Right Brain, Left Brain? Scientists Debunk Popular Theory Maybe you're "right-brained": creative, artistic, an open-minded thinker who perceives things in subjective terms. Or perhaps you're more of a "left-brained" person, where you're analytical, good at tasks that require attention to detail, and more logically minded. It turns out, though, that this idea of "brained-ness" might be more of a figure of speech than anything, as researchers have found that these personality traits may not have anything to do with which side of the brain you use more. Researchers from the University of Utah found with brain imaging that people don't use the right sides of their brains any more than the left sides of their brains, or vice versa. "It's absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain. Anderson and his colleagues, who published their new study in the journal PLOS ONE, looked at brain scans from 1,011 people between ages 7 and 29.
How To Boost Brain Power and Memory Until just a few years ago, doctors believed that the brain stopped making new neural connections - meaning that the memory began to get irreversibly worse - when the body stopped developing, usually in the early 20s. And doctors knew that, like any other part of the body, neurons weaken as people age. Loss of brain function due to neural breakdown was assumed to be a normal, unavoidable part of aging. It turns out they were wrong. In the past few years, it has become clear that you can, in fact, make new neurons starting in your 20s and continuing well into old age. You can literally rewire the brain with new parts as the older parts wear out. There are lots of things you can do right now to preserve, protect and enhance your gray matter. 1Physical exercise A healthy body really does mean a healthy mind. Physical exercise may even help prevent Alzheimer's disease. 2Lifelong learning - your brain is a learning machine How can you challenge yourself? 3Mental stimulation 5Sleep & Nap
Anthropology Anthropology /ænθrɵˈpɒlədʒi/ is the study of humankind, past and present,[1][2] that draws and builds upon knowledge from social and biological sciences, as well as the humanities and the natural sciences.[3][4] Since the work of Franz Boas and Bronisław Malinowski in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, anthropology in Great Britain and the US has been distinguished from ethnology[5] and from other social sciences by its emphasis on cross-cultural comparisons, long-term in-depth examination of context, and the importance it places on participant-observation or experiential immersion in the area of research. In those European countries that did not have overseas colonies, where ethnology (a term coined and defined by Adam F. Origin of the term[edit] The term anthropology originates from the Greek anthrōpos (ἄνθρωπος), "human being" (understood to mean humankind or humanity), and -λογία -logia, "study." Fields[edit] According to Clifford Geertz, Sociocultural[edit] Biological[edit]
Force of habit: Stress hormones switch off areas of the brain for goal-directed behaviour Cognition psychologists at the Ruhr-Universität together with colleagues from the University Hospital Bergmannsheil (Prof. Dr. Martin Tegenthoff) have discovered why stressed persons are more likely to lapse back into habits than to behave goal-directed. The team of PD Dr. Two stress hormones in use In order to test the different stress hormones, the cognition psychologists used three substances – a placebo, the stress hormone hydrocortisone and yohimbine, which ensures that the stress hormone noradrenaline stays active longer. Goal-directed behaviour and habits investigated in the experiment In the experiment, all participants – both male and female – learned that they would receive cocoa or orange juice as a reward if they chose certain symbols on the computer. Combined effect of yohimbine and hydrocortisone As expected, volunteers who took yohimbine and hydrocortisone did not behave goal-directed but according to habit.
Kinesthetic learning Kinesthetic learning (also known as Tactile learning) is a learning style in which learning takes place by the student carrying out a physical activity, rather than listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration. People with a preference for kinesthetic learning are also commonly known as "do-ers". Tactile-kinesthetic learners make up about five percent of the population.[1] The Fleming VAK/VARK model (one of the most common and widely used categorizations of the various types of learning styles)[2] categorized learning styles as follows: History[edit] Kinesthetic intelligence was originally coupled with tactile abilities, and was defined and discussed in Howard Gardner's Frames Of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In his book, Gardner describes activities (such as dancing and performing surgery) as requiring great kinesthetic intelligence: using the body to create (or do) something. Characteristics[edit] Classification[edit] Lack of evidence[edit] References[edit]
Educational psychology Educational psychology is the study of human learning. The study of learning processes, both cognitive and affective, allows researchers to understand individual differences in behavior, personality, intellect, and self- concept. The field of educational psychology heavily relies on testing, measurement, assessment, evaluation, and training to enhance educational activities and learning processes.[1] This can involve studying instructional processes within the classroom setting. Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. The field of educational psychology involves the study of memory, conceptual processes, and individual differences (via cognitive psychology) in conceptualizing new strategies for learning processes in humans. History[edit] Early years[edit] Plato and Aristotle[edit]
20 Amazing Facts About Your Brain The human brain is amazing and the more I read about it the more fascinated I become with not only it’s limitations, but also it’s immense power. Since I originally wrote the post 30 Amazing Facts About Your Brain I have been on the look out for more amazing tidbits. Here are another 20 for you to wrap your head round, but don’t make the mistake of thinking they don’t apply to you, because they do. 1. However, if you were to pull yours out and stretch out all the folds it would be over 3 feet square. Meet My Wife, Mrs Brownson-Brownson 2. Your brain just loves continuity and it loves familiarity, so even though you may consciously think your partners name had zero to do with you falling in love and it was really their perfectly formed personality, you’d be wrong. 3. Mmmm, Chocolate Cake 4. That’s why the old fashioned sweet trolleys really do generate more sales and top restaurants know this. 5. 6. 7. And The Winner is…….Roland The Rat 8. 9. Read This Blog More 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.
