Recent comments in /f/science

Feudamonia t1_j79f8ck wrote

Reply to comment by favouritemistake in Political views can be predicted by differences in brain activity. Study says political differences don’t just emerge when it comes to how we interpret reality around us; our brains actually ‘see’ different things depending on our politics. by mossadnik

It's about understanding the difference between the mind and the brain.

Think of it like a train and its cargo. The tracks, the engine and the boxcars take the cargo from station to station. You can change the train by swapping out the engine, changing the order or location of stations and still deliver the same cargo. Alternatively you can have identical trains travelling the same route yet carry different cargo.

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Zestfullyclean87 t1_j79c0c3 wrote

Reply to New study links psychedelic drug experience to certain positive health behaviors - A new online survey of U.S. adults indicates that people who report using any of the classic psychedelics at least once in their lives also reported smoking cigarettes less often and eating healthier diets. by mossadnik

So basically, what they’re saying is this.

They went up to people and asked

> Have you done psychedelics?

“Yes, at least once in college.”

> How’s your diet?

“Healthier than it used to be.”

> Breaking: new study links the two

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samsg1 t1_j798idt wrote

Reply to comment by DragonRei86 in A new study suggests that too much screen time during infancy may lead to changes in brain activity, as well as problems with executive functioning — the ability to stay focused and control impulses, behaviors, and emotions — in elementary school. by Wagamaga

Same. Sometimes for my mental health I desperately needed some time to myself, but a tv couldn’t hold my kids’ attention until they were about 4.

It takes a village to raise a kid.

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VoltaicSketchyTeapot t1_j7986p2 wrote

Reply to comment by favouritemistake in Political views can be predicted by differences in brain activity. Study says political differences don’t just emerge when it comes to how we interpret reality around us; our brains actually ‘see’ different things depending on our politics. by mossadnik

Because the former is consciousness and the latter is biology.

Yes, you can change your opinions, but that's not neuroplasticity at play. Neuroplasticity is the ability of individual neurons to form new pathways when necessary. Neuroplasticity is your brain reteaching itself to feel pain after a stroke cut off that original pathway.

We don't know enough about consciousness to know exactly which neurons play what role in consciousness (our ability to form opinions). Maybe neuroplasticity plays some role, but consciousness is way more complicated than a few electrical impulses figuring a new route to the same destination.

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favouritemistake t1_j7954b7 wrote

Reply to comment by Feudamonia in Political views can be predicted by differences in brain activity. Study says political differences don’t just emerge when it comes to how we interpret reality around us; our brains actually ‘see’ different things depending on our politics. by mossadnik

How is “brains are all capable of changing based on our experiences” different from “ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli”? (Other than the obvious fact that nervous system involves more than just the brain)

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PartyPorpoise t1_j794al2 wrote

Reply to comment by bomemachi in A new study suggests that too much screen time during infancy may lead to changes in brain activity, as well as problems with executive functioning — the ability to stay focused and control impulses, behaviors, and emotions — in elementary school. by Wagamaga

Any correlation isn’t going to affect every child equally. But there are going to be other factors taken into account too. Did your kids have opportunities for enrichment outside of screentime? And maybe the content itself matters too. PBS probably does less damage than something fast-paced and mindless.

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PartyPorpoise t1_j79401m wrote

Reply to comment by prinoodles in A new study suggests that too much screen time during infancy may lead to changes in brain activity, as well as problems with executive functioning — the ability to stay focused and control impulses, behaviors, and emotions — in elementary school. by Wagamaga

That makes sense. Little kids are interested in actually doing things, interacting with things. I always suspected that issues from too much screen time may be more common in kids who get a lot of screen time early on.

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AfterLemon t1_j793dqv wrote

Reply to comment by _ancienttrees_ in Newly-discovered Earth-mass exoplanet — named Wolf 1069 b — may provide durable habitable conditions across a wide area of its dayside by marketrent

The real problem here is that so many of the uninformed don't realize that there are hundreds or thousands of scientists that specialize in each individual section of science.

There are maybe 10 popular climate scientists that make headlines, but maybe 1 that might make headlines for some hopeful half-invented article.

But there are definitely hundreds of scientists that spend their entire career (30y270d8h= 65000 hours) each focusing entirely on each of these sciences.

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