idealawg

Interviews about measuring and acquiring happiness are just clicks away: Please enjoy the links in this post . . .

From All in the Mind:

The science of happiness

The pursuit of happiness is a global obsession. But can science investigate its slippery, subjective nature? What are the metrics—self report, brain activity, or the good deeds we do? Five world leaders in the field join Natasha Mitchell in conversation—neuroscientist Richard Davidson, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace, psychologist Daniel Gilbert and philosopher David Chalmers.

From Denver radio station 850 KOA, an interview by Mike Rosen of Arthur C. Brooks, author of Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It.

Image credit: deviantArt

Is there a compromise between religion and science that we have ignored? Shoud the sacred be reinvented?

Dr. Stuart Kauffman has written a new book entitled Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason, and Religion. Today he was interviewed by Kojo Nnamdi. To listen, click and go to "A New Definition of Religion and Science"; the interview starts at about 3:47 minutes.

For more, I recommend Kauffman's article from Edge "Breaking the Galilean Spell," an excerpt from the new book. Article excerpt:

My aim is to reinvent the sacred. I present a new view of a fully natural God and of the sacred, based on a new, emerging scientific worldview. This new worldview reaches further than science itself and invites a new view of God, the sacred, and ourselves—ultimately including our science, art, ethics, politics, and spirituality. My field of research, complexity theory, is leading toward the reintegration of science with the ancient Greek ideal of the good life, well lived. It is not some tortured interpretation of fundamentally lifeless facts that prompts me to say this; the science itself compels it.

This is not the outlook science has presented up to now. Our current scientific worldview, derived from Galileo, Newton, and their followers, is the foundation of modern secular society, itself the child of the Enlightenment. At base, our contemporary perspective is reductionist: all phenomena are ultimately to be explained in terms of the interactions of fundamental particles. ...

Reductionism has led to very powerful science. One has only to think of Einstein’s general relativity and the current standard model in quantum physics, the twin pillars of twentieth century physics. Molecular biology is a product of reductionism, as is the Human Genome Project.

Read the rest of "Breaking the Galilean Spell."

On a related note, several people have sent me an article from today's New York Times by David Brooks. Excerpt from "The Neural Buddhists":

Lo and behold, over the past decade, a new group of assertive atheists has done battle with defenders of faith. The two sides have argued about whether it is reasonable to conceive of a soul that survives the death of the body and about whether understanding the brain explains away or merely adds to our appreciation of the entity that created it.

The atheism debate is a textbook example of how a scientific revolution can change public culture. Just as “The Origin of Species” reshaped social thinking, just as Einstein’s theory of relativity affected art, so the revolution in neuroscience is having an effect on how people see the world.
...
In unexpected ways, science and mysticism are joining hands and reinforcing each other. That’s bound to lead to new movements that emphasize self-transcendence but put little stock in divine law or revelation. Orthodox believers are going to have to defend particular doctrines and particular biblical teachings. They’re going to have to defend the idea of a personal God, and explain why specific theologies are true guides for behavior day to day. I’m not qualified to take sides, believe me. I’m just trying to anticipate which way the debate is headed. We’re in the middle of a scientific revolution. It’s going to have big cultural effects.

Extraordinarily interesting and, in my point of view, important issues. If for no other reason than the cultural implications, I plan to watch and think deeply as this "revolution" unfolds.

Coach and coax your brain to create new habits: Lay down some new tracks

Want to make some changes in your life? Is there something you want to quit doing? Or start doing? If yes, then please read one of the articles I have written with Jeffrey Schwartz to which I have linked and from which I have taken excerpts below.

I was pleased to see an article in Sunday's New York Times in which was a discussion about self-directed neuroplasticity (changing your brain on purpose). The article's author Janet Rae-Dupree did not use the phrase "self-directed neuroplasticity but nevertheless described it.

HABITS are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative connotation.

So it seems antithetical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try — the more we step outside our comfort zone — the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.

Click to read the rest of "Can You Become a Creature of New Habits?"

Here are more tips on changing your brain from two of our articles.

