The secret life of the mind - book overview

An interesting read, picked up at the local library. The secret life of the mind - how the brain thinks, feels, and decides by Mariano Sigman. Published in 2015 and translated into English in 2017 by Little, Brown and Co. Sigman is an Argentinian physicist, see here for Ted Talk,  and here for youtube video, summarising some of the items in the book. 

A short introduction is followed by 6 chapters. 7 pages of references and comprehensive index.

 The book begins with ‘Origins of thought’ which summarises the developmental aspects of neurobiology. The sub-title of the chapter is how babies think and communicate and how can we understand them better?’ In short, we are wired to learn, some of the ways we conceptualise the world are innate, but social conditioning and experiences provide large contributions. Of note is the explanation of Piaget’s object permanence in 10 month old babies. They can see that an object has been shifted from under or behind a barrier, but still point to the original location. This is not because they have not conceptualised that the object has shifted, but because they are unable to override the stronger message they are getting from the brain, to indicate their true answer.

The fuzzy borders of identity – what defines our choices and allows us to trust other people and your own decisions? – An overview of the principles of neuro-economics. Basically, our decisions are governed by our unconscious which in turn is ‘trained’ by our personality and predilections. How we make decisions is often thought to be rational, but much of the decision making process is founded on our beliefs and biases. We tend to be more optimistic as it is a coping mechanism for us to get on with our lives. The brain has evolved mechanisms to ignore certain negative aspects of the future. The halo effect is pronounced in us, as it is based on the brain’s need to find structure and patterns. The various moral dilemmas are used as examples of how we go for irrational decisions, based on our emotions rather than our logic.

The machine that constructs reality – how does consciousness emerge in the brain and how are we governed by our unconscious. This chapter explores how the brain decodes patterns. The world of the ‘unconscious’ is also explored and explained. These concepts are important to understanding the next chapter. We are drawn to forming patterns as these help us make sense of the world. These patterns allow us to become experts in specialised areas. However, these patterns also trip us up when we come to make decisions as the pre-established preconceptions, blind us to alternatives.

Voyages of consciousness (or consciousness tripping) – what happens in the brain as we dream; is it possible for us to decipher, control and manipulate our dreams? This chapter discusses the differences between dreams and imagination. Dreams are generally not controllable but can be very realistic. Some people have lucid dreaming, which they are aware of. The contribution of pharmacology (e.g. cannabis, lysergics) to states of consciousness are introduced and pros and cons discussed.

The brain is constantly transforming – what makes our brains more or less predisposed to change? This chapter provides foundation for understanding how the brain learns. Humans are primed to learn and some forms of ‘understanding’ are innate. For example, children’s brains are wired to learn language. Experiences attained from life, provide scaffolds from which to build more learning. Therein lies the difference between novices and experts. Novices have less foundation to call on and need to attend to cues at each step of learning. Novices are also unable to work out what they need to focus on, therefore, their energies are drawn into all the aspects of the process as they are unable, as yet, to see the wood from the trees. In comparison, experts have attained an all-encompassing perspective on their specialist area and are able to draw on this to extend learning. The example provided is of chess masters playing multiple games whilst blindfolded. As these expert chess players have established patterns in their brains of chess boards and moves, they are able to associate the plays and make decisions without having to actually see the board. Attaining expert hood is assisted by the individual’s attributes and proclivities but still requires concerted input / effort / practice to polish and progress beyond the standardised.

Educated brains – how can we use what we have learned about the brain and human thought to improve education? Application of the concepts introduced are presented in this chapter. Advocates teaching should be centred around helping learners improve their metacognition. So learners need to be able to work out they know something and also that others know other things (theory of mind). It is important for learners to be able to work out if there is a difference between their own knowledge and that of others and then have the skills / tools to bridge the gap. Learning through teaching others (tutor learning), even for the very young, is recommended as a way to increase metacognition and extend learners’ theory of mind.

A very readable, short book of just over 200 pages. A two page appendix provides an overview of brain anatomy and 15 pages of bibliography are provided for follow up.

The book offers many examples, summaries of contemporary scholarly work and metaphors to assist with explaining the various concepts introduced and extended on through the book. It is a good resource for laypeople interested in understanding better, how the brain works.

