Brain Rules 4 Flashcards
Rule 10: Vision trumps all other senses All seeing eye Truman Show Triple distiller Pictures are worth a thousand thoughts
Vision is by far mots dominant sense, taking up half of brain’s resources
What we see is only what our brain tells us we see, it’s not 100% accurate
Visual analysis has many steps: Retina assembles protons into little movie-like streams of info. Visual cortex processes these streams (some areas registering motion, others color, etc.). Finally, information combined back together so we can see
We learn and remember best through pictures (images), not written or spoken words
Rule 11: Male and female brains are different They're complicated Mama's boy Different folks Lost in translation
Women are genetically more complex. Their active X chromosomes are mixture from mom and dad. Men’s X chromosomes all come from mom, Y chromosome carries less than 100 genes (1500 for X)
Men’s and women’s brains are different structurally and biochemically-men have bigger amygdala and produce serotonin faster, for example-but we don’t know if the differences are significant
Men and women respond differently to acute stress: Women active left hemisphere’s amygdala and remember emotional details. Men use right amygdala and get the gist
Rule 12: We are powerful and natural explorers Kindergarten scientist Warning Art by imitation Playdo
Babies are model of how we learn-not by passive reaction to environment but by active testing through observation, hypothesis, experiment and conclusion
Specific parts of brain allow this scientific approach. Right prefrontal cortex looks for errors in hypothesis (“Saber-toothed tiger is not harmless”), and an adjoining region tells us to change behavior (“RUN!”)
We can recognize and imitate behavior because of “mirror neurons” scattered across brain
Some parts of our adult brains stay as malleable as a baby’s: we can create neurons and learn new things throughout our lives
