the only thing that is 'hard-wired' (wow that mechanistic analogy gives a lot away) in us is the universal law of reflection: inner = outer; as above, so below etc. that and love i suppose. still i don't like the analogy at all: maybe because i am into 'rage against the machine'?
--- Khaled Alkotob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Well a while back the story was whether or not, > charity was hard wired > into us. > > now, it's being suggested that our > conservative/liberal leanings may be > hard wired too. > > http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/story/268311.html > Study links political orientation to how brain works > By DENISE GELLENE > Los Angeles Times > Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists > have found that > liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than > conservatives > because of how their brains work. > Scientists at New York University and the University > of California-Los > Angeles showed through a simple experiment to be > reported today in the > journal Nature Neuroscience 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 showed there are two cognitive styles > a liberal style and > a conservative style, said UCLA neurologist Marco > Iacoboni, who was not > involved in the latest research. > Participants were college students whose politics > ranged from very > liberal to very conservative. Scientists > instructed them 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 their 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. Liberals and conservatives were > equally accurate in > recognizing M. > Another researcher in the field, Philip Tetlock of > the University of > California-Berkeley, said he would be cautious about > drawing conclusions > from such neurological studies. Using that kind of > evidence, he said, > its hard to distinguish between someone whos > rigid and someone whos > principled. > But Mark Pollock, an associate professor of > communication at Loyola > University in Chicago, said the study provides > scientific evidence for > conclusions people (studying political rhetoric) > have reached > previously. > Such as? > A higher tolerance of ambiguity and complexity is > typical of people who > are liberal, he said. Thats not a surprise. It > does, however, suggest > there may be a hereditary and neurological basis for > that. It also might > suggest theres less likelihood of people shifting > their political > ideology if its hard-wired in there. > Pollock saw another benefit to the findings: If > political attitudes are > tied to neurophysiology, he said, it would make > bashing conservatives > or liberals pointless. Its not as if people are > making a choice to see > the world this way or that way. Its how theyre > built. > The Chicago Tribune contributed to this report. > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