Presentations - Tim Ingold, Patricia Churchland

I was in Perth for two weeks over the Christmas and New Year to catch up with family. The weather was hot - at least 30'C everyday. I was up early as Perth is 5 hours behind NZ. Comparatively cooler in the morning to work off the good food dished up each day by my mother and other rellies, with 20 - 30 kms bike rides. Thankfully, some small hills and mostly on bike trails to explore area around the Canning River.

During the afternoon, when temperatures made it too hot to be outdoors and my parents, babies, pets  etc. were having their post-lunch siesta, I caught up with a range of youtube videos on topics relevant to my research projects - i.e. trades learning and how people become trades people. Usually, I previewed the video on afternoon. Then spent another afternoon working through the details of some of the concepts presented using Google Scholar and the presenters' webpage. Then drilling down to salient concept and to write up notes etc. with another more selective video watching session. So each of the following presenters took up a good 5 - 6 afternoons.

First up , caught up with a few videos with Professor Tim Ingold who has a chair in Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen. There were several videos reflecting the evolution of Professor Ingold's work. One I watched through was on'Thinking through making' recorded in October 2013. Although only about half an hour, the presentation covered many of the precepts of Ingold's work, with text version covering for example in 'Toward an Ecology of Materials'. Annual Review of Anthropology' .

Then, the work of Professor Patricia Churchland from the University of California on neurophilosophy, leading to a collection of videos from Serious Science - which I will park for another occasion to view. Also a longer video on free will and self control related to her work on neuroethics.

I find videos to be a good way to better understand the writings of researchers, especially with topics requiring effort to build up a foundation in and then to work through complex concepts. Viewing the video brings into focus researchers' / writers' standpoint. Good presentations often include examples not always detailed in articles. So, videos are good supplements, especially if ever being able to watch f2f presentations from illustrious academics are out of reach.

Learning through readings on neuroscience and neuropsychology

As prefaced in a blog last year, I would be devoting most of this year to working towards a better understanding of how recent studies in neuroscience and neuropsychology may contribute to my work on studying trades-based learning.

I must say the readings have been slightly disorganised as I meandered from one topic area to another. My self-directed route through the discursive field of philosophy and empirical studies of neuroscience show how there is still much to learn about the brain, mind and soul. Each field pushes a ‘preferred’ way of looking at the world and there are only a few researchers who seem to push through the boundaries. Examples include the Churchland’s neurophilosophy.  The siloing of discipline areas is starting to dissolve as articles on sites like brain.org example. So we are still at the very early stages of understanding how the brain works and working out how what happens in the brain, contributes to what makes us who we are.

Books like Owen Flanagan’s "The problem of the soul"’ , Ramachandran's "Tell-tale brain", Precht's "Who am I and if so, how many" and Humphrey's "Soul dust", go some way to explaining to a lay audience, the contributions of science and the historical Western tradition of theology and humanism towards our present understanding of "how I am and who I am". 

So what have I gleaned from just over a year’s worth of reading?

·       - The brain is incredible, it is the foundation of who we are and provides the mechanisms to learn how to become who we are. Hence, guard it well. I now have a new swish-bang cycle helmet to replace my almost a decade old one, in a bid to ensure the brain box is accorded the protection it deserves.

·        - We still do not really know much about how the mechanics of the brain works. One needs to be careful about the hype around fMRI and similar towards explaining how we think.

·       - Some of what the brain does is innate or hardwired but much of what eventually ends up as ‘me’ has to be learnt. The brain’s biological construction is accomplished both through genetic evolutionary legacies  (nature) and through contributions from our social environment (nurture) (the birth of the mind)- Hence, there is great plasticity in the brain (see guitar zero).

·        Which leads to – we need to want to learn otherwise, things become challenging (Hatties science of how welearn). So intrinsic motivation always beats extrinsic.

·        - There are limitations to the brain (kluge) we need to be aware of and work through. Things like memory, decision making (see neuroeconomics), our propensity for addiction to substances offering pleasure etc. all need to be borne in mind.

·        - We learn better when we can relate new learning to pass experiences and things we already know (Hattie - visible learning for teachers)

·        - We ‘chunk’ concepts and remember things multi modally. The sounds, smells and visuals are retrieved when we bring up memories. The brain does not ‘record’ experiences like a video recorder but brings experiences in a multisensory / multi modal way into our existing neural networks. therefore, each person’s memory / perspectives of an occurrence are idiosyncratic.

