Bending minds how technology can change the way we think Dr Martin Westwell
What is a mind? You are born with almost all your 100 billion neurons The growth of connections between cells accounts for the growth of the brain after birth (150 trillion) These connections reflect experience 100 billion = 100,000,000, trillion = 150,000,000,000,000
Newborn 3 months15 months24 months
physical connections conceptual connections Long term potentiation repetition emotion information knowledge
Impact of information technology
information knowledge
downloading essays from the internet "could not be controlled" "The availability of the internet is a powerful aid to learning but carries a new generation of risks of plagiarism." QCA chief executive, Ken Boston (November 2005) information knowledge
Online society # unique members > 100 million > 30 million > 25 million since July 2005 News Corporation $850 million Socialisation rather than information has emerged as the primary use of the internet
secondlife.com Online society 1.5 M 22 Nov M 24 Apr M 4 June 2007
secondlife.reuters.com
- more social - reinforce social links - extrovert - happy - withdrawn - break social ties - isolated - depressed Online society Technology Its not the technology that changes the way you think - its about you and what you do with it access to extremes of behaviour
Always on! Institute for Innovation & Information Productivity age group Interruption YesNo Estimated Marginal Means age group Interruption YesNo 45 40
X X X on the internet on the phone reading computer games doing homework going out with family watching TV seeing friends data from non-user occasional user weekly user daily user Number of hours per week hours/week
Changing young minds 48 players (undergraduates) Group A and Group B $100 for best A and $100 for best B Pairs randomly chosen to play violent or non-violent game AB Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science
Changing young minds
AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science
AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science
AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science
AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science
AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science
Developing skills Rosse et al 2007, Archives of Surgery Hybrid laparoscopy training system (video & real) 21 residents, 12 attending, 15 men, 18 women Past game play (>3hr/week) 37% fewer errors (P<0.02) 27% faster (P<0.03) High scoring gamers (top tertile) 47% fewer errors (P<0.001) 39% faster (P<0.001) Relative weight analysis 0.3%years of training 2% sex 2% cases performed 10% video game experience 31% video game skill
Attention
compare Medal of Honor to Tetris Games which demand high capacity for attention, develop attentional capacity (!) Attention Green & Bavelier 2003, Nature
visual attention distracted & confused Review: Lavie 2005, TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences bottom-up noticing top-down selecting perceptual load how much not how hard
visual attention distracted & confused Review: Lavie 2005, TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences perceptual load how much not how hard goal relevant stimuli spare capacity task with increased perceptual load attentional capacity increased attentional capacity
visual attention distracted & confused Review: Lavie 2005, TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences bottom-up noticing top-down selecting perceptual load how much not how hard executive control prioritising stimuli during task
very superior intellectually deficient 55 IQ score Changing generations: The Flynn effect After Flynn 1984, 1987 Psychological Bulletin & Neisser 1997 American Scientist % 25% 120
year data were collected IQ scores relative to reference Changing generations: The Flynn effect After Flynn 1984, 1987 Psychological Bulletin & Neisser 1997 American Scientist IQ IQ tests are periodically re-standardised
Changing generations: The Flynn effect practice ? schooling ? nutrition ?
Changing generations: The Flynn effect sun is to day as moon is to ______
After Raven 1976 Standard Progressive Matrices & 2002 News Scientist
year data were collected IQ scores relative to reference Changing generations: The Flynn effect After Flynn 1984, 1987 Psychological Bulletin & Neisser 1997 American Scientist IQ Ravens visuo-spatial
Changing generations: The Flynn effect Steven Johnson Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter
Bending minds how technology can change the way we think
Huntingtons Disease Nurture can trump nature
van Dellen, Blakemore, Deacon, York & Hannan 2000, Nature Huntingtons Disease Nurture can trump nature
van Dellen, Blakemore, Deacon, York & Hannan 2000, Nature Huntingtons Disease Nurture can trump nature
Standard housing Enriched housing van Dellen, Blakemore, Deacon, York & Hannan 2000, Nature Percentage displaying profound symptoms Age (days) Non- Huntingtons Huntingtons Disease Nurture can trump nature
Isolated Enriched
Enriched environment? multi-sensory relevant emotional content interpersonal interaction - interdependent learning - (parental engagement) exercise nutrition / hydration blue light? VAK learning styles Brain Gym Water makes you smart WARNING! NEUROMYTHS!
.. plugged in networking in deep GM brain magnetic personality
Communication 3,900 people in UK 80,000 people worldwide cochlear implants
Communication
.. plugged in networking in deep GM brain magnetic personality
.. plugged in networking in deep GM brain magnetic personality
Neurobiofeedback
Scientific American Mind
Neuro bio-feedback
Thinking changes The world around us can change the way we think Technology can change the way we think internet- availabililty of information - internet society knowledge economy- conversion to knowledge - new productivity ?? augmented self- neurofeedback / devices - cognition enhancing drugs
Attention!
Hazards of technology SIMONS MOVIE Direct Line Mobile Phone Report 2002 (Transport Research Laboratory) *UK legal limit: 80mg/100ml *
Risk vs. benefit of technology Worlds first road traffic death 1896: coroner was reported to have said this must never happen again. 1.2 million people killed (2003) up to 50 million people injured (2003) predicted 65% increase over next 20 years
Bending minds how technology can change the way we think