From "Brain Management . . . Law Firm Leadership on the Neuro Frontier" (Of Counsel):

Let’s say that you have decided to listen more to your prospective clients, clients, partners, associates, or staff. Perhaps you have heard, as a result of some business development or management or mentoring training program, all about the benefits of being a good listener. But as you begin a conversation, you feel the need to talk, even pontificate.

Now, you confront the moment of choice. That moment of choice holds the gold in self-directed neuroplasticity, in controlling the rewiring of your brain. You can choose to talk. If you are accustomed to being more of a talker than a listener, your brain will call to you to follow the old neuron connections, the old and well-worn synapses. These old synapses are habitual and the most comfortable for you. The old paths fit like a pair of used, comfortable slippers or jeans. They are seductive and part of the familiar you.

Or you can choose to listen. If you experience the powerful urge to open your mouth and talk, you are going to need to begin to develop some new brain grooves, some new synapses. Not as easy as going with the old ruts and grooves, but it is doable and the good news is that it gets easier and easier. Each time you choose to listen instead of talk, you will be developing and strengthening new neuron connections, new listening synapses.

The more you choose to listen, the stronger those paths will grow. After a while, listening will feel old slipper comfortable, too. Then, when an interaction occurs, you will have the choice of which brain path to follow depending upon which is appropriate to the situation. In any event, you won’t simply be governed by an old habit.

From "Exercise Mind Hygiene On A Daily Basis" (The Complete Lawyer):

...Golden Moments of Choice are possible because your brain is always changing (that's called neuroplasticity). The changes are either by default as it interacts with

New edition of THE COMPLETE LAWYER now online: The focus is "A sound mind in a sound body"

Another chock-full edition of The Complete Lawyer is up and awaiting your reading eyes and minds. Articles include one I wrote with Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz: "Exercise Mind Hygiene On A Daily Basis." Excerpt:

Do you ever have days when you describe your life as out of control?  Is your career going in an unintended direction? Do you feel as if you don’t have the time to assess whether your personal and professional trajectory is consistent or colliding with your goals and values, or if it’s aligned with your daily preferences? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, stop! For just a moment, step off the treadmill and join us on solid ground.

Do you want to take control? If so, you already have the necessary tool—your reflective mind. Unfortunately too few people use this life-correcting instrument. Instead, most lawyers operate in a reactive mode. Some are so governed by the billable hour that their brains are like metronomes, still keeping time even when they are away from work, preventing them from paying full attention to life outside the office. Others are so motivated by fear of not scaling the Mt. Everest heights of the legal profession, of not meeting elusive standards or not moving fast enough that they suffer self-induced workaholism. Sadly, some lawyers are so governed by their reactive brains that they become physically ill.

Other don't-miss articles:

• "The Inextricable Link Between The Body And Mind" by Richard Strozzi-Heckler
• "What Are Your Options?" by Anne Whitaker
• "Find Gratitude, Be A Better Lawyer" by Joe Shaub
• "Your Next Presentation Can Be A Hit If You Follow The Rules" by Mark Johnson
• "Do You Think Like A Solo Practitioner?" by Susan Cartier Liebel
• "Hourly Billing Is The Opiate Of The Profession" by Ronald J. Baker
• "Live in Your Head and Your Heart" by Susan Daicoff
• "Use The Elements Of Fiction To Tell The Client’s Story" by Karen J. Sneddon

And much, much more! This edition includes the second column written by my sisters in the ADR 'hood (Vickie Pynchon, Diane Levin, and Gini Nelson) and me; click to read the new installment of our "The Human Factor."

Something for everyone in The Complete Lawyer. Enjoy.

Note (added May 2, 2008, 12:04 PM Mountain): From one of my favorite blogs (because it is smart, sharp, short, sassy, and even once in a while silly), an announcement of this edition of TCL. Do NOT miss how What About Clients? heralded this The Complete Lawyer; what they did is good for your mind and your body. Get moving! Love that crew of bloggers—Holden Oliver, Brooke Powell, Tom Welshonce and Dan Hull. Kind of a hybrid of Miley Cyrus, Benjamin Franklin, Britney Spears, George Washington, Robin Williams, and Angelina Jolie. (Maybe throw in a teaspoon of the Dalai Lama and Starhawk, too.)

