Sciencespeaking topic
Fractions of a second before you feel that you've made a decision, the signs of that decision can already appear in your brain. So the brain may already be on its way before you choose. When you say 'I decided,' are you receiving news of the decision or making it?
— neuroscience of free will / Libet experiment
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- How do radioactive decay and the concept of half-life let us measure the age of fossils and rocks?
- 'Detox' teas and waters are a myth: your liver and kidneys are already the most advanced detox system you have. While the body cleans itself, what does 'flushing out toxins' from the outside actually solve?
- REM sleep and emotional processing: in REM sleep the brain works through the day's emotional load, almost like overnight therapy. Why do we sometimes feel less weighed down the morning after a bad day; does sleep heal emotion?
- Your stomach hurting when you're stressed, or running to the bathroom before an exam, isn't chance: there's a thick nerve cable between brain and gut, and the traffic runs both ways. If your anxiety upsets your stomach, your upset stomach may also be feeding your anxiety. Which one started first?
- The natural direction of heat is always from hot to cold. A refrigerator reverses this, but in return it heats the outside; the total disorder always increases. Can we only build local order by breaking order somewhere else?