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> I've often wondered what we could accomplish as a species if we could just overcome some of these hardwired / knee-jerk instincts. And wouldn't studying the

> I've often wondered what we could accomplish as a species if we could just overcome some of these hardwired / knee-jerk instincts. And wouldn't studying the brain help lead us towards a better understanding of how to accomplish those goals? I'm not saying that this particular study is advancing us much, but helping identify how "obvious" human behaviors activate different parts of our brains does seem to be working towards that goal. I'm just having a little difficulty reconciling your dismissive opening paired with your wonder of what might be possible for us as a species. Breakthroughs in science are rare - it's mostly small, incremental, and boring progress.

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
As a member of an "outgroup" (I'm over 40, in the tech industry -I never considered myself to be "on the outs," but have learned that I am, indeed), I can confirm, that, when profit is involved, no one is interested in changing their bias, and a scientific study won't make one whit of difference. It seems that the only thing that causes change in our innate bias, is pain. When we are forced to confront our biases, because not doing so hurts (like crashing a racing bike), we will work hard to change it. Otherwise, we will blithely continue "as we were."
- dahart 4y ago
  “The findings raise the possibility that one day treatments that disrupt the reward of intergroup aggression might help to reduce the costly and persistent human phenomenon of violence toward other groups, Chester said.”
  - ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
    Well, considering that we have an extremely large number of folks that refuse to take treatments that would save their own lives, as well as the lives of those around them, and the Venn diagram of those folks, and ones that want to hurt "others," has a significant overlap, what odds do you give, of them participating in the treatments? One word: "Miranda." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hVuzOamXEk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hVuzOamXEk
    - dahart 4y ago
      I don’t know, but I don’t see any reason to be skeptical that the future can’t improve, given history. You could have made the same argument about most medical treatments 400 years ago, and it’d turn out to be more or less completely wrong.
      - ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
        Fair enough. I would caution about treatments that are designed to affect that fundamental a level of "being human," though. That clip I referenced was from the movie Serenity, and "Miranda" was a planet, where they tried pretty much exactly what you are talking about. It was fiction, but there's a road, leading somewhere, reputed to be paved with good intentions...
- cardanome 4y ago
  > It seems that the only thing that causes change in our innate bias, is pain. Funny enough, it is quite often love. Many former neo-nazis left the scene because they fell in love with a member of the "wrong race". It is kind of a cliche at this point. Now whether it is that is getting to know a person of another race/culture/faith helps overcoming biases or if reproduction is simply biologically more pleasurable than bashing the outgroup, who knows.
- charlie0 4y ago
  This. I understand that researching this is a step in the right direction, but am disappointed that there are no good solutions to problems like these because they stem from basic biological functioning at some very deep level and this affects everyone, not just a tiny portion of people.
sbf501 4y ago
But he DOES race motorcycles. So there's that.

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago

As a member of an "outgroup" (I'm over 40, in the tech industry -I never considered myself to be "on the outs," but have learned that I am, indeed), I can confirm, that, when profit is involved, no one is interested in changing their bias, and a scientific study won't make one whit of difference. It seems that the only thing that causes change in our innate bias, is pain. When we are forced to confront our biases, because not doing so hurts (like crashing a racing bike), we will work hard to change it. Otherwise, we will blithely continue "as we were."

dahart 4y ago
“The findings raise the possibility that one day treatments that disrupt the reward of intergroup aggression might help to reduce the costly and persistent human phenomenon of violence toward other groups, Chester said.”
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
  Well, considering that we have an extremely large number of folks that refuse to take treatments that would save their own lives, as well as the lives of those around them, and the Venn diagram of those folks, and ones that want to hurt "others," has a significant overlap, what odds do you give, of them participating in the treatments? One word: "Miranda." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hVuzOamXEk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hVuzOamXEk
  - dahart 4y ago
    I don’t know, but I don’t see any reason to be skeptical that the future can’t improve, given history. You could have made the same argument about most medical treatments 400 years ago, and it’d turn out to be more or less completely wrong.
    - ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
      Fair enough. I would caution about treatments that are designed to affect that fundamental a level of "being human," though. That clip I referenced was from the movie Serenity, and "Miranda" was a planet, where they tried pretty much exactly what you are talking about. It was fiction, but there's a road, leading somewhere, reputed to be paved with good intentions...
cardanome 4y ago
> It seems that the only thing that causes change in our innate bias, is pain. Funny enough, it is quite often love. Many former neo-nazis left the scene because they fell in love with a member of the "wrong race". It is kind of a cliche at this point. Now whether it is that is getting to know a person of another race/culture/faith helps overcoming biases or if reproduction is simply biologically more pleasurable than bashing the outgroup, who knows.
charlie0 4y ago
This. I understand that researching this is a step in the right direction, but am disappointed that there are no good solutions to problems like these because they stem from basic biological functioning at some very deep level and this affects everyone, not just a tiny portion of people.

sbf501 4y ago

But he DOES race motorcycles. So there's that.