·        - Narratives, analogies, metaphors are ways we use to make sense of unfamiliar ideas and incorporate into our repertoire.  However, this method of making sense of our world means narratives, analogies and metaphors are personalised to our ontological leanings. 

·        - The brain does not come with a ‘how to best use’ manual. Individually we need to work things out. So acquiring metacognition (Hattie - visible learning for teachers) is an one important approach to improving learning.

·        - Learning is hard work, takes time, dedication and resilience (expertise, deliberate practice); there is no quick fix.

·        - When we manage to learn something new, we find it motivates us to learn more. Learning is maybe something our brain craves (books on evolutionary psychology)

·        - Our brains have a propensity to learn from others. We are a social animal (Sterelny - evolved apprentice, Vygotsky). What we are and who we are is lodged in the grey stuff and white matter in our skull, there has not been any empirical evidence to date that there is a soul – the brain is the mind is the soul (Churchland, Flanagan).

·        - When we die, that’s it L, which seriously challenges my Christian belief system.

·        However, knowing that ourselves (or soul) cease to exist when our physical part dies means we need to contribute NOW. So carpe diem!!

·       - Humans are the only animal on earth that can think through a way to remedy the mess our species have made of the only known planet inhabited by sentient beings – see pale blue dot to be reminded about how insignificant we are in the really BIG picture.

·       -  Some other animals may also be sentient so beware of what you eat.

So, a few epiphanies plus confirmation of lots already known and applied. New learning and skills attained from wading through some interesting (and some not so interesting) books and articles including familiarity with the work of some of the leading researchers in neuroscience, neuropsychology and neurophilosophy.

Where to next? Well, next year will be focused on how to apply some of the above to vocational learning and a catch up on readings pertinent to the topic. I need to touch base again with some of the seminal works on apprenticeship learning and workplace learning to sieve through what is still pertinent and what is now already dated, in light of the learnings from this year's readings. So the journey continues.

Neuro- The new brain sciences and the management of the mind – book overview

Checked this 2013 book out - authored by N. Rose and J.M. Abi-Rached and published by Princeton University Press.

I worked through the ebook available through CPIT library. The book is a good overview of the state of play with regards to neuroscience, neuropsychology and brings in perspectives and concepts already summarised in other books – for instance, as overviewed on this blog recently, by P. Churchland, Ramachandran and Broks. 

The book has 9 chapters, an introduction and conclusion and 7 chapters with each chapter overviewing the ‘functional’ aspects of the brain, implications.

The introduction (available frompublisher’s site) provides a good overview of the book and worth a read through before diving into the book itself. 

Chapter 1 covers the ‘neuromolecular brain’ is the historical overview of how we progressed through the last 100 years or so in our understanding of how the brain is structured and how it works. A summary of 8 points in page 43 sums up is presently known. The brain is an organ like other, evolved like other mammals, can be anatomised at the molecular level as being chemical transmissions partially dependent on neurotransmitters and a whole complex of other entities – enzymes, ion channels receptors, transporters etc. Different parts of the brain have different evolutionary histories. Mental processes reside in the brain, so mental states and processes can be potentially observable through the organic function of the brain.

The second chapter is on how the brain sees the world – ‘the invisible gaze’ summarise the long journey taken to the present in how to try to unlock what happens in the brain as it functions. From crude images to present brain scanners and the coloured pictures available through fMRI.

Chapter 3 is a call to heed research on humans rather than mice in ‘what’s wrong with mice’ maintains the argument that study of human brains cannot be completed through making assumptions from animal studies. For instance, page 84 has 6 points which include difficulties in assuming  animals and human behaviour are the same, although mechanics may be the same, biochemical may defer, difficulties with phenotypes, modelling human stressors in animals, weakness of current tests used in animals (mazes) and inferred to human responses, and many trials are not properly blinded or randomised. Hence, the specificity of humans needs to be accounted for.

The fourth chapter is a good discussion on how the brain goes wrong – ‘all in the brain’ covers mental illness and how brain function / malfunction?. How neuropsychiatry is still a work in progress and how although we have made many positive discoveries and applied to treatment, we have only scratched the surface in understanding why and how mental illness occurs.

