Typing Skills be Damned

So far today, my fingers seem to be hitting three keys at once. Arthritis is fun. For example, the word typing originally came out "typohjngk". But here goes--

From the LA Times:

In a simple experiment reported today in the journal Nature Neuroscience, scientists at New York University and UCLA show that political orientation is related to differences in how the brain processes information.

Previous psychological studies have found that conservatives tend to be more structured and persistent in their judgments whereas liberals are more open to new experiences. The latest study found those traits are not confined to political situations but also influence everyday decisions.

The results show "there are two cognitive styles -- a liberal style and a conservative style," said UCLA neurologist Dr. Marco Iacoboni, who was not connected to the latest research.

Participants were college students whose politics ranged from "very liberal" to "very conservative." They were instructed to tap a keyboard when an M appeared on a computer monitor and to refrain from tapping when they saw a W.

M appeared four times more frequently than W, conditioning participants to press a key in knee-jerk fashion whenever they saw a letter.

Each participant was wired to an electroencephalograph that recorded activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that detects conflicts between a habitual tendency (pressing a key) and a more appropriate response (not pressing the key). Liberals had more brain activity and made fewer mistakes than conservatives when they saw a W, researchers said.

So what is being said is that being a conservative (actually the way the experiment is explained here, it really is textbook definition reactionary) is a choice just as much as being gay. At least in many cases. I wonder if we can establish schools that can heal that malady as easily as being gay. Religious-based conversions seem to work so well. Oh, the irony that a repetitive incorrect response is hard-wired into a conservatives' brain. Makes you wonder if this is genetically passed down and can account for geographic areas being conservative.

In seriousness, though, some of this (conservative mind set) has to be genetics and some is reinforced learning. I can recall when some kids went to college and parental influence or religious influence was released, drug-taking, hard drinking sexual hijinks ensued until some level of maturity and choice making was developed. I would not be surprised to see if genetic predispositions actually have some influence on whether someone is ecstatic or mystical, as opposed to traditionally religious or atheist. The same in politics and sexual orientation. It may influence the way that the brain interprets signals electrochemically and actuates parts of the brain function, just as some families seem to have higher IQs than others, or have a bent towards poetry as opposed to engineering. Or are just plain stupid. I would not be surprised if genetically brains in individuals are not amorphis blobs, but actually have different levels of development in different areas. In some, the speech areas are seemingly overdeveloped (he said snidely), in others musical creativity.

Our Preznut's response to this war reminds of Bart Simpson as he becomes part of Lisa's science experiment. He touches an electrode, gets shocked, says "OW" and continues to do that.

I am convinced that much human activity is not predetermined by genetics, but there are genetic predispositions and as humans we grossly underestimate their influence on our behavior. The challenge we call life if actually being rational, ecstatic, forgiving, loving, encompassing and getting along, even though the guy (or gal) next to you may be genetically beautiful or handsome, or genetically predisposed to gas, or genetically predisposed to anger reactions. And what we do to get along as a society.

rojo