(토요모임) [20. April. 2019 ] Saturday meeting topic

[Scarlet]

Hello ! Everyone !~   It's me Scarlett ! 

This week we have 2 main discussion materials which are connected with 'Better Desicion making under uncertainty and Biotechnology'.  Do not be obsessed with all the articles too much. 

Just pick some articles that you have interests in and 

prepare your opinions related to them. :)

Detailed lists are as follows.

◈ Better Decision Making 

- Choosing in Uncertainty : Making effective decisions in high uncertainty

- 5 Ways For Leaders to Handle Uncertainty in Decision Making

- When You Can't Afford to Make a Mistake, This’ll Keep You Sharp

- How good is your decision-making? 

◈ Biotechnology

- Your brain is a black box. 3 questions unravel the mystery

- The world's first baby has been born using the controversial '3-parent' technique

◈ Further Small talks

- Answered! Life’s 25 Toughest Questios

Hope you enjoy the topics

With luv

Scarlett

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Choosing in Uncertainty : Making effective decisions in high uncertainty

Headlines over the last couple years have created a heightened feeling of uncertainty and expectation with respect to perceived global risks. Some of the top risks garnering a lot of attention include:

● Global recession
● Loss of liquidity leading to a credit crisis
● Regulatory risk attributed to a changing policy environment
● Major country/economy failure
● Natural disasters/catastrophic weather
● Financial market instability
● Terrorist acts
● Accelerating technological change

● Aging population trends in developed economies

An increasing sense of uncertainty reflects a changing environment that will impact the choices we make. Recognizing and accommodating these changes provides the opportunity to increase decision making effectiveness.

■ Reality: Decision making always involves uncertainty
Even the simplest decisions carry some level of uncertainty. In choosing a cup of coffee, there will be at least the possibility that the coffee doesn't taste good, is not hot, or will not provide the usual pleasurable feeling. Complete certainty would imply carrying out a fixed procedure or algorithm, not making a choice.
So, how does decision making impact uncertainty? Decision making can be described as the process of reducing uncertainty about solution options by gaining sufficient knowledge of the options to allow a reasonable selection from among them. Uncertainty is reduced, but never eliminated. If that were possible, we would be able to predict the future without error.

Seldom are decisions made with absolute certainty because complete knowledge of the alternatives is not possible or practical. There is also a distinction in levels of uncertainty. In "precise uncertainty" probabilities for solution outcomes can be known or gathered, such as in games of chance. Other risks, such as some of those suggested in the bullet list above, will often have probabilities that are not knowable.

■ Why does it seem like uncertainty is increasing?
Events globally and locally, along with a high level of media attention, are revealing some of the risks and uncertainty that underlie decisions that impact our perception of security. In reality, there is no permanent security in this world. Choosing not to take risks does not secure one from changes that can take place in the environment, economy, technology, society, or government.

Obvious emotions of fear and anxiety arise whenever we are separated from things that make us feel secure. People experience these emotions, particularly separation anxiety, when they move away from homes and loved ones at many stages during life. It should be expected, and acknowledged, that we will have fear of failure, loss, or rejection when we take on risk or uncertainty. Losing a sense of control over your life can be unsettling.

■ How should we change our decision making when uncertainty increases?

Recognizing that uncertainty brings some level of separation anxiety can help reveal some ideas for managing decision making in uncertainty. Here are some ideas to consider for times of high decision uncertainty.

1. Reduce the time horizon for decisions. Build a bridge to the future by taking smaller steps, keeping something familiar and secure with each step.

2. Learn as much as possible about options before choosing. Knowledge makes the new seem more familiar, reducing separation anxiety.

3. Avoid unneeded risk. When the environment is providing lots of uncertainty, defer risks that are in your control. For example, when there is economic uncertainty, postpone taking on debt for buying a new car.

4.Take one risk at a time when feasible. Combining risks from multiple decisions (e.g., choosing to get married and change jobs at the same time) can create confusion, increase stress, and make it difficult to learn from unsuccessful outcomes.

5. Determine the worst case scenario. Fear of loss is higher when it is unbounded. Knowing the worst is survivable can ease this fear.

6. Clarify the uncertainty. Estimate the negative and positive consequences of the risk or uncertainty. Knowledge of the potential gains and losses can encourage taking risks for good opportunities.

7. Know your goals and values. The underlying premise of effective decision making is that the decision maker knows their needs and desires. Risk becomes unbounded when this is not the case.

8. Invest in keeping options open. Having a wide range of options increases flexibility to accommodate an uncertain future. Options can be reduced as knowledge is obtained.

9. Avoid emotional risk taking. Take risks for the right reasons based on clear, calm, and rational thought.

10. Manage decisions adaptively. Increase monitoring and appraisal for decision making in uncertainty. Readily adapt as new knowledge is uncovered.