Chapter 5 concentrates on the ‘social brain’ and summarises the work of social neuroscience, trying to understand why primates are ‘social animals’ and the role of the brain. The specialised area of social neuroscience is presented and discussed. Includes a thoughtful critique for and against the role of mirror neurons, their presence and function and theorised connection to our social nature.

Chapter 6 presents the other side of the coin ‘the antisocial brain’ and tries to unpack how criminality occurs. A historical overview of criminality and its associations with psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience is provided. A slight hiatus after the second world war due to Nazi research in the area followed by revival of interest from the 1980s with accessibility to CT scans. Cautions are discussed with regards to neurolaw – using brain science to try to explain (and sometimes provide defence) criminal behaviour.

Chapter 7 come together with ‘personhood in the neurobiological age’ with the perennial challenge of where the self comes from – the soul or the brain? As per previous chapters, the historical journey towards understanding who we are and the role of the brain is summarised.

The conclusion ‘managing brains, minds and selves’ brings in the challenge into the future. A glimpse of where to next.

I would not recommend this book as the first port of call on things neurobiological. It is written with an academic although, in general, readable style. The function of the book is to update the thousands of studies in the last two decades on brain function and the media hype around conclusions that may be drawn from ‘brain scanning’ . Therefore, the book is a more academic version of  'need for caution in using neuroscience findings', reminding one in drawing conclusions from limited, exploratory studies, many conducted on rats or small ‘building block’ studies which are sensationalised by the media.

Me, Myself and Why: Searching for the science of self - book overview

Me, myself and why: searching for the science of self is a 2014 book by science writer / journalist Jennifer Ouellette.

The book uses parts of Ouelette’s biography to work through the three parts of the book. The first section Me – covers the basis for who we are.  The second part covers myself – how we perceive our self image; the last part why – explores reasons for what we are here for.

Each chapter now briefly summarised:

Prologue introduces Ouelette’s story and the rationale for writing the book.

1) What’s bred into the bone discusses the history of genetics and its contribution to (the nature part) of who we are.

           2)  Uncharted territory is a quick romp through the history of neuroscience.

           3)   Moveable types covers some of the ‘nurture’ part of what makes us who we are. The premises of psychology and personality are introduced and discussed.

       4) Three and I’m under the table uses individual’s reactions and tolerance / intolerance to alcohol to discuss why we are all individuals. There is no one exactly like me.

      5) My so-called second life raises the issue of virtual identities, the virtual me. Implications and possibilities are discussed.

      6) Born this way explores gendered identity, what makes us a man or a woman and leads into discussions on relationships between the sexes.

      7) Feed you head uses LSD to explore role of neurotransmitters  and how they work in our brains, contributing to who we are.

       

       8) Ghost in the machine looks into what is actually in our brains – our personality, our soul our all? Or not.

       9) The accidental fabulist brings things to a close with how our individual narratives, the life we lead contributes to who we are.

The book is written in a conversational style covering a wide range of topics. What it does well is introduce lay people to a range of contemporary understandings on what makes us tick.

The book has a comprehensive bibliography of over 50 pages and an index.

The problem of the soul: book overview and reflections

Owen Flanagan (2002) The problem of the soul: Two visions of the mind and how to reconcile them, published by Basic Books.

My meanders through neuroscience, neuropsychology, neurophilosophy and evolutionary psychology has led to some confusion as I wrestled with relativism, dualism, navitist, empirist etc. In short, exposure to a range of viewpoints and difficulty in weighing up the arguments from each perspective.

So, Flanagan’s book brings some relieve although no sure answers, and I accept there never will be. Life is a journey made exciting by meeting ongoing challenges. My present short term goal is to find some answers to whet my intellectual curiosity and to form a ‘to do’ list for my own learning. A bonus if some of this new learning merges with my academic work but I am not too fussed at this stage as all the new learning is challenging some of my belief systems and causing me to reassess things.

Back to Flanagan’s book, written in clear, accessible language. Some familiarity with how philosophical texts are laid out is helpful but the argument is signalled through the book and not obfuscated by dense text. The preface spells out the objective of the book and lays down foundation for understanding the two viewpoints – scientific and humanistic. Flanagan also used pertinent parts of his biography as a lapsed Catholic and academic, to illustrate important points through the book, modelling the good use of analogies to assist the reader to make their own meaning from the concepts explored in the book.