12 ways to get smarter

From Wired: "Get Smarter: 12 Hacks That Will Amp Up Your Brainpower." Here are a few of the tips. Take a look at all 12 by clicking over to the article.

1) Max Your Mind's Performance by Distracting Yourself
Excerpt:

Desperate to memorize a crucial fact?. . .The trick is to distract yourself by studying stuff that's slightly different from whatever you're trying to learn. Your brain will then work harder to permanently store the original information.

4) Think Positive, and You Will Get Smarter
Excerpt:

Learning new things actually strengthens your brain — especially when you believe you can learn new things. It's a virtuous circle: When you think you're getting smarter, you study harder, making more nerve-cell connections, which in turn makes you ... smarter. This effect shows up consistently among experimental subjects, from seventh graders to college students to businesspeople.

7) Thalamus, Cortex, Amygdala ... Pick Apart the Brain
Clever graphic to help you learn about the parts of your brain and their functions

8) Embracing Chaos Could Bring Order to Your Memory
Excerpt:

One way to learn Better: Mix yourself up. That's advice from Robert Bjork, chair of UCLA's psychology department and a leading expert in memory and learning. Volunteers in his experiments exhibited superior recall when they learned information in randomly ordered chunks.

11) Up Your Intelligence by Choosing Your Exercise Wisely
Excerpt:

Can exercise make you think better? In some cases, yes. Here's what works best.

Are coaching, organizational development, and appreciative inquiry like "applying leeches"?

You may find that some rich thoughts are provoked as you read "The Future of Leadership," an interview of Art Kleiner, in Shambhala Institute's Fieldnotes. Here are two excerpts I particularly appreciated.

I’m fond of Elliot Jacques’ statement that “management today is where medicine was before the discovery of circulation of the blood.” I think many s+b readers see much of what’s going on in management change as an example of “applying leeches” without really being sure that it is going to make a difference. This year it might be coaching, two years ago it was organizational design, and two years before that it was appreciative inquiry. All these different methods have varying degrees of applicability and validity, but nobody reliably can say why they’re effective, when they’re effective, and where they’re effective. There’s no unifying field theory of management.  . . .

And, of course, being a fan of the brain, I liked seeing the mention of neuroscience here:

At the same time two things have happened. One is that there are now ways of understanding people at work that are more revealing and have more depth than previously was the case. There is a greater understanding that there are significant things going on in organizations that are not necessarily easy to see at the individual level but that colour the direction of the organization. The application of neuroscience in management practice is a developing field that is leading to very interesting insights. Another emerging field is social network analysis—the work of such people as Karen Stephenson and Duncan Watts, who are mathematically analyzing patterns of communication as people share knowledge informally.

Kleiner is editor-in-chief of strategy+business in which was published "The Neuroscience of Leadership."

Some critical thinking about the Jill Bolte Taylor video

So many people have sent me the link to the TED talk given by Jill Bolte Taylor (transcript here). I watched it and was a bit curious as to why people are so impressed with this 18 minutes. She is a good performer but not a good scientist. Some thoughts from others are below. What did you think of the video?

From a professor:

It is unfortunate that Jill Boltes dragged out the left-brain/right-brain stuff as an explanation for her experiences since the brain does not work that way. In other words, while the sequence of events might have been somewhat different, she would probably have had the same sorts of experiences had the stroke occurred in the right cerebral hemisphere rather than the left.

The only reason I can think of that she used the left-brain/right-brain metaphor is that she must have gone to school in the 1970s when we really did think that the

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School—A heady success

Not a day goes by lately when I do not see mention on blogs of the new book Brain Rules. The praise often includes the Web site created by the book's author Dr. John Medina. Coert Visser at Solution Focused Change writes:

Dr. Medina's website is an impressive display of modern day book promotion. There are video's, there's a blog, there are links to reviews and articles, and there is more.

At Neuroanthropology, Greg Downey commented on the site and also complimented Medina on his accessible way of presenting information .

The website contains a wealth of Flash-based audio-visual elements from the book, bibliography, graphics, and a host of other resources. I’m struck by several things about it; first, Medina is very savvy — he’s pitched this book brilliantly for a general audience. I don’t mean that as a backhanded compliment; in fact, it’s something that I aspire to in my own writing, and it’s educational to see such a good practitioner. Second, he’s done a great job of distilling some complicated ideas into bullet-point amenable, succinct statements.

Alvaro Fernandez at SharpBrains earlier this week posted an article by Medina which will give you the flavor of the book.

Interested in a good, non-technical, summary of the implications of recent brain science in our daily lives? Biologist John Medina offers that in his article below (as part of our Author Speaks Series) and in his new book: Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Enjoy!

Matt Homann at the [non]billable hour explained his favorite of the 12 rules presented in the book.

I especially liked Rule # 10: Vision Trumps All Other Senses, and it contains this rule of thumb for presenters:

You'll get 3x better recall for visual information than for oral. And you'll get 6x better recall for information that's simultaneously oral and visual.

Hey, Matt? Have you read The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam? I think you are going to love it!

I am reading Brain Rules and will tell you more when I have finished. So far, I have enjoyed it thoroughly. Have you read it yet?

Note (added March 30, 2008, 8:50 PM Mountain): Click for a BusinessWeek article which includes The Back of the Napkin titled "Doodling for Profits."

Here's another article on The Back of the Napkin: "Pictures aid communication, book argues." And the "lost chapter" of the book: "The 10-1/2 Commandments of Visual Thinking." (pdf)

Rewiring your brain step by step: Breaking old habits and making new ones

In the past, I have posted both here and at Brains on Purpose™ about how to makes changes in your life that are effective and long-lasting. Those posts usually have been from the perspective of neuroscience because I think that lens is the most efficient and helpful.

A very brief review: In order to create a change, you need to create new neuron pathways. Because the brain wants to conserve energy, it will prefer defaulting to old pathways rather than taking the energy and making the effort to create new ones. So you must engage in self-directed neuroplasticity (SDN)—with your mind, take control and deliberately change your brain, deliberately create new neuron routes and grooves.

SDN requires the ability to observe yourself, to be self-aware, so that you know when it is time to shift your thoughts and attention. This shifting will create new pathways—which create new habits. Pretty simple but not often easy to do.

I always like to find others who are writing in an easy-to-understand style about the brain and change; each person has a different way of explaining the steps and process. Click to read "It's time to rethink the way you think." In that article, Dan Bobinski talks about neurons and how we should think about change. He says, "Essentially, three things work together to foster change: Focus, Expectation, and Attention Density." I recommend the article. Find out how Bobinski describes the process of change.

Click for more about self-directed neuroplasticity. And Why is change so hard?

Do you suffer from Brain Overclaim Syndrome? Here's a cure and some resources on neurolaw

A Google search on University of Pennsylvania law professor Stephen J. Morse pulled up several articles on neurolaw. Because I found quotes of Morse in a recent article to be provocative, I was motivated to do the search to see what else the professor has said.

I certainly do not agree with all of his beliefs. For example, Morse is quoted in "UPenn professor gives lecture on moral, civil responsibility":

I am a physicalist as well as a monist . . .  . There is and always only will be matter and nothing further, there is no soul, no top down intelligence, now human brains can produce nonmaterial things like culture, but it begins with matter. The mind cannot separate itself from the body.

As regular readers of my blogs know, I do think the mind is separate from the brain and from the rest of the body. And as my friends know, yep, I believe in soul!

I do agree with Morse's caution regarding what neuroscience can tell us about individual responsibility.

. . . Morse proceeded to dispel the two arguments that "new neuroscience" seemed to suggest might change the idea of moral responsibility.

Morse argued that "current neuroscientific discoveries do not undermine the traditional view of the person as a creature capable of acting for reasons that explain the person's behavior."

Morse simply concluded that "neuroscience does not yet undermine traditional concepts of responsibility."

At Morse's Web pages, you will find a number of other articles, and some interviews. Those of you with an interest in neurolaw will be happy to see the resources. From the media: