What will a brain theory look like? (Jeff Hawkins)

TED Talks (2003) Jeff Hawkins
Notes from PowerPoint on suggestions for what Brain Theory will look like:

- Memory system (for high dimension patterns)
- Memories are stored and recalled as a sequence of patterns
- Sequences are auto-associatively recalled
- Predication of future patterns is the desired output

- Biologically accurate, testable, buildable

Being proactive in life...

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."

George Bernard Shaw, as quoted
p.149 "Drop the Pink Elephant." Bill McFarlan.

Giving and accepting gratitude

1. Saying 'thank you and well done' demonstrates your appreciation. It raises your self-confidence and that of the person you're thanking.

2. It builds loyalty, while lack of recognition builds indifference.

3. When someone thanks you, accept his or her gratitude with good grace. Put it in the bank and watch your confidence grow.

McFarlan, Bill. "Drop the Pink Elephant." (2004) Capstone, West Sussex.

Viral Interaction

"Vitality arises from sheer human contact, especially from loving connections. The people we care about most are an elixir of sorts, an ever-renewing source of energy. The neural exchange between a parent and child, a grandparent and a toddler, between lovers or a satisfied couple, or among good friends, has palpable virtues.

Now that neuroscience can put numbers to that raw buzz of fellow feeling, quantifying its benefits, we must pay attention to the biological impact of social life. The hidden links among our relationships, our brain function, and our very health and well-being are stunning in their implications.

We must reconsider the pat assumption that we are immune to toxic social encounters. Save for the passing stormy mood, we often suppose, our interactions matter little to us at any biological level. But this turns out to be a comforting illusion. Just as we catch a virus from someone else, we may also "catch" an emotional funk that makes us more vulnerable to that same virus or otherwise undermines our well-being.

From this perspective, strong, distressing states like disgust, contempt, and explosive anger are the emotional equivalent of second-hand smoke that quietly damages the lungs of others who breathe it in. The interpersonal equivalent of health-boosting would be adding positive emotions to our surroundings.

In this sense, social responsibility begins here and now, when we act in ways that help optimal states in others, from those we encounter casually to those we love and care about most dearly. In accord with Whitman, one scientist who studies the survival value of sociability says the practical lesson for us all comes down to "Nourish your social connections."

Goleman, Daniel. "Social Intelligence" (2006). Arrow, New York. pp.318, 319.

Prejudice & Stereotypes

"We confront the challenges of living in a global civilization with a brain that primally attaches us to our home tribe. As a psychiatrist who grew up amid the ethnic turmoil of Cyprus put it, groups that are so much alike move from Us to Them via the "narcissism of minor differences," seizing on small features that set the groups apart while ignoring their vast human similarities. Once the others are set at a psychological distance, they can become a target for hostility.

This process is a corruption of a normal congnitive function: categorization. The human mind depends on categories to give order and meaning to the world around us. By assuming that the next entity we encounter in a given category has the same main features as the last, we navigate our way through an ever-changing environment.

But once negative bias begins, our lenses become clouded. We tend to seize on whatever seems to confirm the bias and ignore what does not. Prejudice, in this sense, is a hypothesis desperately trying to prove itself to us. And so when we encounter someone to whom the prejudice might apply, the bias skews our perception, making it impossible to test whether the stereotype actually fits. Openly hostile stereotypes about a group - to the extent they rest on untested assumptions - are mental categories gone awry."

Goleman, Daniel. "Social Intelligence" (2006). Arrow, New York. pp.299,300.

McKinsey - Management Practices that Work

What makes companies perform well? To find this holy grail of management studies, a McKinsey team analyzed upward of 100,000 questionnaires to uncover the practices of 400 business units in 230 companies around the world. The team eventually arrived at one winning combination: clear roles for employees (accountability), a compelling vision of change (direction), and an environment that encourages openness, trust, and challenge (culture). Nothing else came close in improving organizational performance.

View on the Web: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/newsletters/chartfocus/2007_09.htm
The McKinsey Quarterly Chart Focus Newsletter
September 2007 | Member Edition

Social Intelligence - Daniel Goleman

"As Cohen told me, "The most striking finding on relationships and physical health is that socially integrated people -- those who are married, have close family and friends, belong to social and relgious groups, and participate widely in these networks -- recover more quickly from disease and live longer. Roughly eighteen studies show a strong connection between social connectivity and mortality."

Devoting more time and energy to being with people in our lives whom we find most nourishing, Cohen says, has health benefits. he also urges patients, to the extent possible, to reduce the number of emotionally toxic interactions in their day, while increasing the nourishing ones."

Social Intelligence (2006), p. 247.