the evolving mind

One of my favorite scenes from the sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, has two of the science nerds (Sheldon and Rajesh) working hard at tackling a tough science problem. What are they doing? Outwardly, nothing much. Just staring at a blackboard with a few strings of symbols chalked on it. Minutes go by. Hours go by (tv time). There they remain, staring at the blackboard, working hard.

Although I don’t do it often enough, I really like to do that kind of work. Is it because it tickles my posterior cingulate cortex? New research suggests it could be the case.

In Monkey brains signal the desire to explore I learned:

The researchers looked at how nerve cells fired in a part of the brain known as the posterior cingulate cortex as the monkeys were offered a selection of rewards. Generally, these neurons fired more strongly when monkeys decided to explore new alternatives.

Exploring alternatives. This type of cognitive behavior is essential to science, particularly the more theoretical kinds/stages.

Research on human brains has demonstrated that “the posterior cingulate cortex is the most metabolically active part of the brain when we are daydreaming or thinking to ourselves.” Seems that during their fictional workday, Sheldon and Rajesh were doing some heavy lifting with their posterior cingulate cortices.

It is my belief that perhaps two of the most essential educational aptitudes are curiosity and rationality: the drive to understand and discover and the ability to reliably judge alternative solutions. Can curiosity be taught? Are there mental exercises we can give kindergarten students to excite and strengthen their posterior cingulate cortices? I wonder.

I end now with the opening sentence of the news release, which says a lot:

Sticking with what you know often comes at the price of learning about more favorable alternatives.

Technorati Links: cognition, education

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