Faith, truth and forgiveness: How your brain processes abstract thoughts

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have leveraged machine learning to interpret human brain scans, allowing the team to uncover the regions of the brain behind how abstract concepts, like justice, ethics and consciousness, form. The results of this study are available online in the October 29 issue of Cerebral Cortex.

more…

paper
Neural Representations of Abstract Concepts: Identifying Underlying Neurosemantic Dimensions

from article

“For me, the most exciting result of this study was that we were able to predict the neural activation patterns for individual abstract concepts across people,” Vargas said. “It is wild to think that my concept of probability and spirituality is neurally similar to the next person’s, even if their experience of spirituality is different.”

Tau.Neutrino said:

from article

“For me, the most exciting result of this study was that we were able to predict the neural activation patterns for individual abstract concepts across people,” Vargas said. “It is wild to think that my concept of probability and spirituality is neurally similar to the next person’s, even if their experience of spirituality is different.”

Indeed, that is wild.

Could it be they are over-simplifying what is going on here?

Tau.Neutrino said:

from article

“For me, the most exciting result of this study was that we were able to predict the neural activation patterns for individual abstract concepts across people,” Vargas said. “It is wild to think that my concept of probability and spirituality is neurally similar to the next person’s, even if their experience of spirituality is different.”

I guess it could seem revolutionary, structure, and structural similarities, especially if you were emerging from the neurochem tabula rasa, sort of the shallow slime pond of cultural determinism

it was only the other day was talking to my phrenologist, i’m fortunate enough to have one, she massages my head while, and there’s a record in the cranial terrain, you know yes there’s that last dirt bike accident, quite a valley and hill there, some buried sand grains still emerging occasionally, and there’s that fall from the highchair, and there’s that time you banged into the hills hoist at a sprint and knocked yourself out cold. Overall the cranial deformation from birth seems to have resolved itself, colic and all.

of course there’s been advances, cranium penetrating technologies, advanced phrenology

I bring you back to the humble head massage, no studies done probably, low tech

transition said:

it was only the other day was talking to my phrenologist, i’m fortunate enough to have one, she massages my head while, and there’s a record in the cranial terrain, you know yes there’s that last dirt bike accident, quite a valley and hill there, some buried sand grains still emerging occasionally, and there’s that fall from the highchair, and there’s that time you banged into the hills hoist at a sprint and knocked yourself out cold. Overall the cranial deformation from birth seems to have resolved itself, colic and all.

of course there’s been advances, cranium penetrating technologies, advanced phrenology

I bring you back to the humble head massage, no studies done probably, low tech

Have you had a blow to the head very recently? Like in the last 5 minutes…

Witty Rejoinder said:

transition said:

it was only the other day was talking to my phrenologist, i’m fortunate enough to have one, she massages my head while, and there’s a record in the cranial terrain, you know yes there’s that last dirt bike accident, quite a valley and hill there, some buried sand grains still emerging occasionally, and there’s that fall from the highchair, and there’s that time you banged into the hills hoist at a sprint and knocked yourself out cold. Overall the cranial deformation from birth seems to have resolved itself, colic and all.

of course there’s been advances, cranium penetrating technologies, advanced phrenology

I bring you back to the humble head massage, no studies done probably, low tech

Have you had a blow to the head very recently? Like in the last 5 minutes…

a bit of fun was all

how are you anyway, how’d your test for cerebral syphilis go, doctors still arguing about if it’s a technically correct term in your case..

transition said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

transition said:

it was only the other day was talking to my phrenologist, i’m fortunate enough to have one, she massages my head while, and there’s a record in the cranial terrain, you know yes there’s that last dirt bike accident, quite a valley and hill there, some buried sand grains still emerging occasionally, and there’s that fall from the highchair, and there’s that time you banged into the hills hoist at a sprint and knocked yourself out cold. Overall the cranial deformation from birth seems to have resolved itself, colic and all.

of course there’s been advances, cranium penetrating technologies, advanced phrenology

I bring you back to the humble head massage, no studies done probably, low tech

Have you had a blow to the head very recently? Like in the last 5 minutes…

a bit of fun was all

how are you anyway, how’d your test for cerebral syphilis go, doctors still arguing about if it’s a technically correct term in your case..

Someone is wearing their cranky-pants…

Witty Rejoinder said:

transition said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

Have you had a blow to the head very recently? Like in the last 5 minutes…

a bit of fun was all

how are you anyway, how’d your test for cerebral syphilis go, doctors still arguing about if it’s a technically correct term in your case..

Someone is wearing their cranky-pants…

jocular, more like it