What are you doing right now? You are probably sitting in a chair reading this essay, but why did you decide to do that? Assuming that no one is forcing you to read this at gunpoint you consciously made a decision to read this essay. This seemingly simple process of choice serves as the basis for many cognitive neuroscience principals and it is how we, as humans, distinguish ourselves as sentient life-forms. Learning about neuroscience may seem like a daunting task at first. It is an extremely large fields with little a no over-reaching framework. This means that despite an almost overwhelming amount of data, techniques and researchers, the scientific community does not yet have a focused idea how it all works together. But don’t despair! One need not understand how everything works in perfect detail to benefit. It’s the same analogy as a car, you do not need to be a mechanic in order to use a car, but understanding how a car works can make you better at operating it. Understanding how the human mind operates follows the same principal. Being educated about these concepts allows us to accept some not so noticeable imperfections with our own brain. Although learning about cognition is difficult, learning about basic cognitive properties, such as choice, is definitely beneficial for anyone because learning about how we think allows us to better evaluate our past decisions, learn tools to interact better with other people and to plan better for the future.
All of one’s actions are governed by our brain. From the time that each of us arrived on this earth our brains have been collecting, deciphering and storing information from a wide array of stimuli that dominate our conscious and subconscious landscape. In order to catalog and make sense of all of the random bits of data the brain does something that even the best computers have yet to accomplish, it creates memories. Even though one cannot always choose what one remembers the processes of learning is essentially forced remembering. Learning and memory are important processes that the scientific community it just starting to understand. Naturally, something so complicated that even the best scientists in the world have yet to understand may seem out of reach for the average person. However, it's possible to unravel some of the mysteries of learning and memory by investigating simplified models of their mechanism. Learning and memory are concepts which are especially difficult to grasp because there isn't a natural model for how they operate. The best comparison to human memory is the computer. The computer while being the best analogy to how the brain processes information is still a far cry from the brain and infinitely less complex on many levels, most of which will not be discussed. What can be learned by comparing the human brain to a computer are several key distinctions in operation. These differences give one not only an appreciation for how the brain works but also a good starting place for understanding memory. A computer, whether it is a super computer or a home PC operates in consistent logical manner; data comes in, is processed or saved and an output is given. Compared to a computer the human brain seems chaotic. This is because the brain is forced to deal with whatever stimulus is in the environment and decide whether it's crucial for survival, i.e. if it needs to be saved or is unimportant. It is possible to apply this basic understanding in order to be more efficient learners. Recall that learning is just a forced memory. Memories are not like files in a computer as discussed above; memories are formed by a large collection of information about a place, time or idea, which is quantized, then condensed into an invariant representation of that thought. Retrieving a memory is more than just clicking on a file. There are large amounts of data that constitute a memory. Remembering small bits and pieces of that memory, even those that may seem irrelevant at first, may help one to recall the complete memory due to the fact that memories are simply an ordered collection of quantized pieces of information. Techniques such as this can be used proactively instead of retroactively. When actively forging a memory, possibly while studying taking in environmental and sensation based information can make details of the past event easier to recall. Even at the subconscious level, information from your environment become pulled together to form a memory. This has been shown effective in several studies using music as a stimulus. This is just one example of how understanding cognition can benefit us with just a small amount of applied knowledge.
Understanding how the mind works has benefits that can affect more than just ones self. Applying knowledge from cognition can help us understand the way that people think in a general way. Understanding how cognition affects our communication greatly increases the quality of interactions with other people. The importance of cognition may be discounted when investigating interpersonal relationships, however, the truth is that all relationships require an understanding of how other people think, by taking Communication requires assumptions on both the part of the speaker and the listener. On the surface, communication appears to be a simple two way exchange of information but in truth there are many levels of information exchange. Even if the two parties involved in communication speak the same language understanding and correctly interpret certain elements of speech, such as inflections, or the natural tonal rise at the end of a sentence all augment and give context for the information exchanged. Humans are able to recognize these signals because we have been "wired" to associate meaning with them after years and years of practice. These aspects of communication may seem trivial at first but they are key fundamentals of human development. Learning how to breakdown visual and auditory clues to comprehend what someone’s intentions are key aspects of negotiation as well as conflict resolution. All of the perceived assumptions and expectations are a result of years of social cognitive development that is broadcast to us from the time we are able to talk. Everything from language to cultural mannerisms all stems from differences in these mental assumptions and expectations that are generated from our upbringing. Improve our interactions with others by consciously evaluating these assumptions when communicating or negotiating is an obtainable goal. By taking the time to consciously consider these differences in perspective instead of relying on the automatic assumptions can allow one to engage in more productive communication.
Understanding oneself means understanding ones brain. In principal this means that the better we can understand what drives our thoughts and opinions the better decisions we can make which in turn allows better decisions to be made in the future. There are two different types of goals short time and long term. Short term goals affect the here and now like deciding between red socks or green socks, or should I eat that last piece of pizza? These types of goals are easy for us to strive for as they often lead to an immediate, tangible reward or benefit. Long term goals generally compete with short term goals. Long term goals, on the other hand, require energy and effort that doesn’t immediately show any progress; learning a foreign language is a good example. Progress in learning a language doesn’t manifest itself immediately, progress is slow and it’s not until the speaker is fairly skilled that significant gains can be seen. Yet every hour spent learning and practicing is necessary. It is typical human nature to defer long term goals for short term goals. One must continue to reinforce the idea that even though the payoff phase isn’t evident yet, the long term goal offers a far greater reward than the short term goal. Will power is the only cure for overcoming the shortcoming of one’s own biology so to speak. Actively differing long term goals for short term goals are a difficult endeavor! Talk is cheap so to speak, the way your brain is setup is counter to accomplishing long term goals.
What has been discussed so far merely serves as the tip of the iceberg. Understanding how the brain really works is a task that is still being worked on as we speak and we are far from reaching any definite conclusions. As a result it is impossible to predict how much more we stand to gain both by applying the principals behind cognition have yet to be realized. It has been shown that the human mind is responsible for what we know, our memories and our learned knowledge, who we know and how we communicate with others and finally with the decisions that we make every day. By learning the why and how of what we think the way we can only benefit ourselves in the future.
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