The recurring theme for uncertain times is gaining knowledge. Knowledge provides the basis for security and familiarity. Decisions provide the framework for gaining the knowledge that will reduce uncertainty and enable change.

Feeling anxious? It's probably time to make some decisions.

Article source : https://www.decision-making-solutions.com/decision-making-in-uncertainty.html

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5 Ways For Leaders to Handle Uncertainty in Decision Making

By Ben Brearley BSc BCM MBA|CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE LEADERSHIP TOOLKIT

Uncertainty can be extremely stressful in the workplace. In fact, uncertainty can even be more stressful than knowing for certain that bad outcomes are heading your way. That’s why dealing with uncertainty in decision making is a critical skill for anybody at work. However, the need for this skill is even more important as a leader or manager.

■ Why is it important for leaders to be able to deal with uncertainty in decision making?
When you are leading anything, you are going to need to make decisions. If you are part of a team, but not leading it, you might be able to get away with sitting on your hands and waiting for something to happen.
But for a leader, you’re going to be held accountable for decisions and progress. You can’t just sit and do nothing. You need to show that you are taking action and moving forward. Otherwise the buck stops with you, and you’ll seem ineffective.

■ Productive ways of dealing with uncertainty in decision making
I’ll be honest. Uncertainty annoys me. Grey areas, the unknown, call it whatever you want. It’s no fun. I wish everything could be clear cut.
Ever heard the saying “If something is easy, it’s not worth doing”? Don’t tell anybody, but secretly, I wish things were easy. Because it sure is a lot more relaxing!
So let’s make things easier. Here are some great ways of dealing with uncertainty in decision making, that I have learned during my career. Particularly helpful was my time in consulting, where problems are often murky and unclear at the very best of times.

1. Find a way to move forward
One of the most effective ways of handling uncertainty in decision making is to simply find a way to move forward and taking a concrete action to make it happen. Moving forward of course means making progress. It also means taking steps to eliminate uncertainty or gain information that will help to make a decision.
It sounds simple, and it is. Let’s pretend you are trying to make a decision but find yourself stuck. The first question to ask yourself would be “What information do I need that would make my decision easier?”
Can you get the information? Do you need to meet with people to find out the information? If so, then book in that meeting or have that conversation. It may not seem like much, but even booking in time to gain information is a concrete step that helps you move forward.
To reduce the stress of dealing with uncertainty, you need to eliminate the worry surrounding it. If you can show yourself that you are taking a concrete step to move forward, your worries will start to recede. Now you are able to tell yourself “No need to worry, I can’t do anything further until I meet with Jane next week to find out the information.”
Ask yourself the question “Is there anything else I can do right now?” When the answer is No, there is a good chance you’ve locked in a concrete step to eliminate uncertainty. Nice work.

2. Realise that uncertainty feels worse at different times
This week, I had one day where everything seemed uncertain. All my problems seemed overwhelming and I couldn’t get a clear answer on seemingly anything. However, I was also tired and if I’m honest, a little cranky.
Some days you will feel overwhelmed. On these days, you need to try your best, but realise that you will have a good day soon where your positive mindset will kick in. Handling uncertainty in decision making is far easier when you are feeling optimistic. Physical and mental wellbeing play a big part.
So when you are tired, cranky or feeling unwell, dealing with uncertainty can seem more difficult. Be kind to yourself. Realise that it will pass, and you will be better placed to tackle the prickliest of decisions on a different day.

3. Take stock of your options
Uncertainty in decision making can be reduced when you step back and look at your options. If you feel like you’re heading into analysis paralysis, stop and take a breath.
Think about, and write down your current options to move forward. What could they be? Doing nothing is always an option. Would that help and is it feasible? No? Cross it off.
Eliminate your options until you are left with fewer courses of action. Fewer courses of action means less analysis and less choice. Collaborate with others, get their opinions to help you decide.
Sometimes it is a good idea to present your “Do nothing” option to others to canvas their opinion. Most probably, they’ll exclaim that we “can definitely not do that”. If that’s the case, you have changed the decision making mindset away from inaction into one of action.
If you can’t afford to do nothing, then you know you need to do something. That’s progress.

4. Realise when you have done enough
One of the hardest aspects of dealing with uncertainty in decision making is realising when you need to take action. Analysis paralysis can go on for weeks, months and years. Some people try to keep analysing until they eliminate all uncertainty.
Unfortunately, eliminating all uncertainty is impossible. So you need to know when to act. You need to think about how much risk you can stand, and how much analysis is needed to eliminate the unwanted risk.
You will notice diminishing returns. After a certain point, the more you analyse, the less risk or uncertainty you eliminate. Eventually, you are not moving forward.
Realising when you have “done enough” is a judgement call of course. But keep it front of mind as you battle uncertainty, because you need to keep moving forward.
Another question to answer is:

Is making no decision really an option right now? Or do we have to take action?

