> The study points to a total lack of reason in political decision-
> making.
>
> "None of the circuits involved in conscious reasoning were
> particularly engaged," Westen said. "Essentially, it appears as if
> partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the
> conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for
> it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and
> activation of positive ones."
>
> Notably absent were any increases in activation of the dorsolateral
> prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain most associated with
> reasoning.
>
> full:
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11009379/
Then, Doug posted:
> Brain Scans Show Link Between Lust for Sex and Money (Update1)
> 2006-02-01 12:23 (New York)
<snip>
> The pleasure of orgasm, the high from cocaine, the rush of buying
> Google Inc. at $450 a share --- the same neural network governs all
> three, Knutson, 38, concluded. What's more, our primal pleasure
> circuits can, and often do, override our seat of reason, the
> brain's frontal cortex, the professor says. In other words, stocks,
> like sex, sometimes drive us crazy.
Reason is dormant in politics and overridden in economy and sexuality. When is reason not asleep? Only when we are taking driving tests?
Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org>