首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. A neur
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. A neur
admin
2014-11-29
63
问题
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
A neuroscientist reveals
how to think differently
In the last decade a revolution has occurred in the way that scientists think about the brain. We now know that the decisions humans make can be traced to the firing patterns of neurons in specific parts of the brain. These discoveries have led to the field known as neuroeconomics, which studies the brain’s secrets to success in an economic environment that demands innovation and being able to do things differently from competitors. A brain that can do this is an iconoclastic one. Briefly, an iconoclast is a person who does something that others say can’t be done.
This definition implies that iconoclasts are different from other people, but more precisely, it is their brains that are different in three distinct ways: perception, fear response, and social intelligence. Each of these three functions utilizes a different circuit in the brain. Naysayers might suggest that the brain is irrelevant, that thinking in an original, even revolutionary, way is more a matter of personality than brain function. But the field of neuroeconomics was born out of the realization that the physical workings of the brain place limitations on the way we make decisions. By understanding these constraints, we begin to understand why some people march to a different drumbeat.
The first thing to realize is that the brain suffers from limited resources. It has a fixed energy budget, about the same as a 40 watt light bulb, so it has evolved to work as efficiently as possible. This is where most people are impeded from being an iconoclast. For example, when confronted with information streaming from the eyes, the brain will interpret this information in the quickest way possible. Thus it will draw on both past experience and any other source of information, such as what other people say, to make sense of what it is seeing. This happens all the time. The brain takes shortcuts that work so well we are hardly ever aware of them. We think our perceptions of the world are real, but they are only biological and electrical rumblings. Perception is not simply a product of what your eyes or ears transmit to your brain. More than the physical reality of photons or sound waves, perception is a product of the brain.
Perception is central to iconoclasm. Iconoclasts see things differently to other people. Their brains do not fall into efficiency pitfalls as much as the average person’s brain. Iconoclasts, either because they were born that way or through learning, have found ways to work around the perceptual shortcuts that plague most people. Perception is not something that is hardwired into the brain. It is a learned process, which is both a curse and an opportunity for change. The brain faces the fundamental problem of interpreting physical stimuli from the senses. Everything the brain sees, hears, or touches has multiple interpretations. The one that is ultimately chosen is simply the brain’s best theory. In technical terms, these conjectures have their basis in the statistical likelihood of one interpretation over another and are heavily influenced by past experience and, importantly for potential iconoclasts, what other people say.
The best way to see things differently to other people is to bombard the brain with things it has never encountered before. Novelty releases the perceptual process from the chains of past experience and forces the brain to make new judgments. Successful iconoclasts have an extraordinary willingness to be exposed to what is fresh and different. Observation of iconoclasts shows that they embrace novelty while most people avoid things that are different.
The problem with novelty, however, is that it tends to trigger the brain’s fear system. Fear is a major impediment to thinking like an iconoclast and stops the average person in his tracks. There are many types of fear, but the two that inhibit iconoclastic thinking and people generally find difficult to deal with are fear of uncertainty and fear of public ridicule. These may seem like trivial phobias. But fear of public speaking, which everyone must do from time to time, afflicts one-third of the population. This makes it too common to be considered a mental disorder. It is simply a common variant of human nature, one which iconoclasts do not let inhibit their reactions.
Finally, to be successful iconoclasts, individuals must sell their ideas to other people. This is where social intelligence comes in. Social intelligence is the ability to understand and manage people in a business setting. In the last decade there has been an explosion of knowledge about the social brain and how the brain works when groups coordinate decision making. Neuroscience has revealed which brain circuits are responsible for functions like understanding what other people think, empathy, fairness, and social identity. These brain regions play key roles in whether people convince others of their ideas. Perception is important in social cognition too. The perception of someone’s enthusiasm, or reputation, can make or break a deal. Understanding how perception becomes intertwined with social decision making shows why successful iconoclasts are so rare.
Iconoclasts create new opportunities in every area from artistic expression to technology to business. They supply creativity and innovation not easily accomplished by committees. Rules aren’t important to them. Iconoclasts face alienation and failure, but can also be a major asset to any organization. It is crucial for success in any field to understand how the iconoclastic mind works.
Questions 27-31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
According to the writer, the brain works efficiently because
选项
A、it uses the eyes quickly.
B、it interprets data logically.
C、it generates its own energy.
D、it relies on previous events.
答案
D
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/3DNO777K
本试题收录于:
雅思阅读题库雅思(IELTS)分类
0
雅思阅读
雅思(IELTS)
相关试题推荐
Ifx,yandzarepositiveintegerssuchthatxisafactorofy,andxisamultipleofz,whichofthefollowingisNOTnecess
Inacertainbox,thereare3timesasmanyredballsasblueballs.Whichofthefollowingistheratioofthenumberofredba
Whichofthefollowingisequivalenttox2<3x+4?
Whichofthefollowingisthecoefficientofxyin(3x+4y-xy)(4x+3y+1)?
Peopleshouldnottakegoodconstitutionforgranted,forhumangeneticcodeis______thedevelopmentof______.
Thedistinctionbetweenmakingartandthinkingandwritingaboutitshouldimplyneitheramutualexclusivenessnorahi
Thedistinctionbetweenmakingartandthinkingandwritingaboutitshouldimplyneitheramutualexclusivenessnorahi
African-Americanfilmmakersshouldbeinanenviableposition,forsincetheearly1990stherehasbeenasteadywaveof
随机试题
患者自觉头脑中反复出现某种思维观念,虽毫无意义,却明知不对而无法摆脱,内心十分苦恼。此症状为
A.雷尼替丁B.奥美拉唑C.阿米替林D.度洛西汀E.氟西汀属于5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂的药品是()。
石韦用治淋证,尤善治()。
小偷甲在某商场窃得乙的钱包后逃跑,乙发现后急追。甲逃跑中撞上欲借用商场厕所的丙,因商场地板湿滑,丙摔成重伤。下列哪些说法是错误的?
财务费用年末结转后无余额。()
根据企业所得税法律制度的规定,下列关于非居民企业的表述中,正确的是()。
社会主义价值体系的精髓是以爱国主义为核心的民族精神和以改革创新为核心的时代精神。()
下列关于世界航天史的说法,错误的是:
Formanypeople,emotionsareascarything.【C1】______oftheproblemisthatwejustdon’tknowwhattodowiththem,according
Thesedays,sciencemayhavedissectedalmosteveryelementofourdiet,butmanyofusstillfeelatthesea.Evenwhensticki
最新回复
(
0
)