Category Archives: Cognition

Cognitive Enhancers

Posted on 28 June, 2015 by

If you’ve seen the movie “Limitless,” you probably want to get your hands on some “NZT” cognitive enhancer: “You know how they say that we can only access 20% of our brain?” says the man who offers stressed-out writer Eddie … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain

How Long Before We Can Print a Human Brain in 3-D?

Posted on 9 June, 2015 by

The human brain is an intricately complex organ — perhaps the most complex single structure in the universe. Today, human brains simply “make themselves” in the course of human development. But what if we could print exact working “replicas” of … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Printing, Cognition, Future, Human Brain, Sensitive and Critical Periods of Development | Tagged ,

Will Intelligent Apes Do the Jobs that Black People Won’t Do?

Posted on 26 May, 2015 by

Note: Source material below may have been inadvertently “paraphrased” in the course of editing and publication, to highlight some of the more subtle aspects of the genetics revolution __ Ed. [satire] High in the Bolivian Alps, deep in the lowest … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, satire

Contingency and Constraint Propagation

Posted on 7 May, 2015 by

To have an intelligent conversation about what should be done in the present to prepare for a better future, a number of basic concepts should be understood. Two of these basic concepts are “contingency” and “constraint propagation.” What does “contingency” … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain

Is it Fair to Say that Black People are Stupid?

Posted on 1 May, 2015 by

No. It is neither fair nor accurate to say that all black people are stupid. Consider the dictionary definition for the word “stupid:” a : slow of mind : obtuse b : given to unintelligent decisions or acts : acting … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Cognition, IQ, Racial Myths | Tagged

Taming the Beast Within

Posted on 10 April, 2015 by

Inside each of us dwells a chaotic, unpredictable monster — a beast that leads us into no end of trouble. For ages, humans have been blaming the devil, or evil spirits, for their own capricious and destructive choices. But thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain | Tagged

The Waking Trance

Posted on 8 April, 2015 by

Human consciousness is an odd pickle. We all experience it every waking day, but no one understands it well enough to build a good imitation. What are we missing? Quite a lot, actually. For example, why are we so changeable … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain

Brain Tweaking Without Drugs

Posted on 19 March, 2015 by

Today we’ll look at a few methods of tweaking brain function without using pharmaceuticals. These and similar methods offer the promise of improving cognition, emotional levels (depression), attention and memory, and other aspects of brain function and behaviour. A recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain | Tagged , ,

You Are Deluded

Posted on 3 March, 2015 by

Commentary on excerpts from Dr. Bruce Charlton’s online e-book “Addicted to Distraction” Mass Media is a system like no other – it has no function of its own, so it can just keep growing. It has no positive aim for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Competence, Everything You Think You Know Just Ain't So, Knowledge, Philosophy, Propaganda | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Genes, IQ, and Benadryl Dementia

Posted on 11 February, 2015 by

BGI Cognitive Genetics is a Chinese institute hard at work teasing out the connections between genes and IQ. Robert Plomin at King’s College London is on a similar quest, studying the DNA of 2,000 participants from the long-running Study of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Medicine | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Viral Brain Networks

Posted on 26 January, 2015 by

A growing body of research has identified the presence of multiple brain networks supporting human behavior. These networks include a salience network involving dorsal anterior cingulate and anterior insula regions thought to be relevant to attending to survival-relevant events in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain | Tagged | 2 Comments

Simple 2 Step Approach to Building an Artificial Brain that Thinks

Posted on 25 November, 2014 by

Stanford’s Dorian Aur is proposing a new way to build a thinking artificial brain inside the lab. It is a two-step process that appears simple at first glance: The first phase will require growing a full size brain either from … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain, Machine Intelligence | Tagged | 3 Comments

Educational Success Is In the Genes: IQ, Self-Efficacy, Personality and More

Posted on 9 October, 2014 by

There are many reasons why success seems to run in families. One of the reasons is the inheritance of genetic predispositions to success, such as intelligence, self-discipline, positive personality styles, and more. A recent study published in PNAS looked at … Continue reading →

