Papercut

Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee Missing Science of Heredity: Pythagoras: Hereditary information carried in male semen. Spermism. Female provides nourishment.  His devotees argued parents are like sides of triangle. Kid is hypotenuse. Aristotle: Male semen has message, instructions or architecture. Female has the material. Nobody for thousands of years could provide good alternate theories. Charles Darwin: Went to South America for a survey for many years. Collected huge specimens of skeletons, plants, pelts, rocks, shells etc. He could see lot of variations in the same species in a particular island. It was as if each site had produced its own variant - a bar coded bird for each island. What if all finches had arisen from a common ancestral finch ? What if current forms of animals are consequences of natural forces that had accumulated over millennia ? Farmers breed and interbred cattle to produce natural variants. Reverse Darwinism. Deliberately created by humans. Wh...

Author: David Eagleman Animal brains : Pre-programmed. Hardwired. Independent right after birth. Human brains : Live wired. Plastic. Adapts to conditions. Thus can survive anywhere from Africa to Antarctica. Initial brain development important. Children need proper care. Romania suffered as its children were institutionalized. Teens have very active mPFC : Medial Pre Frontal Cortex. Leads to more self evaluation, more risk taking or thrill seeking behaviors. Plasticity in adults: London cab drivers who memorize London Maps have enlarged Hippo-campus. Violin players have omega sign folds in the brain due to extensive left hand use. Memories fade, not trustworthy. Same events can lead to different memories at different points of our life. Brain is a toolbox. Use all tools to keep cognition healthy. You do not perceive objects as they are. You perceive objects as YOU are. There is no "Reality" outside of our skulls. Brain receives air,pressure,molecules etc thr...