Neurons Gone Wild
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Neurons Gone Wild
1–10 of 41 posts
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#2Couldn't help but think of this (apocryphal apparently, huh?) story:
One night at Cheers, Cliff Clavin explained the "Buffalo theory" to his buddy Norm:
"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.
In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine!
That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#3The most interesting part of the article is the section on tulpas. I never knew there was a word for that, much less a community around it.
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#4The most interesting part of the article is the section on tulpas. I never knew there was a word for that, much less a community around it.
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#5Couldn't help but think of this (apocryphal apparently, huh?) story: One night at Cheers, Cliff Clavin explained the "Buffalo theory" to his buddy Norm: "Well ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the…
That is a rationalization for drinking beer. I'm not against alcohol, but I am against people deceiving themselves about its effects. Alcohol will make you less, not more intelligent.
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#6Couldn't help but think of this (apocryphal apparently, huh?) story: One night at Cheers, Cliff Clavin explained the "Buffalo theory" to his buddy Norm: "Well ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the…
That is a rationalization for drinking beer. I'm not against alcohol, but I am against people deceiving themselves about its effects. Alcohol will make you less, not more intelligent.
It's a joke on a sitcom. Not meant to be taken at face value.
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#7This article is fascinating and struck a very particular chord with me. It puts elegantly and concisely into words feelings and intuitions that I've been having in the recent years, and gives me a vocabulary to deal with hard situations I am encountering currently in my life. Thanks to the author for writing it.
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#8I'm interested in this field of study. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like it's primarily economic theory applied to the brain/neurons?
If I were to be interested in learning more about the ideas and theories that this article inherits from, where would I start?
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#9I'm interested in this field of study. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like it's primarily economic theory applied to the brain/neurons? If I were to be interested in learning more about the ideas and theories that this article inherits from, where would I start?
Dan Dennett, the author of the piece that sparked this one, is an obvious intellectual ancestor to these ideas. I can't recommend his book "Intuition Pumps and other Tools for Thinking" enough. In it, he lays out his entire model of the mind, and really, the whole universe. It's eminently approachable and provides a good introduction to the way of thinking lying behind this article.
Re: Neurons Gone Wild
#10[deleted]