Flanagan introduces the ‘dualism’ way of understanding body and mind prevalent in Western thought and philosophy for two millennia. He argues that the scientific approach is now ascendant as the approach is starting to supply empirical explanations of how the brain works. Yet the humanistic and theological approaches also have some contributions.  The book discusses the ‘dualism’ between science with its logical, empirical study of the brain and how it works and the question of where then is the soul? If the brain is also the mind, then where is consciousness, free will and our identity? Does free will exist when we make decisions based on connections between our neural networks as triggered responses (neurotransmitters, hormones etc) and ‘conditioned’ responses? Does Ryle’s ‘ghost in the brain’ exist? Who and what are we as in ‘where is the I’ in the brain? 

Six chapters work through what makes us human covering the mind, free will, permanent persons, natural selves. The last chapter ‘ethics as human ecology’ discusses the implications of accepting the idea that science and the image of the mind in humanism and theology have common frameworks. In particular, the concept of freewill is possible regardless of whether accessibility to freewill is explained via scientific or humanistic / theological reasoning. However, the caveat is our brains are not designed to be rational due to its evolutionary development.

All in, a worthwhile read which is pitched at the right level for someone with sufficient curiosity and background to persist through the many concepts. I enjoyed the book as it provided a cogent discussion from the neuroscience and philosophical / religious points of view and provided sufficient space for the reader to weigh the evidence and come to their own conclusions. After all, that is why we have a mind :) There is a need to be open to various viewpoints and to come to some resolution in one own's mind frame. Flanagan's book provides an example of writing that expands the reader's horizons without dogmatic flogging of one perspective. The book recommends respect for each approach towards understanding what makes us who we are. 

The brain and the meaning of life - book overview

Thagard, P. (2010). The brain and the meaning of life. Princeton University Press.

A prosaic book compared to the other books read so far this year in neurobiology, neurophilosophy and neuropsychology. As such, a pragmatic read for those who want to get to the knub of the matter and form a framework for their own understanding of the subject. Research from various disciplines are brought together to explain why we should abandon our concepts of soul, free will and immortality.  Alternatives are offered through recent findings in brain science to provide foundations for morality, reality and the meaning of life. This cartoon provides an apt illustration of how we 'overthink' when compared to our animal friends.

This book revolves around the theme of ‘why we live the lives we live’. It provides a good overview of how recent advances in neuroscience have changed the way the world is viewed. Importantly, the concept that individuals are made up of their physical brain and mind. Once the physical body dies, so does the brain and mind. So why are we here then? and what is our purpose in life?? Thagard argues that it is us that builds our reality, therefore  through our work, love and play, we express what we stand for and who we are.

The book is a good ‘textbook’ introduction to some of the complex ideas presented by other authors exampled by the Churchlands, see blog earlier this year. Thagard’s writing swings towards to academic but is made accessible through the use of analogies and examples.

There are extensive notes provided from each chapter, a glossary of neuroscience and philosophical terms, 15 pages of references covering the salient readings in the field and an index. Therefore, the book provides a good source for people seeking an introduction to the subject.

Touching a nerve: the self as brain - book summary

I came to this book via other readings and purchased the ebook version via Amazon. The field of neurophilosophy is the topic of this book by Professor Patricia S. Churchland 2013 book published by Norton. Professor Churchland and her husband have written several books arguing for the application of the neurophilosophical approach towards understanding how the brain works. A short youtube clip provides introduction to her work and a UCTV youtube clip presents discussion of the book ' touching a nerve'. A critique and book review found here.

In this book, Professor Churchland writes an accessible book for the layperson trying to understand mind / brain and self. Her stance is that her brain and herself cannot be envisaged separately, one is bound to the next and to understand the brain and the self requires not a dualistic metaphor but a holistic approach.

‘Sometimes neuroscience knows more about myself then I do’! Brain scans only go a short way towards contributing to our understanding of how the brain works. As each part of the brain is activated, various other interfaces are also engaged, all of the interconnections are idiosyncratic to each individual. Hence, difficult to generalise across to all humans the result of brain scan studies. Much of decision making is unconscious, how can we say we have control when so much of how we think occurs subconsciously?!