5. Celebrate progress, even if you haven’t reached your final goal
Dealing with uncertainty in decision making can take time. You may have many options to move forward. If you have eliminated some of the options, that’s progress. That’s a win.
Make sure you celebrate even small wins with your team, when you manage to make progress. Eliminate an option? Success!
This keeps everybody focused on the positive factor that you are moving forward. Failing to move forward can result in frustration and loss of motivation. It’s important to keep your momentum up and realise your wins when you get them.
—
Dealing with uncertainty in decision making is never fun, but it is a necessary evil of work. You will never eliminate uncertainty, but you can stop it ruining your sleep, health and wellbeing.
I hope you find a way to move forward and make progress on those most prickly of decisions.

Article source : https://www.thoughtfulleader.com/uncertainty-in-decision-making/

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When You Can't Afford to Make a Mistake, 

This’ll Keep You Sharp

April 19, 2016  by ROBBY BERMAN

Peter Baumann suggests that our biases can get a bad rap, but that they’re essential. He sees them as unconscious inclinations that we’ve developed over time, and most of the time, they reflect actual knowledge we’ve acquired about how the world works. They set the frameworks within which we live our lives. Our bias toward feeling safe, for example, keeps us (mostly) out of trouble, while a bias towards certain flavors sets us parameters for selecting the dish we’d like to eat at a restaurant. Of course, our biases are only as intelligent as we are, so occasionally they're pretty stupid.

There’s a category of not-so-helpful mental habits and inclinations called “cognitive biases.” The problem with these biases is that when we incorrectly apply them to decision-making, they prejudice our thought process and keep us from thinking, and deciding, clearly.

Researchers have identified a number of these mind traps. In this video, Baumann zeroes in on confirmation bias, where we ignore any evidence that doesn’t support what we’ve already concluded, and only find things that prove it. He also nominates the uniqueness bias as maybe the most amusing cognitive bias.

Julia Galef has a great method for avoiding another common bias, the commitment effect. It’s the one where you keep doing what evidence suggests may not be working anymore because either you don’t want to feel your investment up until now has been wasted, or because the behavior has become tied up in who you feel you are. Her tip? Ask yourself what you would do if you were just coming to the problem from the outside. 

At Business Insider, Samantha Lee put together a great infographic showing 20 cognitive biases that can get in the way of solid decision-making.

Article source : http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/a-chart-of-brain-busting-cognitive-biases-hang-it-on-your-wall?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox#link_time=1474666367

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How Good is Your Decision-Making?

Decision-making is a key skill in the workplace, and is particularly important if you want to be an effective leader.

Whether you're deciding which person to hire, which supplier to use, or which strategy to pursue, the ability to make a good decision with available information is vital.

It would be easy if there were one formula you could use in any situation, but there isn't.

Each decision presents its own challenges, and we all have different ways of approaching problems.

So, how do you avoid making bad decisions – or leaving decisions to chance? You need a systematic approach to decision-making so that, no matter what type of decision you have to make, you can take decisions with confidence.

No one can afford to make poor decisions. That's why we've developed a short quiz to help you assess your current decision-making skills. We'll examine how well you structure your decision-making process, and then we'll point you to specific tools and resources you can use to develop and improve this important competency.

How Good Are Your Decision-Making Skills?

Instructions

For each statement, click the button in the column that best describes you. Please answer questions as you actually are (rather than how you think you should be), and don't worry if some questions seem to score in the 'wrong direction'. When you are finished, please click the 'Calculate My Total' button at the bottom of the test.

Score Interpretation

Article source : https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_79.htm

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< Questions > 

Q1. When you making a decision, do you care about the uncertainty? Why or Why not?

Q2. What kinds of uncertainty do you face while you are making a decision or in your daily routine? 

Q3. How many insurance do you have? Which one is most effective for you? 

Q4. How do you handle the uncertainty while you are making a decision? 

Q5. Are you a good decision maker? Why or why not?

Q6. Describe your typical process for making a decision and forming a plan of action.

Q7. Do you find you make better decisions alone or with a group?

Q8. How do you react to instances that require immediate decisions? How does the importance and intensity of the situation affect your thought process?

Q9. Among above 20 cognitive biases, which one is yours? How do you deal with risk caused by those biases? 

< 20 cognitive biases that screw up your decisions>

1. Anchoring bias	2. Availability heuristic	3. Bandwagon effect	4. Blind-spot bias
5. Choice-supportive bias	6. Clustering illusion	7. Confirmation bias	8. Conservation bias
9. Information bias	10. Ostrich effect	11. Outcome bias	12. Overconfidence
13. Placebo effect	14. Pro-innovation bias	15. Recency	16. Salience
17. Selective perception	18. Stereotyping	19. Suvivorship bias	20. Zero-risk bias

Q10. Have you ever screwed up your solid decision making by any cognitive bias? Could you explain that case in detail? What was the lesson you have gotten from that experience? 

Q11. Please share your secrets for better decision making process !

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The world's first baby has been born 

using the controversial '3-parent' technique

It's a boy!

FIONA MACDONALD 28 SEP 2016

A five-month-old boy is the first baby to be born using a controversial new 'three-parent' technique. 

That means this baby contains DNA from three parents - something which in this case allowed him to avoid having a deadly genetic condition passed down by his mother.

"This is great news and a huge deal," researcher Dusko Ilic from King's College London, who wasn't involved in the project, told Jessica Hamzelou at New Scientist in an exclusive. "It's revolutionary".

The technique - which was legalised in the UK last year - allows parents with rare genetic mutations to have healthy babies, by replacing a mother's faulty mitochondrial DNA with another woman's during the IVF process.

Seeing as mitochondrial DNA is only ever passed down by women, for most females with mitochondrial disease, this is the only way they'll be able to have healthy children.

But with a ban still in place in the US - one that experts are encouraging the government to overturn, we should add - the procedure is still controversial.

In this latest case, the new technique was used on Jordanian parents by a US-based team in Mexico. The boy's mother carries Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder of the nervous system that's passed down through mitochondrial DNA.

Unlike regular DNA, which is housed in the nucleus of the cell, mitochondrial DNA lives in our mitochondria - which, as we all know from high school biology, is the 'powerhouse of the cell' - and is only ever passed down by females.

While the baby's mother is healthy, around a quarter of her mitochondria carried the faulty Leigh syndrome genes, and, after almost 20 years of trying for a baby, her only two children had died from the condition, leading her to reach out to John Zhang at the New Hope Fertility Centre in New York.

There are several ways to make 'three-parent' babies - the technique that's approved in the UK is called pronuclear transfer, and it involves fertilising both the mother's egg and a donor's egg with the father's sperm.

Before these two fertilised eggs begin dividing into an embryo, the researchers replace the donor egg's nucleus with the mother's nucleus - giving them a fertilised egg with a healthy donor mitochondria, and the mother's DNA in the nucleus.

But the parents of the five-month-old baby are Muslims, and had ethical issues with a fertilised cell being destroyed. So Zhang used a different approach called spindle nuclear transfer, which works in much the same way, but the nucleus transfer is done before the eggs are fertilised. 

This was all carried out in Mexico where "there are no rules" about three-parent babies, Zhang told Hamzelou.

The technique created five embryos, but only one developed healthily, and was implanted into the mother. The baby is now five months old and seems to be developing normally, with no signs of Leigh syndrome.

Despite having no guidelines to follow, Zhang made sure the technique was carried out ethically - first of all, his team selected a male embryo, which can't pass down the donated mitochondrial DNA, so can't transfer any potential problems resulting from the technique.

They also avoiding destroying any embryos in the process. "It’s as good as or better than what we'll do in the UK," said cardiac pharmacologist Sian Harding, who reviewed the ethics of the UK procedure.

But there's still concern from a lot of scientists that the procedure could lead to health problems for the child in the future. 

Right now, less than 1 percent of the boy's mitochondria carry the Leigh mutation, which doesn't seem to be affecting his development at all. But Bert Smeets from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, who wasn't involved in the research, told New Scientist that the child needs to be monitored closely, and the technique should be more rigorously tested before we can deem it 'safe'.

"We need to wait for more births, and to carefully judge them," he said.

But even though this is the first baby born using the new 'three-parent' technique, there are already children out there who have DNA from three parents, due to a slightly different method used in IVF in the US in the late '90s.

As Michael Le Page reported for New Scientist earlier this year: "Up to 17 people in the US may already have been born with donor mitochondria, because of a technique one clinic used to boost the success of IVF between 1997 and 2002 - when the FDA stepped in to stop it."

Some of those babies went on to develop genetic disorders, which is why many scientists are still reluctant to use the new technique.

Only time will tell whether it can safely help women with mitochondrial disease to have children  - but with the birth of the first healthy child, it seems inevitable that the technique is going to be used again, and we'll be watching the cases closely.

Zhang's report on his technique hasn't been peer-reviewed or published as yet, but the case study will be presented by his team at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Scientific Congress in Salt Lake City in October.

Article source : http://www.sciencealert.com/the-first-baby-has-been-born-using-new-3-parent-technique 

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< Questions >

Q1. How do you think about this technology? 

Q2. This tech was applied in some people who have a genetic disorder. If this is your case, would you apply this tech. to yourself or wait and see for more safe application? 

Q3. If you can choose your decedents' genetic characters, what would be the traits you want to eliminate and what would be the traits you want to maintain? 

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Your brain is a black box. 3 questions unravel the mystery 

Written by Ceri Parker/ Commissioning Editor, Agenda, World Economic Forum

Published Monday 3 October 2016

We can build cities and robots, we can land a probe on a meteor and mull the colonization of Mars - but can we understand the kilogram or so of grey matter that sits between our ears?

In 2016, the human brain is a paradox. Science has made great strides in the last decade: “optogenetics” could let us stimulate the brain with light, paralysed patients can control machines with their minds, and the next generation of computers will increasingly mimic the biological processes of the human brain.

But despite many breakthroughs, the most complex organ in our bodies is still the final frontier: “a black box” in the words of the neuro-technology pioneer Ronen Gadot.

We are confronting the challenges of the 21st century with a primordial piece of kit that evolved over millennia to keep us safe from predators, and that we struggle to understand. One quarter of people around the world suffer from a mental illness, personal tragedies that take a toll on the global economy that is difficult to quantify but could amount to $2.5 trillion a year. Age-old instincts and biases still sap our potential and make us susceptible to the divisive politics of “us and them”.

The brain is a seething mass of billions of neurons, fizzing with connections, ideas and emotions, as ineffable as it is ingenious. How can we possibly get a grip on it? The World Economic Forum is launching a series of articles and videos that attempt to do just that, by tackling three key questions.

1. How can we rethink mental health?

“I have a serious mental illness. Specifically, I have bipolar disorder. I have been navigating how mental illness is treated for 18 years. And I strongly believe that how we treat mental illness is all wrong.”

These are strong words from Natasha Tracy, author of the book Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression and Bipolar. She pinpoints three main flaws in the US approach to mental health in her essay: the way mental illnesses are placed in a silo; paradoxically, a lack of specialist care; and a stigmatization that permeates everything from research dollars to social attitudes. We are long overdue an overhaul, she writes.

                

Mental illness is a scourge that afflicts rich and poor countries alike. As Thomas Insel, Director of the US National Institute of Mental Health, writes:

“Even in the developed world, it is estimated that only about half of all people with depression are diagnosed and treated. In the developing world, WHO estimates that 85% of people with a mental illness are untreated.”

The consequences of this dearth of care could not be more stark.

“Suicide causes more deaths than homicide. Around 7% of people with major depressive disorder will take their own lives. Globally, more than 800,000 people kill themselves every year.”

However, there is some hope that a new generation of therapies will provide a more nuanced understanding - and targeted treatments - for those suffering from a range of brain disorders, from depression and schizophrenia to diseases like Alzheimer’s.

I-han Chou, neuroscience editor at Nature magazine, explains how the emerging field of optogenetics - using light to stimulate genetically modified cells in the brain - could offer new treatments, as well open up new ethical questions.

Meanwhile, two entrepreneurs discuss their game-changing inventions: Tan Le, Founder and CEO of EMOTIV, has created wearable head-sets that work a bit like a fitbit for our minds to gauge the activity of our brains, while Ronen Gadot’s company ElMinda uses machine learning to decipher data on brain health.

Together, such technologies offer potential for a more personalized approach to health, for those who can afford it. As Gadot explains:

“Consider a neuro-degenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s. It actually starts some 20-30 years before it’s diagnosed. Because the brain is so sophisticated, it can compensate for deterioration in some neural pathways – the diagnosis happens only when it can’t compensate any more. But if we could tell what’s normal for each individual, we could see at a much earlier stage where patterns were changing in a way that indicate disease.”

For those of us lucky enough to be well, the pace of modern life can still put our brains under strain: hence the burgeoning field of “mindfulness”, or learning to focus calmly on the present. For the sceptics, Chade-Meng Tan, a Google engineer who went on to lead the company’s mindfulness programme, explains why his new vocation is not just “hippy BS”. He cites three recent pieces of research supporting its benefits, including:

“A 2012 study shows that eight weeks of mindfulness training can reduce social anxiety, depression and stress even more effectively than aerobic exercise.”

2. How can brain science help us to reach our potential, and avoid our pitfalls?

The year 2016 has been marked by populism, polarization and a frankly xenophobic debate on immigration. Do we blame politicians, inequality, a mismanaged refugee crisis - or a small, primitive part of our brain called the amygdala?

In an essay on how our brains developed to detect threats, Nayef al-Rodhan, a neuroscientist and philosopher, explains what fear looks like in the brain, and why we’re so susceptible to the politics of “us and them”.

“The neurocircuitry for tribal behaviour has been studied … we normally distinguish someone as being an “outsider” or part of “our group” within 170 thousandths of a second from the moment we see them.”

And we judge them differently. A depressing picture of inevitable, in-built bias would emerge - were it not for a hopeful conclusion:

“While the human brain presents primordial predispositions, carried through millennia of evolution, it is also incredibly malleable and plastic. Rather than painting a grim picture, we should think of neuroscience as a discipline that can help us overcome roadblocks in our societies.”

What does “malleable and plastic” mean in this context? As this simple guide explains, plasticity means that our brains are literally shaped by our experiences. It’s a recent and quietly revolutionary concept. For one, it helps to debunk the lingering myth that men and women are born with very different brains that are predestined to develop along a certain path, as the neuroscientists Tara Swart and Murali Doraiswamy explain. Despite some biological differences, it turns out boys and girls are both competitive, and we’re all pretty bad at multi-tasking.       

Moreover, our brains are never more malleable than in the first years of our lives. That is why it’s so important to understand how factors like poverty impact the way very young children’s brains develop, something that Casey Lew Williams, an Assistant Professor of Psychology, has been studying at the Princeton Baby Lab.

In a follow-up interview, he explained that impoverished children in the United States hear one-third of the words wealthier children do, which can contribute to developmental lags.

It’s a nuanced, complex topic, with one deceptively simple solution: more play time. Messing about with sticks is actually better for a child’s cognitive development than poring over flashcards, according to Lew Williams, but there are still obstacles to overcome.

“It's exhausting to be a parent in any circumstance, but it's much more exhausting to be a parent when you don't have the resources that other families have. Often, they (poor families) are juggling multiple jobs, they may not have access to reliable transportation, banking, healthcare; and there is greater incidence of problems such as stress or depression.”

While the seeds of inequality are sown in childhood, unequal societies also skew the way adults behave. The psychologists Paul Piff and Angela Robinson report on a series of studies that show that the wealthy are guilty of a slew of offences, from failing to stop at pedestrian crossings to breaching the ultimate ethical final frontier: stealing from a children’s candy jar. The findings should not be over-simplified: it’s not that wealth in itself corrupts, but that wealth tends to be isolating, eroding our ability to empathize.

But before you write off your own brain as a selfish, jittery, judgmental confectionery thief, take heart. Tinna C. Nielsen, an anthropologist and World Economic Forum YGL, and Lisa Kepinski, founder of the Inclusion Institute, offer a range of exercises to outsmart your mind in the workplace, so you can be aware, for example, of the fact that women get interrupted 2.8 times more often than men, and plan your meetings accordingly.

3. What are the promises and perils of new brain technologies?

Few would object to a brain-monitoring smartcap that picked up the early signs of Alzheimer’s. A world where employers use such technology to invade the last bastion of privacy and track whether their workers are alert and productive, or liable to gaze out of the window, is a different prospect. We need to do a better job of grappling with the ethics of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, argues Nita Farahany, a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University.

In some areas, of course, the benefits are clear-cut. Thanks to a pioneering programme, eight paralysed patients regained movement through a combination of virtual reality, a robotic walker and a brain-machine interface. This again reflects the brain’s adaptability: what’s exciting is not just that patients were able to control a computer using their minds, but that they experienced a partial neural recovery. As their brains believed they were causing their limbs to move, some fibres within the spinal cord were “woken up”, allowing patients to regain some voluntary movement. Richard Jones of Sheffield University explains how implants that transmit signals to the brain are already helping blind, deaf and severely disabled people to reconnect with the world.

The barrier between people and machines is getting thinner in more ways than one. Angeliki Pantazi explains her work within a team of scientists from IMB Research on “neuromorphic computing”, which draws inspiration from the inner workings of the biological brain to create a machine capable of more human-like leaps of creativity and insight.

While computers are excellent at some tasks, like complex calculations, they are notoriously bad at others; including football.

New discoveries in how “neural circuits” function will ultimately pave the way to more nimble computers, as Professor Michael Hausser of University College London explains. “We’re only just at the very beginning of our understanding of the human brain.”

The final frontier is less a fortress, more a fuzzy barrier that can be permeated by new ideas, offering us the hope to better understand ourselves and our societies.

Article source : https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/human-brain-explored-in-3-questions?utm_content=buffer35560&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

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< Questions >

Q1. According to an article, depression could be the one of the metal illness. Why people in current society have more social anxiety, depression and stress? 

Q2. Are you involved in any therapies or training to treat those mental illness like depression?

Q3. Did you watch the movie 'LUCY'? What was your impression on this movie? 

Lucy is a 2014 science fiction action film written and directed by Luc Besson and starring Scarlett Johansson as Lucy. Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) accidentally gets caught up in a drug deal, but she soon turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human comprehension.

Q4. If you can improve your potential and avoid your pitfalls like Lucy, would you apply brain science to yourself? 

Q5. According to an article, wealth tends to be isolating, eroding our ability to empathize. Do you agree with this sentence? 

Q6. Would you let your boss monitor your brain to improve your productivity? 

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Answered! Life’s 25 Toughest Questions

1. Can love really last a lifetime?

Absolutely — but only if you chuck the fairy tale of living happily ever after. A team of scientists recently found that romantic love involves chemical changes in the brain that last 12 to 18 months. After that, you and your partner are on your own. Relationships require maintenance. Pay a visit to a nursing home if you want to see proof of lasting love. Recently I spoke to a man whose wife of 60 years was suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s disease. He came to sit with her every day and hold her hand. “She’s been my best friend since high school,” he told me. “We made a promise to stick together.” Now, that’s a love story.

2. Why do married folks begin to look like one another? 

Watch any two people who like each other talking, and you’ll see a lot of mirroring. One smiles, and so does the other. One nods or raises her eyebrows, and so does the other. Faces are like melodies with a natural urge to stay in sync. Multiply those movements by several decades of marriage, all those years of simultaneous sagging and drooping, and it’s no wonder!

3. Can a marriage survive betrayal? 

Yes. It takes time and work, but experts are pretty unanimous on this one. In her book The Monogamy Myth, Peggy Vaughan estimates that 60 percent of husbands and 40 percent of wives will have an affair at some point in their marriages. That’s no advertisement for straying — but the news is good for couples hoping to recover from devastating breaches of trust. The offended partner needs to make the choice to forgive — and learn to live with a memory that can’t simply be erased. Infidelity is never forgotten, but it can gradually fade into the murky background of a strong, mature marriage.

4. Why does summer zoom by and winter drag on forever? 

Because context defines experience. As Albert Einstein once said: “When you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder, a second seems like an hour.”

5. Do animals really have a sixth sense? 

Or seventh or eighth! A box jellyfish has 24 eyes, an earthworm’s entire body is covered with taste receptors, a cockroach can detect movement 2,000 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom — and your dog’s sense of smell is up to 100,000 times greater than yours (some dogs have been known to smell human cancers). It’s safe to say that animals experience a much different world than we do.

6. Why does the line you’re in always move the slowest? 

Because you’re late for your kid’s band practice, and you curse your luck and envy those speeding by. Conversely, when you’re in the fast line, unfettered by stress, you don’t even notice the poor schlubs in the slow lane. Good luck rarely commands one’s attention like bad luck. (See answer on buttered toast, “The Ultimate Test,” below.)

7. By what age should you know what you want to do with your life? 

Any moment now. This used to be a question the young asked. Now it’s a quandary for baby boomers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that younger boomers have abandoned the American ideal of picking a job and sticking with it. Between the ages of 18 and 36, these boomers held an average of 9.6 jobs. That’s a lot of exploration. The wisdom of elders in all cultures seems to be this: There’s nothing to do with a life but live it. As Gandhi pointed out, “Almost anything you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”

8. Where do traffic jams come from? 

Scientists are hard at work on this one, studying computer models of the physics of gridlock and inventing all new traffic-light algorithms. Some of them postulate that the rhythms of automobile traffic are influenced by the same cyclical forces that cause waves in the ocean. For the average commuter, though, it may be helpful to think of it this way: congestion. There are just too many darn people trying to do the same thing at once. (Flush every toilet in a single office building simultaneously, and see what happens.) All of this by way of saying: Buy a newspaper, load up some favorite tunes on your MP3 player, and take the bus.

9. When is your future behind you? 

When you stop chasing dreams. So don’t stop!

10. Do you have to love your job? 

No. Love your children, your spouse and your country. Love your parents, your neighbor and your dog. Loving is too important an emotion to attach to the way you make a living. But it’s OK to strive for satisfaction. According to a recent Harris Poll, across America 59% of workers say they are extremely, somewhat or slightly satisfied with their jobs, but a depressing 33% feel as if they’ve reached a career dead end. If you’re among the latter and thinking about a new job, consider the fact that employees in small firms said they felt more engaged in their work than did their corporate counterparts.

11. Can a man and a woman ever just be friends? 

For a short time perhaps. Making the friendship last requires that you find each other at least vaguely repulsive. Good luck!

12. When do you take away Grandpa’s car keys? 

Twenty-two states currently require frequent testing for senior drivers. The American Medical Association and the AARP, however, say safe driving has more to do with functional ability than age. True, seniors are more at risk for reduced vision, hearing loss and impairments associated with arthritis — but all of these conditions depend on the individual. So when it seems to you that Pop is becoming a danger to himself and a danger to others, tell him straight. Point out that his reactions have slowed or his judgment is losing its edge. Suggest he not drive anymore. Be firm, but at the same time, don’t treat him like a child. Allow him his dignity. Offer him

a ride.

13. Do siblings who fight really end up liking each other? 

I surveyed my older sisters, both of whom have vivid memories of how I tripped, pummeled, and whacked them with various large plastic dolls (hey, they started it — they teased me!), and both confirmed my suspicion that nowadays they like me just fine. I sure like them. All the experts will tell you that fighting among siblings is normal. The key is how parents handle it. Rule No 1: Don’t take sides. Never get into a discussion of who started what or what is more fair. Stop fights with a time-out for all offenders. My mother would send us to separate rooms. So we invented string phones and a pulley system to transport necessary treats and toys. And whatever we were fighting about was forgotten.

14. How do you know when to end a friendship? 

As soon as you get that sneaking suspicion that it never really began.

15. Why do we turn into our parents when we swore we wouldn’t? 

Because really, when all is said and done, we admire them.

16. Can a half-empty person become a half-full person? 

A current theory is that people have an “emotional set point.” Some folks are just made happier than others. Pessimists will see this as bad news, believing it really doesn’t matter what you do — they are never going to be any happier. But there is hope — as any optimist will see! Happiness has more to do with how you construe the events in your life than the actual events themselves.

17. When do kids become adults? 

Biologically, it’s happening earlier; emotionally, it seems to be happening later. Nowadays puberty occurs in females between ages 8 and 14, between 9 and 15 in males. A generation ago, when you turned 18, you were out the door and on your own. Now we see kids in the Boomerang Generation coming home to Mom and Dad after college, hoping for a hand with bills, laundry, meals and other responsibilities of adulthood. It’s cute for a while, less adorable the older the kid gets.

18. Can a mother be friends with her teenage daughter? 

No. Most teens aren’t ready for anything close to a mature friendship. According to current research, the brain continues to develop into a person’s 20s. Mothers often want to befriend their daughters; fathers, their sons. But this is not in anyone’s best interest. Teenagers need to form identities distinct from their parents. That means: lots of privacy, even some secrets. It’s usually easier for a teenage girl to befriend the friend of her mother, and it’s usually best for the mother to leave it at that.

19. Does money really buy happiness? 

No. Because happiness isn’t for sale. Many people get tripped up by this one, amassing wealth only to find themselves cycling into a bottomless pit of unsatisfiable yearning. Turns out, joy and misery are not that far apart when it comes to very big wads of cash. Consider the case of a Kentucky couple who won $34 million in 2000. Thrilled to be released from the demands of their boring old jobs, they frittered their fortune away on fancy cars, mansions, all the usual stuff — losing everything that mattered in the process. They divorced, he died of an alcohol-related illness, and she died alone in her new house just five years after cashing the winning ticket. When it comes to happiness, only people you love, and who love you, can bring it. If you have enough dough to buy yourself a luxurious yacht, but no real friends to sail with, you’re sunk.

20. Can spenders and savers stay married? 

Sure — and they won’t run out of things to talk about either. Disagreements over money are a leading cause of divorce, so experts advise lots of work around this issue if, financially speaking, you’ve found yourself married to your opposite. Tip: Always talk in terms of “ours” instead of “mine” or “yours,” and work your strengths. The saver should be allowed to draft the budget; the spender gets to be

in charge of vacations, celebrations and ordering extra toppings on the pizza.

21. Is money the root of all evil? 

No. Greed is. Elvis nailed this one when he said, “Sharing money is what gives it its value.”

22. What do you do if you see a parent berating a child? 

Cringe. Take a deep breath. If you truly believe you can help the situation, approach as someone showing sympathy — not as an accuser or member of the parent police. Empathize with the overstressed parent. Suggest that he take a deep breath. Tell him it worked for you.

23. Why is it so hard to say you’re wrong? 

Because it often involves saying, “I’m sorry,” which is even harder. Throughout history people have found it easier to stop speaking to one another, punch, slander, shoot and bomb rather than apologize. Tip: Next time just say, “Whoops,” and see what happens.

24. When should you reveal a secret you said you wouldn’t? 

It’s a matter of damage control. Is the person who asked you to keep the secret in danger of hurting himself or others? If so, intervene. Otherwise, mum’s the word.

25. Does the toast really always fall buttered-side down?

Scientists in the Ask Laskas Kitchen conducted a study for which they first toasted an entire loaf of bread, one slice at a time. They buttered each slice, and dropped it from a variety of heights ranging from tabletop to ceiling. Among their findings: A dropped piece of toast never lands on its edge; stomping your foot and yelling “Darn!” does not change a thing; and the floor in the Ask Laskas Kitchen is not nearly as clean as we’d like. Well, life’s like that. Never as neat as you’d like it to be. But keep buttering your toast. And savor every slice you’ve been given.

Article source : http://www.rd.com/advice/relationships/answers-to-lifes-toughest-25-questions/2/