new scientist

Mind-altering media

Another good article from New Scientist was ‘Mind-altering media’.  This is something that touches me personally as I’ve worked in the computer games industry. Myself, I find it very hard to believe that players and viewers of violent videogames and movies make for violent people. I think if you’re violent it will come up regardless of experiencing modern media. What I don’t like to see is violent games sold to underage children, someone somewhere needs to take responsibility for misselling these games. You can’t let a 12 year old play an 18 certificate game! A child will imitate, far more than an adult, what they experience, if they interact with a violent game then they are more likely to copycat the experience in real-life.

The article is mainly inconclusive, the one thing it seems to conclude is the more exposure to modern media the greater the change in our minds, especially at a younger age. It makes us smarter and better at some tasks, for example, more complex pre-planning and problem solving is required with the increasing complexity of media presentations and games and their multiple plots and sophisticated layers, but makes us dumber and worse at others. It also says that we can’t get away from the fact that on screen violence fosters off-screen violence. One media it doesn’t mention is music. Music has been said to alter our minds too (for good and for bad) but this, as well as art, are not within this article, shame:

Games:

Regular computer gamers have improved visual attention and can take in more information. They are better able to pay attention to things further apart or rapidly changing and can switch attention more quickly. They have a reduced brain response to, suggesting people begin to see such imagery as more normal. And young people are more emotional aroused when playing violent videogames (though it doesn’t say what emotion, good or bad). Children learn best by demonstration and then imitation, with rewards for getting things right. By way of interaction this is exactly what video games do.

TV:

People are more educated from watching TV programmes, yes even soap operas teach us things (!). A large study confirms previous small studies that high levels of TV viewing when young may contribute to elevated levels of verbal and physical aggression, difficulties with sleep, obesity and long-term risk for obesity-related health problems from a lack of physical exercise and attention and learning difficulties. Basically the more TV watched as a child the more aggressive acts committed as an adult.

Internet:

The Internet amplifies are natural personality traits. The extroverts get even more social and introverts more isolated but it is hard to assess the effect of the Internet on us as it is so varied. We might become more isolated socially but then become more open within online forums.

You are who you are largely because of the way the brain cells wire up in response to the environment and the things you do. If you change the wiring you will change how we think. Young, developing brains are affected the most. But there is no real way to prove anything. The ideal experiment would be to divide a large number of children into groups, expose the different groups to different types or varying amounts of TV or computer games for several years while keeping all other experiences identical, and then follow their progress in life. This will never be possible or, more importantly, ethical.

The article can be found here, again subscribers can view the whole article.

new scientist

How to make better decisions

Another interesting article from New Scientist, ‘How to make better decisions’. It’s a top ten list and I’ve written some highlights from article below:

1. Don’t fear the consequences

Almost every decision we make entails predicting the future, we tend to overestimate the impact of decision outcomes when in fact decisions are less intense and briefer than most people imagine. People think a loss will hurt more than a corresponding gain but this is not always true. Try to find someone who has made the same decision or choice and see how they felt. Don’t always play it safe, the worst might not happen – and if it does you have the psychological resilience to cope.

2. Go with your gut instincts

It stands to reason that the extra information can help you make well-informed decisions, at the same time information overload can be a problem. If the choice you face is highly emotive, your instincts may not serve you well. Basically I think its saying here that too much information, too many choices and too much emotion will cloud your judgement so go with your gut instincts in such situations.

3. Consider your emotions

Our brains store emotional memories of past choices, which we use to inform present decisions but trying to make decisions under the influence of an emotion can seriously affect the outcome, e.g. don’t make a decision when angry. Anger can make us impetuous, selfish and risk-prone. One emotion that seems to help, though, is sadness, you tend to take the time to consider the various alternatives on offer, and end up making the best choices. In relation, many studies show that depressed people have the most realistic take on the world. So it’s not all good being happy.

4. Play the devil’s advocate

It is wrong to already have a favoured option that we want to justify instead or making a decision by rationally weighing up the alternatives. Make a good decision, don’t latch on to facts and figures that support the option your already suspect is the best, actively search for evidence that could prove you wrong, however painful that may be.

