Post #3...

The first game I played was titled "The Prisoners' Dilemma". In this game, the player acted as if they were locked up with another player. Both players had to decided to either "compete" or "cooperate" without knowing what the other player would choose. If both players decided to cooperate, they are both rewarded 3 gold coins. If both players decided to compete, they are both rewarded one gold coin. If one decided to compete, and the other to cooperate, the player who decided to compete recieves 5 gold coins, and the other, none.

I learned that sometimes, the best payout for one person, increases the payout for the other as well. I also learned that there is no single "best" strategy. To maximize one's payout depends on the strategy of the partner.

This suprised me because while playing I thought I developed a strategy. I always chose to "compete" because that way, every time my competitor chose to cooperate, I would gain 5 coins on him/her, and everytime my competitor chose to compete, he would not gain on me.

This can be applied to everyday life because it proves you can not pridict the choice of another player, and there is no particular strategy that is best.

The second activity I chose was "Ambiguous Figures". This activity simply consisted of looking at ambiguous figures, as the title suggests. Ambiguous figures are perspective images that can induce two or more perceptions.

I learned that ALL imputs to the brain are ambiguous, just some more than others. This seems obvious, but it something not often thought about. The brain has the ability to interpret things several different ways. This is what suprised me most.

This can be applied to everyday life because it is a simply explanation to a disagreement between people with contrasting opinions. People simply percieve things differently.

One thing I learned in this chapter was plasticity. I was aware that when part of the brain was damaged, such as one of the senses-like sight, another part of the brain becomes stronger to make up for the loss. I was not aware though, that that part of the brain is not then wasted space. The part that was damaged repairs itself to make up for the loss. For example, if a person becomes blind, the visual cortex will now be used to read, sense, and comprehend Braille.

Another thing I learned was about the potential to regulate a human's brain if something is irregular. If somebody has a severe anger and/or aggression problem, we have tried treating the disorder with therapy and self-control. In the future, we could regulate this problem surgically. The amyglada, which influences aggression and fear, could be removed or repaired to a better, more stable state.

The Man with Two Brains is a fascinating story. As I read about it in my book, it really grabbed my attention. It was slightly difficult to comprehend, because it is so far fetched. It's hard to believe a man could not only survive the procedure, but lead a normal life. I'm sure it takes a lot of therapy and practice to become comfortable with having different thoughts and actions, without knowing why they correlate, but it's very inspirational to know such thing can be done.