Argues for a need to change how we approach understanding how our brains work and contribution to who we are. Uses examples (Galileo, Harvey’s discovery of how the heart works and Semmelwies work to have doctors wash their hands between patients) to explain the difficulties of forging a change in understanding with ingrained and ‘taken for granted’ concepts. Philosophers facing the need to come to grips with how the brain works need to make the leap. Neurophilosophy is an approach that needs to bring philosophy into the modern age. Neurophilosophy brings understandings of neuroscience, psychology and evolutionary biology into the realm of philosophers.

Churchland then uses her life biography, her childhood on a farm in a small Canadian farming community, to explain her learning as a young philosopher and to narrate the story of how she moved into neurophilosophy.

Chapter two provides an overview of the brain’s biological evolution and philosophy’s perspectives of brain and soul over the ages (Greek to present). The dualist argument (body and soul) is now rejected as the presence of the soul cannot be proved. Thus, we are what our brains make of us. The brain and the soul are one and the same. However, owing to the brain’s complexity we still do not understand exactly how it works, with much work still to be undertaken. Churchland undertakes a discussion in the section ‘naysaying is easier than doing science’ of why it is important to continue work on both philosophical and neurobiological understanding of brain function.

The third chapter titled ‘my heavens’, uses studies of near death experiences to explore whether there is heaven, or some form of destination after death. The conclusion being probably not. When our brain ceases to work, the memories, cognitions and feeling that go with it, also cease.

Then chapter four discusses the issue of how we acquire moral thought, where does it lodge in the brain and how do we come about with decisions or take stands of items of morality. This topic is explored in greater detail in a previous Churchland book ‘Brain trust: What neuroscience tells usabout morality‘ and this chapter provides a summary of where our values may come from, the biological evolution of mammals’ caring for their young and each other and the links toward humans’ development of morality.

The less palatable aspects of humanity ‘aggression and sex’ are discussed in the next chapter. Our predilection for aggressive solutions is again explained through evolutionary biology. Social, economic and political forces added to the mix, bring out some of the worse acts of human atrocities against each other. The difference between male and female and the influence of sexualism are also discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 6 continues the themes presented in the previous chapter with discussions on whether genocide is in our genes and the influences of institutional norms of shaping behaviour.

The next chapter explores the contributions towards ameliorating the aspects of ourselves presented in the previous two chapters. Chapter 7 discusses aspects of free will, habits and self-control. The definition of free will takes up about ¼ of the chapter as it is difficult to pin down what is free will due to its contextualised application. So free will could be if you intend an action, know what you are doing, are of sound mind, and are not forced to make the decision.

Chapter 8 ‘hidden cognition’ is of interest towards informing our understanding of how learning works. The unconscious part of our mind is often underestimated or unrecognised. Yet, much of what makes us who we are is predicated on how others read our unconscious actions. Our reading of the unconscious ‘vibes’ from others also contributes to how we interact with others. The work of Freud and Helmholtz are reviewed with regards to what we now know about our unconscious selves. Thinking, does not need language, we possess concepts that are difficult to articulate (Johnson & Lakoff - metaphors we live by). Each of us is an integrated package of thoughts, feelings, both conscious and unconscious.

Then chapter 9 continues on with ‘the conscious life explained’ with an overview of research in sleep psychology and neurobiology. The relationships between our conscious and unconscious self are also discussed. Sensory signals of which we are conscious are highly integrated and processed by our unconscious brain. When required in a ‘novel’ situation, the unconscious thoughts become availed to our conscious self. Note, our conscious self has a limited capacity, so we continually shuffle items back and forth between conscious and unconscious. Novelty calls attention to selected items to dredge from our unconsciousness and we can select from a vast store. The key is we are able to select the right items as and when required (Barrs, global workspace theory).

The last chapter closes an enlightening read with the ‘balancing act’ between reporting new learnings in the neurosciences with the need to not over generalise or sensationalise findings. Each study adds parts to parts of the whole in understanding how the brain works. Isolating studies and reporting them out of context does not assist the general public. Also, the neurosciences are still continually finding new applications and discoveries, refuting old concepts and requiring new understanding to be applied. Recommends brainfacts.org as one way to keep up to date through access to proven findings.

In all, a good book to read for an overview of the present discussion on brain and mind. Professor Churchland writes clearly and uses examples many lay people can relate to.