Stimulating Gray Matter

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Viswamitra, Sep 5, 2016.

  1. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    A question that haunts me often is whether the full potential of my gray matter is used up or not. I can hear your mind voice saying, "Apparently not". Unfortunately, you are right. The scientific articles I read and the movie “Lucy” I had seen got me convinced that I have a long way to go to reach its full potential. My very existence, growth and development depends on this vital organ and how can I make it more efficient? How much of its capacity is used up on unnecessary matters unrelated to my growth and development? What are the enhancement techniques I could use besides the traditional teachings I know such as do yoga, sleep well, exert regularly, stay focus, drink coffee and watch nature? Here are my thoughts and I am very keen to listen to the ideas from the members of IL.

    Challenge the status-quo and get rid of legacies – At the formative stage when our brain development takes place, we keep imbibing some inherent principles, values, practices, etc. from what we watch from friends and family. Not all of them are something we need to cherish for life. When we get to the discrimination stage, we do revolt on issues that affects our day to day interest. Instead, we should focus on discriminating the inheritances and discard the ones that doesn’t suit our nature and temperament.

    Break the Barrier – Our cognitive brain thrived on limited data we had stored at our early stage of growth and formed a pattern of thinking. We have to break that barrier. When we seek more information to gain knowledge that is vital for our growth and development, we should also challenge the pattern of thinking to change our lives. Cognitive brain should confront the belief system in existence inside of us and not necessarily the belief system that exist outside of us.

    Visualize future through sub consciousness – Every encryption that we create in the sub-conscious brain becomes a will, powered with significant amount of energy, positivity and enthusiasm resulting in greater growth and development. For that, we have to challenge the existing goals and create new ones thereby constantly raising the bar. Visualizing techniques are used by the management teams to teach the peers, sports personnel, entertainers, researchers, etc. to stimulate their cognitive brain. The changes of achieving the goals increases manifold when something is encrypted in our subconscious brain.

    Build new and unconventional paths – Reading and assimilating knowledge should be restricted only for the limited purpose of analytics and not applied as is in practical life. The questioning brain is the one that is always successful whether it is scientific research or spiritual development. Putting into practice what we read and assimilate is cheap unless it has been contemplated and broken-down to actionable intelligence with inputs from the cognitive brain after questioning the knowledge gained. Creating new and unconventional path to analyze knowledge is essential to make a difference.

    Form new habits – Development of new habits that contributes to our growth and development has significant impact to our sub-conscious brain. It is our habits that makes us who we are. Our character development is directly proportional to our habits. What we receive as information, our reaction and eventual response determines who we become. Who we are, is our current habits and who we would like to become, is the habits we wish to develop. Whether it is analytics or execution or introspection, we need to evaluate them constantly to change the way we do them. Even who we choose as our inner circle friends and guide has a profound impact in our growth and development.

    Use collective wisdom – The biggest mistake we normally do is to make an independent effort for our growth and development. Every one of us are work-in-progress and sharing and caring for each other helps in our growth and development. The attempt to generate a collective wisdom is far more valuable than wisdom that is derived individually. It is an interdependent world and there is no need for each one of us to work on each area for our growth and development. Utilizing the combined intellectual capabilities is a greater way to stimulate our brain power.

    Develop measurement techniques – This is the most challenging aspect of our growth and development. We are creating encryption in our subconscious brain through visualization techniques and in the process, the older and obsolete methods are erased from our brain. Writing down our way of thinking from time to time helps to benchmark our growth and development as understanding our brain and measure its optimum utilization is an uphill task.

    Never look back – There is no second guessing that should take place when we make a concerted effort towards growth and development. Growth and development is nothing to do with success and failure. It is about developing a new pattern of thinking, forming new habits, questioning the existing path, encrypting ideas into our subconscious mind through visualization techniques, utilizing the collective wisdom and developing measurement techniques to compute growth.

    The outcome that one should expect by stimulating the brain is a sense of fulfillment.
     
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  2. Cimorene

    Cimorene Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Viswa,

    I read the post and could not find any point to annex that you haven't touched upon related to how knowledge is sourced and expended to propel our mental drive. You have eloquently stated every angular direction on the topic. Here is my light-hearted take on it. This is not to sound flippant but this is how I generally view things in life.

