Neuroplasticity describes the changeability of the brain’s neuro-cellular materiality. It asserts that neural connections, like plastic, are not immutable; under the right conditions, they can be reformed and repurposed. But, this is where the term can mislead us. Plastic has no agency. It’s inert. Change happens to it. There is no being. No participation. Unlike […]
I share this article from “Neuroscience News” because it’s a good summary of interesting neuroscience, and because, like my prior post: “Sound In the Womb Provides Sound Learning Benefits“, it’s another example of how even neuroscience obscures the role of learning in our lives. First a bit of history. In early 2014, I encountered a […]
This fascinating post outlines the temporal dynamics and training wheels’-like benefit-effects of initially learning the gross and fuzzies before learning to differentiate the more extensive, intense, subtle, and nuanced. However, I share this because it is yet another example of how our common language obfuscates the role of learning in our lives. “Early Sound Exposure […]
“The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become” – Heraclitus “It is your character, and your character alone, that will make your life happy or unhappy. That is all that really passes for destiny. And you choose it. No one else can give it to […]
#MeToo #BlackLivesMatter #AllLivesMatter #HumanRights #MedicareForAll #ClimateChange #PlanetaryPeace #GenderEquality … Given a multigenerational perspective (which we better have) and the unprecedented complexity, uncertainty, and speed of impending challenges (which we better realize), nothing is more important to humanity’s future than how well we LEARN TOGETHER. Every issue we care about can only be resolved by learning […]
Alison Gopnik has an important new article in the Wall Street Journal called “The Ultimate Learning Machines“. I recommend it, and I would add… The Ultimate Learning Machines Beings Human babies are the most powerful learners in the universe. So much so that state of the art machine learning is now learning from them. What […]
What can you say about yourself that is completely unaffected by learning? Please share your thoughts!
Re: Wired Science 4-11-2012 DNA Ain’t Destiny. No Kidding “you are — a constant conversation between your genes and the environment, which includes both you and the surrounding world” Yes, it can’t be said enough that genes do not programmatically determine who we become. And, the way you put it is a big improvement over the old dichotomy of nature v nurture […]
The other night I received a call from the cable company. The voice explained that it was calling about an appointment I had scheduled and asked whether I wanted to keep the appointment, cancel, or reschedule it. After saying I wanted to keep it, the voice asked me if I or someone over 18 would […]
The Brain Clock “Times” featured a story entitled: “We only use 10% of our Brains anyway!” The story, while dispelling the “we only use 10% of our brain” misconception, perpetuates an even more insidious one. The author traces the origin of the 10% myth back to William James who is reported to have said: “We […]