5. Keep your eye on the ball

With little to go on, we seem more prone to latch onto irrelevancies and let them sway our judgement, e.g. just because an item in a shop says reduced doesn’t mean to say it’s a good deal.

6. Don’t cry over spilt milk

The more we invest in something the more commitment we feel towards it. Always remind yourself the past is the past and what’s spent is spent, stop throwing good money after bad.

7. Look at it another way

I like this one. The choices we make are irrationally coloured by the way the alternatives are presented. There is a stronger bias towards options that involve gains and vice versa. Again this is down to emotion affecting your decision. Look at your options from more than one angle.

8. Beware social pressure

Never assume the group know best. If you find everyone agreeing, play the contrarian. Beware of situations in which you feel little individual responsibility – that is when you are most likely to make irresponsible choices.

9. Limit your options

Touched on above. Too many options can mean making the wrong decision or even doing nothing al all. More choice makes greater demands on your information-processing skills. You are more likely to make a mistake from a greater range of choice. If you’re out to just find ‘good enough’, a lot of the pressure is off and the task of choosing something in the sea of limitless choice becomes manageable. Again ask someone who’s made the same choice and see how they felt.

10. Have someone else choose

Sometimes relinquishing control of decision making can be more satisfying than making the decision yourself.

The article can be found here. To read the full article you need to be a subscriber.

new scientist

Acetaldehyde

It’s a very, very bad thing.

I’m a regular reader of New Scientist, it’s possibly my favourite magazine – it’s fantastic!  Last week’s was no exception.  One article was particularly interesting and shocked me a little bit.  I discovered that this thing called acetaldehyde (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetaldehyde) is very nasty. Acetaldehyde basically is produced by your liver as it breaks down ethanol and causes, among other things, the infamous “hangover”. But there is so much more to it. If you drink, smoke or have bad dental hygiene read on…

Firstly alcohol is bad for your: -

- brain
- kidneys
- gonads
- skeletal muscle
- liver
- heart
- uterus and
- digestive system

Acetaldehyde, which comes from drinking alcohol is also created:-

- from tobacco smoke
- from exhaust fumes
- in foods, such as fresh bread and dairy products such as yogurts
- naturally in ripe fruit, Sherry, Calvados and coffee (Calvados drinkers are twice as likely to get oesophageal or oral cancer compared to win drinkers)
- by the barrel load from bacteria living in your mouth and guts (luckily the body as a battery of detoxifying enzymes that break 99% of it down, but any acetaldehyde molecules are left over it could cause permanent damage to your inners)
- from bad dental hygiene, which could lead to mouth cancer

It also: -

- attacks DNA
- is partly responsible for cancer and liver disease
- is possibly responsible for Alzheimer’s
- linked to rheumatoid arthritis and heart attacks, colon and rectal cancer
- messes up protein structure and function
- is a 30 times more toxic muscle poison (compared to ethanol)
- possibly linked to breast cancer
- is a human carcinogen (any substance which is an agent directly involved in the promotion of cancer), so can trigger mutations and chromosomal problems

If you are Japanese, Chinese, Korean or Taiwanese then it’s even worse. Such people genetically have faulty detoxifying enzymes, so one drink could cause: -

- facial flushing
- elevated heart rate
- diluted blood vessels

Then: -

- dizziness
- headaches
- nausea
- vomiting

Plus people have a higher rate of head and neck cancer and are at greater risk of cancer of the upper gastrointestinal track and liver.  And don’t think that once your hangover is gone you’re safe, cells don’t forget, it could take 20 to 25 years before the affects are felt.

Apart from that acetaldehyde is fine (!!!)

There is possibly a chewing gum and mouthwash that would help fight acetaldehyde, plus a type of sugar but the moral of the story is you’ve got to keep it clean. Don’t drink or smoke or sit near smokers, clean your teeth regularly and don’t breathe in car fumes.