Eidetic memory -photographic memory Overview[edit] The ability to recall images in great detail for several minutes is found in early childhood (between 2% and 10% of that age group) and is unconnected with the person's intelligence level.[citation needed] Like other memories, they are often subject to unintended alterations. Persons identified as having a related condition known as Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)[1] are able to remember very intricate details of their own personal life, but this ability seems not to extend to other, non-autobiographical information. Skeptical views[edit] The American cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky, in his book The Society of Mind (1988), considered reports of eidetic memory to be an "unfounded myth".[5] Notable claims[edit] Prodigious savants[edit] Stephen Wiltshire, MBE, a prodigious savant.[10] He is capable of drawing the entire skyline of a city after a helicopter ride.[11]Daniel Tammet, holder of the European record for reciting Pi to 22,514 digits.[12] See also[edit]
Computer science Computer science deals with the theoretical foundations of information and computation, together with practical techniques for the implementation and application of these foundations History[edit] The earliest foundations of what would become computer science predate the invention of the modern digital computer. Blaise Pascal designed and constructed the first working mechanical calculator, Pascal's calculator, in 1642.[3] In 1673 Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated a digital mechanical calculator, called the 'Stepped Reckoner'.[4] He may be considered the first computer scientist and information theorist, for, among other reasons, documenting the binary number system. Although many initially believed it was impossible that computers themselves could actually be a scientific field of study, in the late fifties it gradually became accepted among the greater academic population.[15][16] It is the now well-known IBM brand that formed part of the computer science revolution during this time. Misc
30 Amazing Facts About Your Brain Get The New Ebook ’70 Amazing Facts About Your Brain’ now if you sign up for my newsletter you will get a PDF version of the book along with 3 other books on goal setting, motivational quotes and dealing with stress. If you’d like a copy of the Kindle version, that is only available through Amazon here and it’s priced at a very affordable $2.99 Useful Self Development Brain Stuff 1. You have a finite amount of will power each day because to exercise will power you need energy in the form of oxygen and glucose That’s why it’s harder to say ‘no’ when you are tired or not feeling yourself. 2. 3. So make sure you don’t think, “Why do I suck?” 4. That’s why even left-brained people can have times of the day when they are more creative and right-brained people can sometimes get their taxes in order. Note: If you want to know how you can tell which side is dominant at any one time, check out Creativity – Guaranteed and you can then plan your time accordingly. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Brain Trivia 12.
Neuroscience, free will and determinism: 'I'm just a machine' What does this mean in terms of free will? "We don't have free will, in the spiritual sense. What you're seeing is the last output stage of a machine. The conclusions are shocking: if we are part of the universe, and obey its laws, it's hard to see where free will comes into it. "If you see a light go green, it may mean press the accelerator; but there are lots of situations where it doesn't mean that: if the car in front hasn't moved, for example. Slowly, however, we are learning more about the details of that complexity. "What happens if someone commits a crime, and it turns out that there's a lesion in that brain area? This runs shockingly contrary to the sense of freedom that we feel in terms of controlling our actions, on which we base our whole sense of self and system of morality. "It's a rule that we need to have as social animals. Maybe, I suggest, we've over-defined free will. "Yes, interacting intelligently with your environment might be enough. Prof Haggard is dismissive.
Cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the mind and its processes.[1] It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on intelligence and behavior, especially focusing on how information is represented, processed, and transformed (in faculties such as perception, language, memory, reasoning, and emotion) within nervous systems (human or other animal) and machines (e.g. computers). Cognitive science consists of multiple research disciplines, including psychology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, neuroscience, linguistics, and anthropology.[2] It spans many levels of analysis, from low-level learning and decision mechanisms to high-level logic and planning; from neural circuitry to modular brain organization. The fundamental concept of cognitive science is "that thinking can best be understood in terms of representational structures in the mind and computational procedures that operate on those structures Principles[edit] "...