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| December 07 BRAIN – MYTHS 1. Brain power decreases as we age. Even though neurons regularly die off, the brain contains ten to twelve billion neurons. If neurons died at rate of 1000 daily, that 1% would be lost over an entire lifetime. Human brain deteriorates slower than any other organ. 2. Our thinking preferences are unchangeable. Preferences are as changeable as we are. The old way of thinking told us: See it to believe it. Modern-day thinking tells us, I will see it when I believe it. A person tends to see what she expects to see and miss what she is not expecting. 3. Airheads are spacey. Oxygen is essential to brain function. Although the brain amounts to only about 2% of the body's weight, it consumes about 25% of the body's oxygen intake. "Air in the head is positive." Expectations and belief are confounding factors in the effects of aging. 4. Short-term memory loss comes with aging. The brain remembers outstanding events better than something that has no zing. We think approximately 60,000 thoughts a day---and 95+% are the same thoughts. 5. Only the brain remembers. Research shows a body/brain connection. Memory is also recorded in the cell tissue of our entire body, e.g. taste, touch, smell can stimulate memories in our cell tissue. 6. Sorting information is a matter of sequencing. George Miller research from Harvard showed that the immediate memory span appears to be limited in the number of items that it can hold: "The Magic Number Seven Plus or Minus Two." He suggested that "chunking" information increases our capacity to sort and hold more memory. 7. All men are right-brained thinkers and all women are left-brained thinkers. Men and women can think with both sides of their brain. The fact is we need practice to strengthen our capacity to be flexible thinkers. 8. The brain produces chemicals that make our moods. Our moods produce brain chemistry. Runners produce different chemicals in their brain than couch potato thinkers. 9. Some people are not creative. The creativity of youth can be reclaimed. Children are naturally creative, but only half the adult population considers itself creative. 10. The creative community and the business community are like oil and water. It's nearly impossible for them to work together. The business community and the creative community think differently and are turned on by different kinds of work. The business community is smart in one way, and the creative community is smart in other ways. These different smartnesses are complementary and are often misunderstood. About the Submitter: This piece was originally submitted by DuAnne Redus, Business, Psychology, and Executivey Continue to... Nov 07 Oct 07 Sept 07 |