- 2091 - You may think thinking is
hard, but seeing is harder. Visualization
uses more than ½ your brain. Your eyes take the pictures but you brain
does the seeing. A lot of what we see is recognized because the image is
already in memory. Objectivity is as important in communication
as clarity is. There is always more information
than truth. Only a broader perspective
can lead to a greater intelligence.
-
-
-
----------------------------- 2091 -
Seeing more and Thinking more.
-
- You may think
thinking is hard, but seeing is harder.
Visualization uses more than ½ your brain. While you are sitting down reading this
review your brain is using 33% of the oxygen that you breath. When you are sitting and reading you are
burning 33% of the calories your body has consumed. A total of 17% of what you eat gets used by
your brain. And, if you worry a lot the percentage
goes up.
-
- Speech uses a
tiny area on one side of your brain. In
other words, it does not take much of your brain to be talking. Somehow, I knew that already. Hearing uses 10% of the size of the brain
that seeing uses. “ Listening” has got to require a lot more brain than that
10%.
-
- The
conclusion is certain that seeing areas in the brain are bigger than thinking
areas of the brain. Which goes on to say
that you cannot learn a lot more with your eyes closed.
-
- Even moving
arms and legs uses a surprisingly small part of the brain. Interviewing most boxers and football players
will allow you to draw this conclusion as well.
-
- Computers
work differently than the brain works.
Computers can do a lot of things better than the brain can. One thing computers have not yet learned to
do better is to see. A computer has a
central processing unit to control all its programming. The brain has trillions of central processing
units. Each can be working on whatever
you are doing. So, you can walk, talk,
listen, smell, and think all at the same time.
Computers are trying to do the same think using many CPU’s and parallel
processing. When it comes to seeing,
computers have a long way to go to catch up.
-
- Your eyes
take the pictures but you brain does the seeing. The brain first picks out patterns of
light. It looks at edges and sudden changes
in patterns. Your brain can act on this
information before it has an image.
Later the image reaches the visual part of the brain. The positions and angles of edges are picked
out first. Color and things moving are
picked out next. The brain sees the same
way you create a cartoon. Once the
carton is created in the brain it starts working on recognizing and
understanding the different features it sees.
-
- Facial
expressions are recognized in a special area of the brain called the inferior
temporal cortex. It is just above the
bony lump behind your ear. Women are
especially developed in this area. Ha! Ha!
-
- Scientists
think that recognition and memory are coded as patterns in a large group of
brain cells. Each brain cell is
effectively a CPU. It is only when a
bunch of brain cells work together that recognition happens.
-
- You brain
gets a 2 dimensional pictures from the back of your retina but it works out a 3-dimensional
image from the clues it gets in the light patterns. You see in 2-D but you think in 3-D. It helps that each eye gets a little
different picture of the same image. The
brain creates a single 3-D image from the two 2-D images it receives. It is called “stereopsis“.
-
- Your brain can judge depth with one eye closed
by moving your head from side to side.
This is why pigeons nod their heads when they walk or want depth
perception. Pigeons have eyes on the
sides of their heads and get no stereopsis.
They need to do the head moving to see in 3-D.
-
- Astronomers
us stereopsis to measure distances to the stars. They usually have to wait 6 months for the
Earth to move to the other side of the Sun.
In this way their eyes, (telescopes), are getting images 186,000,000
miles apart. By doing this they can use
stereopsis to measure distance to stars out to 300 million lightyears.
-
- A lot of what
we see is recognized because the image is already in memory. Reading is taking patterns of light and dark
and transferring them into ideas, thoughts, and memories. No wonder the brain is using so many calories.
-
- Sperm whales
have brains 5 times bigger than ours.
But, they are not smarter. Maybe
a better indicator would be brain size as a percentage of weight. In that case, the mouse would be 50%
smarter. In conclusion, it is not the
size of the brain it is how we use it that makes us smart. My hope is that you just learned something. But, don't stop there:
-
- If you want
your brain to learn more, exercise it.
Specific body building exercises are designed for specific muscles. Brain building works exactly the same way on
your intelligence. The key to any
exercise is habit. Habit is the constant
repetition that makes learning second nature.
(See footnote on Brain Building)
-
- Everything we
do is time consuming. Brain building is one
of the few things that is time repaying.
Self awareness is the first step in brain building. Become aware of how you are thinking.
-
- Learning is
what allows us to make sense of the confusing array of stimuli that reaches us
from every part of our environments. As
a human we are developed not just by heredity but by circumstances in our environments
and how we deal with them.
-
- The human is
endowed with the ability to overcome and alter the circumstances around
him. What we do and how we act is the
single most important factor in dealing with our environment. We are the operator of the brain that we
own.
-
- Intelligence
is what makes us question, Why? Ours is
the only species that asks questions. If you let others direct your thinking
eventually you stop thinking for yourself.
Attempts to impress someone arises out of a lack in confidence.
-
- Thinking
mathematically helps you separate emotion from intellect. Mathematical reasoning is merely logical
reasoning that is quantifiable. A logical approach to thinking mathematically
is to first become aware of the problem, recognizing you have a problem. Secondly, define the problem, analyze it, and
establish its parameters. Thirdly,
approach the problem rationally, from different angles, considering different
options, hypothesize different solutions.
Then, select a solution and verify its effectiveness.
-
- A problem is
an unsettled question. A symptom is something
that indicates the existence of something else.
If there is sufficient data in your premise, your conclusion will be
valid. But, beware, you can always lie
with statistics.
-
- Making
assumptions is one of the most likely places for getting into trouble. Insight is genius, it is a cognitive
leap. Genius is also a combination of
motivation, hard work, and perseverance.
The harder you work the smarter you will get.
-
- Sometimes
negatives may be as useful as positives in forming insight. Intuition is common sense and sensitivity
rolled into luck. Accept the result of
any mistake as part of the learning process.
The smartest learning process is sometimes only making mistakes fast enough,
faster than your competitor.
-
- Objectivity
is as important in communication as clarity is.
There is always more information than truth. Only a broader perspective can lead to a
greater intelligence. Read more to learn
and to consider more. Words express thoughts and connotative words express
opinions.
-
- A common
error is making a judgment based on a certain set of circumstances then
clinging to that judgment after the circumstances have changed.
-
- Perspective itself is actually a subset of
objectivity. To regard anyone else
except yourself as responsible for your own judgment is to become a slave to circumstances.
-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Brain
Building is a book written by Marilyn vos Savant. Her book has many exercises and word problems
to exercise your brain.
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Comments appreciated and Pass it on to
whomever is interested. ----
---
Some reviews are at:
--------------
http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
--
email feedback, corrections, request for copies or Index of all reviews
------------------------- Sunday, May 6, 2018
--------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment