Brain Respect: What's a "Normal" Brain?

First, a word from your writer….

It’s been so long since I’ve posted anything, I decided I needed a new strategy. What tends to block my publishing more frequently is feeling I need to create a longer post that “educates” all by itself. I start posts, but then get pulled away and tend not to finish them.

So I’m trying something new here. I’m going to just post resources as I come across them along with a few words about why I think they’re worthwhile. Hopefully, this will not only give you access to a curated selection of other thinkers and researchers about the brain, but an insight into how I think about the brain — by highlighting what I want you to learn and how I’d like to see you thinking about the brain too.

Now, back to our newly scheduled programming 😉…

What is a “Normal” Brain?

These links are to 60-minute podcasts by the CBC Ideas program. Together, they offer a different perspective on "normal" brains vs the value of neurodiversity.

The Myth of Normal - Part 1

The Myth of Normal - Part 2

So what?

What I would love for you to gain from these talks is an increasing awareness that — apart from physical injury (including nutritional gaps, sleep impairments, or other indirect ways of creating brain dysfunctions) — brains aren’t broken.

There are a variety of brains because there are a variety of people. Some of these differences are the result of natural diversity. Some are the result of learning history. We all grow up with different experiences, have learned different skills, have different talents and practice different things.

None of this means a brain is broken because it’s not “average”. (Just like no family is “broken” because it doesn’t have the average number of children — which in Ontario is 2.9. Who wants 0.9 of a child??)

We just all need to discover our gifts and our work-arounds.

Please feel free to comment on the Ideas episodes, the diversity of brains, and/or my trial of an abbreviated post technique.

Are You Tricked by Common Brain Myths?

If you ever wonder about the truthfulness (or not)  of some of what you've been taught about the brain (left vs right-brained?, bigger is better? ....), this is the video to check out for some quick answers (3 min). Of course, it's not the whole story every time, but what do you want for 3 minutes?! :)

7 Myths About the Brain You Thought Were True

Blow your mind with these brain myths! Check out GE Reports: http://invent.ge/1r0kSnG SUBSCRIBE! It's Free: http://bit.ly/10kWnZ7 ---Links to follow us below --- Instagram and Twitter: @whalewatchmeplz and @mitchellmoffit Clickable: http://bit.ly/16F1jeC and http://bit.ly/15J7ube Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1fjWszw Twitter: http://bit.ly/1d84R71 Tumblr: http://bit.ly/1amIPjF Vine: Search "AsapSCIENCE" on vine! Written and created by Mitchell Moffit (twitter @mitchellmoffit) and Gregory Brown (twitter @whalewatchmeplz).

The Brain Image Myth: Why I Don't Refer to Brain Bits

I came across this article the other day:

Crossed Wires

It discusses evidence as to whether the brains of men and women are different, based on different types of brain scanning.

For today, I don't want to get into a deep discussion of whether there are differences or not.

I do want to point out that trying to find differences by pointing to brain anatomical differences:

(1) isn't at all clear, as you'll see in the article where they go back and forth with every paragraph. There is evidence any which way you want to read it, and

(2) so what? Anatomical differences don't show us very well how those differences translate into the way men and women relate to each other, whiat any particular individual can or can't do well, or much of anything else important to Real Life.

If there are meaningful differences (and that's another discussion), they will be found in how the brain networks of individuals are connected together and whether those kinds of networks are shared between groups of men and groups of women rather than groups of other kinds (nationality, language, profession, etc. etc.).

Take-home message: Beware the research based on anatomical brain scans.  Especially if what you want to know is how people actually function. Thinking that we can understand how people (and their brains) think and feel and act based on pictures of their structures is what I would consider the Brain Image Myth.

What do you think? Make sense?