The Human Mind. (Full Version)

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DreadPirateRandy -> The Human Mind. (4/20/2008 7:27:56 AM)

This is a thought-formed-into-a-question that's been stirring inside of me lately.

Notably, the human mind possesses the capability of great intelligence. Scientists, inventors, mathematicians, and such are given evidence of that. Yet, others struggle with it. Personally, it's difficult for me to mentally unlock my own potential and reaching it.

My question is this:
is this great intelligence based upon genetics or a form of heritage, or does it progress as you further unlock the expansion of your mind?



essentialsaltes -> RE: The Human Mind. (4/20/2008 11:19:17 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: RatherDashing
My question is this:
is this great intelligence based upon genetics or a form of heritage, or does it progress as you further unlock the expansion of your mind?


You've asked a question that continues to be the subject of enormous arguments.

#1: What is intelligence? Do IQ tests measure intelligence, or do they 'just' measure the ability to take IQ tests? I think there's some truth to the idea that there are different kinds of intelligence, and a person may have a high artistic intelligence, but a low IQ intelligence. But some people take this too far, and talk of athletes having 'physical intelligence'. Athletes may be coordinated, or strong, or graceful... but somehow these admirable qualities don't sound to me like what we mean when we talk of 'intelligence'. Anyway, if you're experiencing frustration, maybe you can find ways to use a kind of intelligence that you have greater aptitude for. If you happen to be another Mozart, we'd all rather that you tried to become another Mozart, rather than trying to turn yourself into another Einstein.

#2: Is intelligence due to nature (genetic heritage) or nurture (environment while growing up, experience, education)? As with most complicated questions, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Twin studies show that twins, even twins that were raised apart in different circumstances, have 'similar' IQ scores, suggesting that there is a genetic component to IQ/intelligence. But even identical twins don't get identical IQ scores, so it's not entirely genetics.

Anyway, speaking for myself, I think the brain is indeed like a muscle, and by 'exercising' your brain, you can make it 'smarter'. Learning something new, reading a book, solving a crossword puzzle... all these things keep your brain from wasting away from lack of use. I remember I got caught up in the Sudoku craze. At first I didn't know what I was doing, but eventually I got the hang of it, and got pretty good at it. In some ways, it's a useless skill to solve sudoku puzzles, but I felt a sense of accomplishment for having taught my brain something it hadn't been able to do before. Maybe I'm not any smarter, but at least this old dog learned a new trick.

On the other hand, I'm starting to worry about what my brain has to forget in order to make room for something new...



Bettawrekonize -> RE: The Human Mind. (4/20/2008 2:49:24 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: RatherDashing

This is a thought-formed-into-a-question that's been stirring inside of me lately.

Notably, the human mind possesses the capability of great intelligence. Scientists, inventors, mathematicians, and such are given evidence of that. Yet, others struggle with it. Personally, it's difficult for me to mentally unlock my own potential and reaching it.

My question is this:
is this great intelligence based upon genetics or a form of heritage, or does it progress as you further unlock the expansion of your mind?


While it seems like the secular community is constantly assuming certain genes are related to intelligence based on evolutionary presuppositions, I would argue this is not the case.

quote:


'Intelligence genes' proving hard to find: study


http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iPxfSkNF_sfKQQcWE_uB1ANLbiNw
http://www.topix.com/tech/2007/11/intelligence-genes-proving-hard-to-find-study

I think that all humans are created to be smart, but what I think is that people who take care of themselves will be much smarter. For instance, I've seen what drugs do to people and how it screws up their minds and from what I've seen it seems like once that damage has been done, some of it maybe irreversible. I highly encourage people not to do drugs, ever (and I am not referring to drugs prescribed by a doctor or drugs for medical reasons). I really think that things like proper diet, exercise, sleep, not smoking, not drinking, and generally taking care of yourself are huge factors towards having a healthy and hence smart mind. I also think that mental exercise is good, things like playing memory games (ie: you scramble a bunch of cards turned over and you have to pick two matching cards. There are all sorts of mental exercises you can do. Things like arithmetic games where the computer would ask you to add some number and you add it. Heck, I heard that 3d games (like Doom) and computer or video games in general are good for the mind. I used to play Doom when I was younger). Think of the brain like a muscle, if you lift weights (and eat and sleep right) you get stronger. If you exercise your brain and use it (and take care of yourself through proper diet, sleep, exercise, etc...), it gets better at stuff. I also think that reading is good for the mind, anything that gets you thinking and processing information.

I also once seen this show called everything you need to know about the human brain and, from what I remember, it said that the people with the highest IQ's aren't doctors, lawyers, top scientists, but taxi cab drivers. The reason, they said, is because directional processing requires a lot of mental effort and that makes for really good mental exercise. As for me, I tend to be lost anywhere I go (unless it's in local areas or areas I'm familiar with), probably because I don't pay much attention (and I rely on GPS too much).

Another way you can learn a lot (that I learned a lot from) is to watch online lectures. There are all sorts of free online lectures on biology
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Biology/7-014Spring-2005/VideoLectures/

Physics
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-02Electricity-and-MagnetismSpring2002/VideoLectures/
(I hate Realplayer)

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01Physics-IFall1999/VideoLectures/

and many many more (just google them).

