4 ms·
Information is its own reward - same neurons signal thirst for water, knowledge
- ars 17y agoI would like to see this test with some info on how badly they wanted the fore-knowledge. i.e. they can choose: know in advance, or get a better drink.
- Ardit20 17y agoDoes information overload drown us then? :P
- atas 17y agoIs this article's title misleading or am I missing something? Shouldn't it be that "same neurons signal thirst for water, knowledge about water", as in "same neurons signal 'thirst' for A, knowledge about A"? I think this is implied from the article but not from the title.
- ars 17y agoI can see how you would read the article that way, but no, I don't think it's implied by the article. However, it's a very subtle point, and a good one. Because if those "water wanting" neurons triggered only because the knowledge was about the thing they wanted: "water", then this research is (at least partially) invalid. I highly suggest you contact the authors of the study and ask them. However the point that monkeys do want the fore-knowledge still stands. (And since the fore-knowledge doesn't help the monkey, and monkeys are assumed to not do things for no reason, it's assumed that there is a part of the brain that wants knowledge.)
- TheSOB88 17y agoBasically, OP's saying that there is a group of neurons that fire when the person thinks about water. I wouldn't have it any other way.
- paulrday 17y agoI have discussed this topic at length with friends, typically when I am struggling to grind through "dry" material in an effort to understand something. I have found that my neurons are extremely resistant to learning any kind of meaningful knowledge and are very receptive to learning all manner of useless knowledge. ;D Psychologically, it seems odd to me that it is so hard to be disciplined when it comes to learning material when you know intellectually that you will grow from understanding it. Sometimes I truly want to understand something, I am curious and I want to know the answer, but the work required to gain that understanding is sometimes so painful that I just decide to do something else instead.
- electromagnetic 17y agoPerhaps the knowledge you ascribe value to is in fact knowledge you really find valueless. I know market economics is very valuable knowledge, but to me it's less useful and less interesting than knowing how to make butter . . . and I don't have a cow, goat or sheep, and I don't think I've ate real butter in over 2 years.