Several newspapers today are carrying a story about a study published in Nature Neuroscience. The headlines vary, but the basic theme is "the brain of left-wing people is different from the brain of right-wing people".
Here is the abstract of the study:
Political scientists and psychologists have noted that, on average, conservatives show more structured and persistent cognitive styles, whereas liberals are more responsive to informational complexity, ambiguity and novelty. We tested the hypothesis that these profiles relate to differences in general neurocognitive functioning using event-related potentials, and found that greater liberalism was associated with stronger conflict-related anterior cingulate activity, suggesting greater neurocognitive sensitivity to cues for altering a habitual response pattern.
At long last there is scientific proof that we back-stabbing, self-hating, left-wing liberals are smarter. We seem to react better to complex information and adapt faster to changing circumstances. We also have better "neurocognitive sensitivity"; I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds like a good thing to have!
In other words, I was right all along. In recent years I have mostly refrained from entering into arguments with right-wing people, something I enjoyed doing in the past. After all, why bother arguing with someone if you've been scientifically certified to be much smarter than he/she is?
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1 comment:
:)
It is reassuring to know I have a "stronger conflict-related anterior cingulate activity".
One wonders if this cognitive style is a response to learning or based on inherent neurological circuits or a combination. Must be a combination, like all personality issues.
So how is my anterior cingulate cortex processing the tragic events at the base in Zikim today? My greater neurocognitive sensitivity was still asleep. All I could come up with - damn it - here we go again, turn off the TV.
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