JavierP’s Morning Meeting and Sharing Linkage P4 – D54

Javier Parellada facilitated today’s morning meeting. We did two activities. The first one was that he would touch the shoulder of someone and he would be the “liar” and the rest of the group would have to guess who that person was. We did this two times and to our surprise, the first time no one was the liar and the second everyone was the liar. It was very ingenious and fun to see the different reaction and corporal language each of us had. The second activity was more of a prank to Bert. One person was supposed to go out and when he or she got back everyone would moo, but only one would moo louder and that person would have to guess whom it was. The prank didn’t go quite well but it was funny.

We took the Agora time to continue our activity of sharing linkage. Today, the ones who shared were Alejo, JavierT, Majo, Grace, Bert, and Chacho. 

Thinking, F & S Dialogue (Ch 9-10) – with Dylan, Zach, and Lisa Hazlitt – D52

This was our last dialogue in this year with Dylan since he is going back to the U.S. I think, but he is coming back on February. Also, today Zachary Caceres and Lisa Hazlitt joined us for this dialogue. I must admit that I didn’t take full advantage of the dialogue, because I was not well prepared. Nevertheless, I think I learned some important things. 

Here are my notes of the dialogue:

• How fast do these systems react?
• System 1 – One tenth of a second
• System 2 – Longer, seconds, the longest, a few minutes.
• 
  
• There is luck, not patterns.
• The mind as a pattern-seeking device.
• Skinner: The superstition and the pigeon.
• False positive, we can see a pattern where there isn’t.
•  How does this affect in politics?
• There is also a causal pattern.
• Luck is pure randomness.

• Hot Hand
•  Is it statistical independent?
• Fooled by Randomness by Nicholas Taleb

• Negative capability: the ability to remain in doubts and uncertainties, and to resist the irritable need for answers (the need for closure).

•  Target vs. Heuristic Question

• Being attracted to someone is a basic assessment?
• It’s not according to Kahneman.
• For men is more probable to be a basic assessment than on women. Men tend to search attractiveness, while women search other qualities.

• Who is Daniel Kahneman?
• 1979, Prospect Theory
• Nobel Prize in economics

Consilience (Ch 7-8) Dialogue – D51

Pretty good dialogue, very interesting, and insightful. Dialogues like this make you think we are improving our dialogue skills, respecting our rubrics, and in general terms, progressing as a group. Nice comeback MPCers! Karen stayed for the dialogue, although in the outer circle since she was late.

Here are my notes on the dialogue:

• What are epigenetic rules?
• “They are the algorithms of growth and differentiation that create a fully functioning organism.” p.163
• The role of culture in evolution. Can culture change more rapidly evolution than genes, and how?
• Behaviors predisposed to humans. Color vision, language.
• Is culture the result of these epigenetic traits?
• “Epigenetic rules are prescribed by genes” . p.138 (very important page)
• “Epigenetic rules leave open the potential generation of an immense array of cultural variations and combinations.” P.210 (vip)
• Epigenetic rules as the reptilian brain that along with the mammal brain form the limbic system. This system is what “instinctively” makes us react somehow to different situations. These predisposed behaviors are the epigenetic rules. The main functions of the reptilian brain are survival and reproduction. Usually it tends to do three things to different situations: freeze, defend, or attack. 

• What are the inherited traits?
• Traits for survival and reproduction mainly, the epigenetic rules.
• 
  
• What is human nature?
• The relation between genes, epigenetic rules, and institutions.
• 
  
•  Are ethics an example of epigenetic rules? How about Rubrics?

• Culture transcends to the mind? Institutions can guide the mind?
• Bert: As long as we take these institutions into our mind, we will remove or modify our primary epigenetic rules.
• Hyperactive kids as obeying their natural epigenetic rules, and institutions can change them (they become more obedient and tame).
• Institutions mutate our epigenetic rules?

Morning Meeting and Dialogue with Dylan (Thinking… Ch 7 & 8) – D48

After a debriefing like the one on yesterday, you may think that everyone reflected about their behavior and realized they were not doing a good job at the MPC, but apparently no. Only ten of us arrived on time. For the morning meeting we had planned an activity in which we would tell what we were thankful for, since it’s Thanksgiving, but because of Bert’s petition and common agreement, we moved it until everybody were here.

Later, at 9:30, Dylan arrived for our dialogue on Thinking, Fast and Slow, chapters 7 and 8. Some of the topics we discussed (although some in a very superficial way) were finding someone attractive is not a “basic assessment”, automatic processing in visual system/internal chatterbox, halo effect (Is there a way to control our subconscious halo effect?) (Our mind is a network of associations that activate other areas.), are there objective judgments?, WYSIATI (what you see is all there is). It was an interesting dialogue, but I have to admit that I didn’t take full advantage of it since I was not well prepared for it.

A book Dylan recommended us: “A Journey Around My Room” by Xavier Maistre.

Some neuroscience and psychology – Dialogue with Arne Dietrich – D45

Today, at 11:15 a.m., Arne Dietrich visited us. He is a neuroscientist specialized in creativity, and found out about the MPC because he is a friend of Dylan Evans. The dialogue went pretty well. First, we made an introduction about what the MPC is, and read our dialogue rubric, which he suggested some changes and questioned it a little. Then, he talked about who he was and what was his specialization. After that, the dialogue was about many psychology things, but especially about the future of genetic engineering and the emotions. One of the many remarks he made was that the control for knowledge and modifying human brains is evolving very fast and we can reach a point were a society may have the resources to become more intelligent and developed than another, and (as I understood him) be able to gain control over other society. Some utopia/dystopia, kind-of a Brave New World/1984 world. Another important remark was regarding a question I asked him about whether psychological diseases activate chemicals in our brains or if first there is a chemical reaction in our brains that triggers a psychological disease. His answer was that what I said was a dualism, but we have a third option that is that they are the same. In other words, there is no psychological state, no mind, psyche, or any metaphysical thing you want to call it. The psychological state and the chemicals released by our brains is the same. It was a very interesting dialogue that I think everyone enjoyed a lot. 

First Approach with Dylan Evans – D32

After some individual work, Dylan Evans, a great psychologist and author of many world-recognized books, visited us. He is a visiting professor at UFM because he is writing a book about Free Cities, and since the Free Cities Institute is at UFM, it is "the place" to be if you want to do research about that subject. During his visit to the MPC, he talked us about his life and his discovery of his passion for psychology. Also, he talked us about our future reading, a book called, Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. It was a good first approach with Dylan, whom I found very honest and entertaining. What I liked about him was his honesty and courage to say what he thinks and what is, even if that is against common acceptance or of that which a group believes, for example he telling us the reason why he got expelled from school, or how he believes that laziness is a good thing if done well. We concluded our dialogue by making the schedule for this book, which we are going to discuss every Thursday.

One fun fact about Dylan’s books is that all actors in the Matrix movies must read one called, Introducing Evolutionary Psychology. Also, one of his major contributions to psychology is a dictionary of Lacan called, An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis.