A number of people have told me that my recent posting of a Jonah Lehrer interview on how we make decisions was appreciated. Obviously the process of deciding is a foundation of conflict resolution so I am linking you to another interview of Lehrer about the brain and decisions, this one from the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. From the Web page of the interview "Jonah Lehrer: Brain Science for the Rest of Us":
[Lehrer's] new book How We Decide ... is a set of cautionary tales about the limits of the rational brain, that peculiarly human pre-frontal cortex, and by implication the limits of rational science. It is not reason — certainly not reason alone — that tells quarterback Tom Brady which receiver should get the pass, or that tells the pilot of a disabled plane how to land it. It’s not even reason that brings the best of our human gifts into balance. Lehrer quotes G. K. Chesterton: “The madman is not the man who has lost his reason. The madman is the man who has lost everything except his reason.”
Jonah Lehrer identifies himself with the modern doctor who tells you not to choose the MRI for your lower back pain but to study patience, or perhaps Yoga, instead. Not only have MRIs not solved the problem of back pain. “In fact, the new technology has probably made the problem worse. The machine simply sees too much. Doctors are overwhelmed with information and struggle to distinguish the significant from the irrelevant… This is the danger of too much information: it can actually interfere with understanding.”
In the interview, he talks about why neuroscience is becoming so popular and says it's because the science is becoming practical. He also says the way to avoid the consequences of the flaws in our
brains is to be self-aware, to think about how we are thinking. (That certainly is a theme of mine here and in the programs I give.)
During this interview, Lehrer also talks about the research of Philip Tetlock showing that experts are no better able to predict the future than are you or I. And he discusses the research of Carol Dweck showing that children's knowing how their brains work improves their learning. (Similar to my point that teaching parties to a dispute about how their brains work helps in resolving the conflict.)
Lehrer talks about much more, too. I think you will enjoy listening. Let me know.
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