Fascinating explanation for so many important things! What do you think about this theory?

Question

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2006-05-21-politics-brain_x.htm

Answer 1

Well, for one thing, when the author says:

"Put simply, the brain does a bad job of putting you in the shoes of people you perceive as different, the study suggests."

He does indeed put it simply. Too simply. Perhaps he's leaving out the part of the research that supports this view, but in the bit we read, it only shows the brain processes evaluations "differently", not better or worse.

It's pretty obvious the brain will use different techniques to evaluate what we think we're familiar with compared to something we're not certain about. We reach for different synapses and relationships to make predictions about what are,for us, less common experiences.

In other words, if you're trying to predict what a driver of a car will do, you "reach" into your brain, analyze your memories and make inferences based on those experiences.

If you're trying to predict the actions of someone doing a task you're unfamiliar with, you "reach" into parts of your brain having to do with what you think is involved in that task, (a different part of your brain than that which houses your own personal memories) and you base your prediction on logic and accumulated information.

How good a prediction is will depend on a number of topics, from your expertise on various subjects and ability to reason, to your honesty and self-awareness.

The author seems determined to use this research to make negative comments about some people.

(As I reach into my brain for references, this usually puts a bad light on this type of research commentary.)

The technical aspects of the article are, though, very interesting!