Overview to go with slides
Modularity: The human brain is not a single ‘unit’ – rather, it’s composed of hundreds of small ‘modules’ which each perform a unique cognitive job.
– These hundreds of modules can be organized and coordinated by our ‘controller’ – a brain region that can shut down competing modules in order to generate a single coherent experience of the world.
– Turns out, our controller is actually a ‘coder’ – not only can it shut modules down, but it can also modulate and manipulate each module so that it processes the world according to our stories.
– Put another way, our coder can change how our brain works so that we literally see, hear, taste, feel, and smelll the world we think SHOULD exist rather than the world that actually does.
– In a very real sense, our stories drive our reality, not the other way around.
– How deep does this get? Let’s just say that nothing should be taken for granted – even the blue color in the sky!
– This means a large portion of our job in education is to explicate and understand our student’s stories. Once this is accomplished, we can begin to work towards evolving and changing these stories to change the world students experience (or create!).
What’s at Stake – Neuroscience and the Stories we Live by – Jared Horvath.compressed
