought to place the wires over their hearts.