Dinner table neuropsychology

Common sense or ‘folk psychology‘ is what your average person in the street uses to make sense of human behaviour. It says people have affairs because their relationship is unsatisfying, that people steal because they want money and that people give to charity because they want to help people.

Scientists tend to say ‘well, it’s a bit more complicated than that’ but talk of conditional risk factors for behaviour won’t get you very far in a dinner table discussion so ‘folk psychology’ is a culturally agreed form of psychology that is acceptable to use in everyday explanation.

I’ve just been alerted to a fascinating study in the journal Public Understanding of Science looks at how the enthusiasm for pop neuroscience has encroached on ‘folk psychology’ to create a form of ‘folk neuropsychology’ where brain-based explanations are now becoming acceptable in everyday explanation.

Talking brains: a cognitive semantic analysis of an emerging folk neuropsychology

Paul Rodriguez

Public Understanding of Science July 2006 vol. 15 no. 3 301-330

What is the influence of neuroscience on the common sense way we talk about behavior and mental experience? This article examines this influence and the diffusion of neuroscience terms as it appears in everyday language that reflects shared cultural knowledge. In an unsolicited collection of speech acts and metaphors I show that the word “brain” often substitutes for “mind” and brain states are often asserted as the cause of mental states. I also present several examples of visual depictions of the brain, including modern brain scans, which have become the basis for new cultural symbols that are identified with mental experience. Taken together, the linguistic and visual brain metaphors highlight the concrete nature of the brain in contrast to the abstract nature of the mind. This, in turn, provides a physical dimension to the way we conceptualize mental phenomena in ordinary language. Thus, a modern folk neuropsychology is emerging which provides an alternative, reductionist, and sometimes competing network of concepts for explaining the mind in comparison to conventional folk psychology.

The full study is available online as a pdf if you want the details.

Link to DOI entry for study (via @cfernyhough)
pdf of full text.

View the original article here

Dining Room Table Clearing Tips

Reclaim Your Dining Room Table!

I just came back into my dining room after making a phone call. Today is the day my assistant is working in my office so I took all my “to dos” and spread them on the dining room table. As I looked at the table I thought, “This is what happens to my clients! They need space so they spread out on the dining room table. After all, it’s only used for eating two to four times a year! And, because they are not as compulsive as me, when it’s time to do something else, they just leave the stuff on the table. Stuff attracts stuff, so more stuff gets piled on the table. Then, clearing it seems like a nightmare job. The energy of the stuff is chaotic and negative. And, of course we all want to avoid that! Unless you are anal like me!

How many of you having dining room tables that need to be excavated? Does it bug you? If it does, bite the bullet and clear it off. If it takes getting a friend to help you, get it done. We really cannot afford to have large parts of our house feeling chaotic and burdensome. If we have that type of energy in our house, we are attracting that type of energy in our lives. Besides which, do you want to feel your spirit drop every time you pass the dining room? That’s what happens! And, I’ll bet many of you also experience a stream of thoughts like, “What a slob you are! Why can’t you get that table cleared?”

Once you get the table cleared, make a commitment to keep it clear. You may want to write a reminder to keep it clear and post it on the refrigerator. If you live with other people, make sure you let everyone know of your new commitment. Ask for their help to keep the table clear. Check it every day. Clear whatever accumulates on it every day. If you clear daily, it won’t seem like a big deal. If you wait until the weekend, you run the risk of then finding a task that seems to big to handle and go shopping instead.

If you use the table for a project, make a deal with yourself that you will create a new habit of picking everything up at the end of the project. Beware, however, the longer the project lasts, the more likely it is that other things will be dumped on the table. And, the longer the project, the harder it is to get the stuff of the table. It’s as if the papers and tools associated with the project grow little energy tentacles.

My preference is to work on a project, or as is the case today with my many little projects, and pick up everything every day. By this evening my dining room table will once again be clear. All the bits and pieces of my work will be back in my office. And, I will be able to look at my dining room table and smile.

You may decide that they only way that you can keep the table clear is to use it only for its intended purpose, eating. But, you may also be worried about how you can change your automatic habit of dumping on that wonderful flat surface. My recommendation is to place a beautiful flower arrangement (silk is OK), ornamental ceramic decorative item or piece of glass on it, something with so much positive energy that it communicates, “Don’t dump here!” The item has to be striking, beautiful and big enough to get your attention. When you put it in place, you want to be thinking, “I don’t want anything to distract from this special piece!”

Start now. Clear your dining room table in preparation for the holidays. Then, commit to keeping it clear all year long. It’s a commitment guaranteed to reduce stress and create another peaceful place in your home.

View the original article here