    Knowledge is a very diffusive and pretentious word save for the academic enlightenment or know-how in tradecraft. There are scholars who make a living piecing apart this twin-lined poem of Ezra Pound.

    THE apparition of these faces in the crowd;
    Petals on a wet, black bough.


    A jousting debate on the ";" is what keeps the lights burning at their homes. There are killer-fans who belt out the Olympic highlights from this season like those indelible metrics are written on the back of their tongue. And then there are dizzy people like me who dance when they come across something like Juno to join Jupiter

    The basic unit of knowledge is a "fact" (types: trivia, axiom, observation). As such these "facts" and trivia" are unsustainable. Though they are free-standing, they are weak to exist as substantial knowledge. They are like the LEGO blocks with no value on their own. But the emergent realisation from these constellation of facts and collective observations builds up a liberating and empowering 'thought process' or 'value system' that is more pronounced and tangible.

    Let's take that Juno spacecraft for example.

    (1) A bunch of people are glad that we launched a probe to Jupiter called "Juno"
    (2) Few more are happy that we named it "Juno" ..ah! wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology
    (3) Few more are excited that three figurines modelled on Jupiter, Juno, and Galileo travelled in that spacecraft
    (4) Few others are elated that Jupiter with a lightning bolt, Juno with a magnifying glass, Galileo with a telescope made the cut.
    (5) Finally, the whistles and loudest cheers are from that small crowd who are bouncing happily that space-grade aluminium was used to manufacture those figurines for longevity

    You can classify me in Type#3 of that ordered list of knowledge seekers. I don't hunt for in-depth knowledge because a broad awareness itself enlivens me. I feel extremely emotional and gratified with skimpy read, or casual learning, with no practical implications. I don't know if my gray matter is whirring at full-throttle or sputtering but I explore and scrape information on a level that trips to recompile my perception of the world-model. That incremental knowledge and attendant change in me is a function of my disposition to imbibe stuff that has the potential to affect me at the earliest chance. In that above example I may be reformed in some way if I knew about (4) and (5) but I'm content upon (3) to deem my life meaningful and my survival ensured. Perhaps the type of knowledge you had in mind was more profound that has a bearing on our existence, identity and welfare but I don't see any reason why this scale-model of facetious reasoning cannot be inductively applied as a systemic learning process to introspect what structure, form and levels constitutes that 'knowledge' and the flashpoint at which you can effortlessly assimilate it.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2016
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  3. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    C,

    I welcome all and any comment even if it is flippant. I have not submitted a thesis to feel sorry if it fails the dissertation test. These are collection of thoughts which may or may not be the right way to approach and I am willing to listen to others' view points.

    As you rightly pointed out at the end of your response, I focused on the knowledge that defines our purpose, makes our existence meaningful, enables us to gain more through curiosity and questioning. I am talking about the skill-set that keeps motivating us to learn a lot and evolution of inquiries from primitive stages to higher stages. The one that helps us to look at ourselves, create a conducive environment and contribute for our growth and development to thrive in a competitive world.

    I am talking about how much we know about ourselves and our potential to learn as opposed to understanding the knowledge that is out there in the world. Please forgive me if I have not communicated it right in my OP.

    Viswa
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2016
  4. Cimorene

    Cimorene Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Viswa,

    Your original post was as clear as a polished pane-glass.

    This knowledge,
    I'm not predisposed to introspect much on my purpose and existence so I am unfamiliar with the tools of inquiry and hoarded knowledge in this sphere.

    And,
    "You are a crazy woman! Totally upside-down brain! You pursue things, take interest in stuff, curious about incidents that no one delights in and this is the sole reason I love you" - this comment from KV is motivating enough to exasperate him with the flat-out eccentricity in me.

    Whereas,
    Ahem! again I am scared of exams and any kind of competitive assessment. That should explain why I performed so bad in my academics. I have jitters before any exam. Fortunately I work in a field and firm that does not merit my performance at a competitive scale and that is how I survived till date without agitations or upheaval in my life.

    I did grasp your post and you can be assured that my responses are as honest as cross my heart that I did not have any significant inputs other than lip service to your original and well-structured layout. I lack in this department of inquiry. I am quite dopey from an angle, from some unflattering and laidback mental repose.
     
