Thoraiya DyerWho wants bananas anyway?
December 29th 2006 07:10
by Marie N.
Have you ever trained a monkey to play baseball?
Story goes that the researchers at Stanford University have done so, but took inspiration from "batting for" colored spots of light at different speeds a thousand times. They monitored the monkeys' brains and zeroed in on the promoter cortex area. Guess what they found out? The monkeys didn't master the task after the practice. They probably just finished a truckload of bananas and chips and went to the bed afterwards.
The trouble with scientists is that they are still caught in the mindset that we humans think like monkeys, if not like morons. (But let's not take the insult too seriously, lest we might forget our hierarchical status and start monkeying around.)
The very fact that we're more evolved creatures means that our brains know better than to perfect the task of catching colored spots of light. Who wants to go home with a truckload of bananas anyway?
In other words, wouldn't our knowledge of what the "reward" will be also play a role in perfecting a task through practice? If you were going to win a million dollars finishing the marathon first place, wouldn't your brain eventually strive to practice to perfection?
I wouldn't mind if the monkeys start giggling when the scientists figure out the joke.
via:
NZ Herald
Have you ever trained a monkey to play baseball?
Story goes that the researchers at Stanford University have done so, but took inspiration from "batting for" colored spots of light at different speeds a thousand times. They monitored the monkeys' brains and zeroed in on the promoter cortex area. Guess what they found out? The monkeys didn't master the task after the practice. They probably just finished a truckload of bananas and chips and went to the bed afterwards.
The very fact that we're more evolved creatures means that our brains know better than to perfect the task of catching colored spots of light. Who wants to go home with a truckload of bananas anyway?
In other words, wouldn't our knowledge of what the "reward" will be also play a role in perfecting a task through practice? If you were going to win a million dollars finishing the marathon first place, wouldn't your brain eventually strive to practice to perfection?
I wouldn't mind if the monkeys start giggling when the scientists figure out the joke.
via:
NZ Herald
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