Another good source of online lectures on all sorts of topics is google videos (some things show up there that won't show up on google and Youtube seems useless on this one).

http://video.google.com/



Bettawrekonize -> RE: The Human Mind. (4/20/2008 6:23:37 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: essentialsaltes
On the other hand, I'm starting to worry about what my brain has to forget in order to make room for something new...


I think the consensus here is that the brain can store more information than what we are capable of inputing in our entire lifetime. Not sure. Anywho, I think you might find this useful.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/uoo-dds111805.php

quote:


The study by Edward Vogel, an assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Oregon, is the first to demonstrate that awareness, or "visual working memory," depends on your ability to filter out irrelevant information.


I found this interesting. I always heard (what sounds like speculation) that Einstein and Newton had a higher percentage of their brain working than the rest of us and that this was a good thing. I have long argued that this doesn't necessarily make sense. Imagine if you were in a room full of people and they were all talking at once. Everything would be a mess, it would be difficult for the room to come to any sort of consensus on anything. However, if people took turns on who gets to talk and one person has the microphone at at time, things would make much more sense. The whole room would act as one coordinated brain, if the speaker wants information he can poll/ask the room. Then the people/neuron(s) inside the room who are familiar with the information can raise his hand and/or speak. Then, if he says something that someone else can add to, they can add to it. Everyone would take turns in a coordinated manner. However, if the entire brain was active at once (if everyone was talking all at once) it would be difficult to make out anything. Instead, each neuron is somewhat active (listening to incoming information and searching for relevant information and if it finds some, it tells the rest of the brain. When it does is where you get higher brain activity from that/those neuron(s)). So, it's not so much the amount of brain activity that controls your cognitive ability, it's more your brain coordination (neurons not talking out of turn, neurons taking turns and talking only when they're supposed to or when they have something relevant to say, etc...)

Anywho, these are just ideas that I have hypothesized for a while and its nice to see studies confirm them.



Bettawrekonize -> RE: The Human Mind. (4/21/2008 10:21:34 AM)

Oh, and one more tip (and I think this is the most important). Being smart doesn't matter, being right matters. You can be the smartest doctor in the world, if you get the wrong diagnosis, it doesn't matter. Be careful that everything you know is accurate, it is better to know a little bit of accurate information than it is to know a lot of inaccurate information. For me, the biggest source of misinformation is word of mouth (when people tell me something in person). I have even gotten misinformation from experts in the specific fields they are discussing (ie: teachers with high degrees/credentials in the field they are discussing), but such a thing is rare. If someone tells you something over a populated message board (such as these) where you have possibly hundreds of people reading their posts (many of which are experts in various fields), someone is bound to correct them in subsequent posts if they are factually wrong. So you should always make sure to read subsequent posts. Just in case, though, you should still look up their factual information to be sure that no one missed anything. But if someone tells you something in person, often times no one listening is qualified (or has the resources) to correct them (since they don't tend to have computers or encyclopedias in front of them to look things up and provide more accurate sources). The biggest problem for me is if someone tells me something and I later reference what they told me, forgetting that I was told this piece of information in person and never looked it up. Try to remember if someone told you something (in person) or if you found it from a more reliable source. If someone told you something, don't only remember what they told you, remember that someone told you this (in person) so that you can later look it up or, if you refer to it in a conversation and haven't looked it up yet, you can reference it with a disclaimer (ie: I'm not sure, but someone told me such and such). That way, at least if you're wrong, you had a disclaimer. Be careful that your facts are right and be careful how you interpret those facts. That's one reason why I try to get my ideas scrutinized by hundreds of people on message boards, so someone can correct any misinterpretations I may have (though I've been doing this for years now so much of what I say has already been corrected). Also, things like wikipedia tend to be accurate, but it is a good idea to cross reference information there with other sources. If wikipedia provides references and you can look them up, do so. Also, if someone on a message board provides you with sources, read their sources if you can. I sometimes find that people misinterpret their own sources or they haven't read their own sources. Make sure you read any sources you wish to provide as reference as well. It is better to be the dumbest person in the world and be right than to be the smartest person in the world and be wrong.



2by2 -> RE: The Human Mind. (5/3/2008 5:15:57 PM)

I believe, just as any other species, that we are evolving and we are evolving at an alarming rate. We are stronger, faster, more intelligent(in most cases), and taller than our ancestors. Look at man just 100 years ago and the inventions that have come at his hands. It makes me think of a snowball that started off small, gains momentum down the hill and becomes gi-normous at the bottom of the hill when it stops rolling. We are seeing people born without wisdom teeth (another sign of evolution. Smaller jaw requires less teeth).

How many of you have heard of Synesthesia? It is estimated that 1 in 23 people are Synesthetes. These people have unlocked the ability to use a part of their brain that the other 22 in 23 can't. Their senses cross the usual planes, meaning that for example, when a note is struck on a musical instrument, they get a distinct taste and each note "tastes" different to them. Or when they read a group of numbers, the 2s are red, the 3s are yellow, etc. Maybe they smell a rose and it makes them think of the color white. The Discovery Channel had a very interesting documentary on this just recently. It is seen most often in creative individuals such as artists, poets, musicians.

Just another example of the evolution of man....[8D]



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