Posted in Blacks and crime, Cognition, Dysgenics, Education, Genetics and Gene Expression, IQ | Tagged , , , ,

Who Are You Today? Shifting Brain Networks Change Who You Are

Posted on 4 July, 2014 by

The human brain appears to work by synchronous, long-distance linking of distant brain modules. Different groups of modules — different brain networks — are “in synch” at different times, depending upon the general types of tasks which the brain is … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain

Bigger Brains & IQ; Sex-Related Differences in Emotional Regulation

Posted on 29 May, 2014 by

The fact that brain size correlates with intelligence between species, is fairly uncontroversial. We expect chimps to be more intelligent than monkeys, and humans to be more intelligent than chimps. It is only when we start looking at comparisons of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, emotions, Genetics and Gene Expression, Human Brain, IQ, Sex Differences | Tagged

What is Brain Porn-Popcorn?

Posted on 7 May, 2014 by

Brain porn-popcorn is anything that captures the attention entirely, then leaves the brain with something to chew on. It could be an image, a moving musical phrase, a catchy slogan, a teasing tactile sensation, a joke, an entrancing fragrance or … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Metaphor, Philosophy | Tagged

The Metaphorical Animal in His Natural Habitat

Posted on 5 May, 2014 by

Metaphors are more than a way to talk about an experience. Metaphors are our experience. They set the filters through which we perceive and make sense out of the world. Because of this fact, metaphors serve as powerful levers capable … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Development, Cognition | Tagged ,

On Being Born Ready

Posted on 28 April, 2014 by

I was born ready m*th#r F^c&#r __ Wesley Snipes as “Blade” (Trinity 2004) The phrase “I was born ready” has become a cliche of action cinema and television, with examples given here, here, and here. Hollywood even portrays infants thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Development, Cognition | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Developing the Human Superbrain

Posted on 14 April, 2014 by

Self-aware, language-using, tool-making brains are very new in the evolutionary timeline, some 200,000-years old. Most of the neurons in the neocortex have between 1,000 and 10,000 synaptic connections with other neurons. Elsewhere in the brain, in the cerebellum, one type … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Development, Cognition, Human Brain | Tagged , | 4 Comments

When Al Fin Was Proven Wrong, He Changed His Mind; What Do You Do?

Posted on 27 February, 2014 by

Al Fin was raised to believe strongly in many things. It was only after he was old enough to become sceptical, that he learned to moderate his beliefs, and to change his mind based upon new evidence. According to Nobel … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition | 4 Comments

Is IQ Written in the Genes?

Posted on 14 February, 2014 by

Image: VDare A recent study from King’s College London once again raises the issue of “the intelligence genes,” or specific genes that appear to be particularly influential in cognition. An international team of scientists, led by King’s, analysed DNA samples … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain, IQ | 2 Comments

We Are Marching to Euphoria: We Will Soon be There

Posted on 18 December, 2013 by

Wikipedia Reward System Life isn’t easy, for most of us. No matter how well we were pampered or sheltered as children and teens, eventually there comes a time when we have to face the music, and stand on our own. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Human Brain, Medicine, Philosophy | Tagged | 4 Comments

Humans, Cyborgs, and Intelligent Machines

Posted on 10 December, 2013 by

Barrat argues that the time it will take for ASI to surpass human level intelligence, rendering us ant-like in comparison, could be a matter of days, if not mere hours, after it is created. Worse (it keeps getting worse), human … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Technology | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Autism and Genius: Danger! Not Politically Correct

Posted on 3 December, 2013 by

…high-functioning autism is far more common in males than females: maybe as much as 15 times more common. … At highest levels of achievement in math and physics, men outnumber women, maybe as much as 100 fold. _WestHunter Scientists who … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, IQ | 4 Comments

Human Genetics and IQ: Where Angels Fear to Tread

Posted on 19 November, 2013 by

Update note: The article below has been updated slightly from its original form to emphasize that the level of comparison in the research study is the “school level.” Although the topic is not politically correct, genes account for 50% or … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Genetics and Gene Expression, Human Brain, IQ | 2 Comments