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  5. Kamalji

    Kamalji IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Vishwa,

    This subject is too deep for me. i read what u had to say, and u have a deep knowledge of these things. Yes i agree we use just a small fraction of our brains, basically we aer distracted by the worldy vices, and duties, which do not allow us to expore our brains as much as we should.

    Very well said, i am sure u will receive a lot of more responses here, from I lites ,
    Thanks.
    kamal
     
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  6. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    I am fascinated by the brain to the point of wondering what language we think in, and if the steps in making a decision can ever be fully documented, leave alone replicated. Once in a while, we get to read about AI in layman's terms, and it again makes one wonder just how much for granted we take the human brain. But beyond such wonderment, I am ill-equipped to think about thinking. And honestly, not even interested. After the basics of life are taken care, I tend toward the laziness of watching a movie, or taking a nap, or reading the comics. I have lots of serous reading to do, and I keep thinking that "one day" there will be more time. If I can do at least some part of such reading, understand it, relate to it, analyze it, I would count it as a major cerebral achievement.
     
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  7. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Kamal,

    Thank you for taking the time to respond. I know you are a lot smarter than you claim credit for. I somehow thing, seeking knowledge is not enough unless we develop to inquire and figure out the potentials of our brain.

    Viswa
     
  8. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Rihana,

    You are too modest in your assumptions. Your line of questioning in response to many posts here is a clear evidence of your cerebral excellence.

    I am a constant thinker and a self-critique, particularly when it comes to the process of thinking more than the final conclusion that I arrive at in decision-making process. I do case-studies in my brain as to how people think differently to change the course of their lives. I feel inquiry should not be confined to learning things but also how we inquire, assimilate and eventually use that information.

    Viswa
     
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  9. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Seeking knowledge is a noble pursuit, but as you rightly pointed out the art of learning itself is a subject worthy of some contemplation. From my limited academic perspective, I am sharing some of the wonderful new things we've learned about how our brains acquire and process new information.

    Cognitive overload is a real phenomenon! I remember when I was studying for my board exams, after a point reading more material would start to feel like the struggle to shove another pile of clothes into an overflowing almirah! : ) I used to call it saturation. My brain was soaked with information and irrespective of how hard I tried, not one drop more would get absorbed. Research has now shown that this is indeed true. Faced with a barrage of information, the brain experiences cognitive overload and its efficiency goes down significantly. Multitasking isn't the productivity booster that it was touted to be. It is actually quite bad for our brains. Grandpa was right! One thing at a time with full attention is the way to go.

    The other concept that fascinates me endlessly is neuroplasticity. It is the brain's ability to rewire connections and make them stronger or weaker based on how often we use them. Positive thinking then, is an exercise in rewiring connections to change our perceptions. When we focus on the negatives we are strengthening the connections that lead to pessimistic thinking and obsessing over worst case scenarios. If we do it repeatedly, it becomes second nature. Consciously choosing to think better thoughts leads to physical changes in our brains. Optimism can be learned by focusing on the positives. : )

    The idea that function can alter brain physiology is perhaps the key to learning. We can change our brains simply by controlling the information we choose to put in them. The right information, creates the underlying structure to efficiently process and absorb that information. So Viswa, your approach of immersing yourself in your interests is perhaps the right approach to being an efficient learner!
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2016
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  10. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    @Gauri03,

    Thank you for your wonderful and thoughtful response. I have experienced cognitive overload when I was preparing for my professional degree final exam. I have to shut down my brain for 4-5 days and I was told it created B12 deficiency. I was given 4-5 shots and I was back in action. Since the professional degree was nationally competitive, my effort was way beyond my cerebral capacity. As a coincidence, after I wrote three subjects out of eight, the exam was canceled as there was leak of question paper in Mumbai resulting in reexamination of all the students throughout India.

    There is a lot written about the effects of neuroplasticity in the form of encryption created in the sub-conscious brain. Everything about the brain is fascinating. I heard that apart from not feeling the pain, even if we lose 60% of the brain, the balance of 40% can make up to rewire our day to day functions. Jill Balti Taylor's Ted talk is stunning how she responded when she had a brain hemorrhage. Positive thinking creates profound impact in our lives. I couldn't agree more on multi-tasking as I have written about it number of times in the past in IL. We have a sequential processor up in our head and they don't compute parallel. Only exception is subconscious brain.

    Viswa
     

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