Thinking outside the brain means skillfully engaging entities external to our heads - the feelings and movements of our bodies, the physical spaces in which we learn and work, and the minds of the other people around us - drawing them into our own mental processesBy reaching beyond the brain to recruit these "extra-neural" resources, we are able to focus more intently, comprehend more deeply, and create more imaginatively - to entertain ideas that would be literally unthinkable by the brain alone

The Emerging Science of Thinking with the Whole World Beyond the Brain

Even our metaphors for the mind have taken us further and further from our essential nature as creatures shaped by our environment and our interactions with other creatures, dishonouring Rachel Carson's science-rooted poetic insight that "there is in us a deeply seated response to the natural universe, which is part of our humanity."We left Plato's cave of consciousness and, corralled by Descartes and the Industrial Revolution, reduced the mind to the brain and explained its workings by drawing analogies to the technology of the hour.

The Reduction Of The Mind

Thought happens not only inside the skull but out in the world, too; it’s an act of continuous assembly and reassembly that draws on resources external to the brain. For another: the kinds of materials available to “think with” affect the nature and quality of the thought that can be produced. And last: the capacity to think well — that is, to be intelligent — is not a fixed property of the individual but rather a shifting state that is dependent on access to extra-neural resources and the knowledge of how to use them.

Understanding Mental Processes

One major aspect of this extended mind is our capacity for interoception — an awareness of the internal sensations of the body that gives us a kind of non-conscious knowledge, which we might term intuition but which is rooted in concrete embodied experience and somatic pattern-recognition. We might not detect the signals consciously, but we respond to the information they carry.

Interoception - Our 8th Sense

When a potentially relevant pattern is detected, it’s our interoceptive faculty that tips us off: with a shiver or a sigh, a quickening of the breath or a tensing of the muscles. The body is rung like a bell to alert us to this useful and otherwise inaccessible information. Though we typically think of the brain as telling the body what to do, just as much does the body guide the brain with an array of subtle nudges and prods. Researchers have even captured the body in mid-nudge, as it alerts its inhabitant to the appearance of a pattern that she may not have known she was looking for.

Benefits Of Our Interoceptive Sense

Our whole body is connected to the universe, and we have reduced it to a machine.

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Philosophy

religionandspirituality

Religion & Spirituality

mindfulness

Mindfulness

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Science & Nature

The Magpie in the Mind: The Emerging Science of Thinking with the Whole World Beyond the Brain

Are we living in a computer simulation?The question seems absurd. Yet there are plenty of smart people who are convinced that this is not only possible but perhaps likely.Just as Neo in The Matrix finds out that his whole life has been in a computer simulation, and the reality is completely different from everything he knew and experienced his whole existence, a new paper claiming that the entire universe is a computer simulation has shaken the heads of people all over the world.

We May Be Inside A Video Game

In an influential paper that laid out the theory, the Oxford philosopher <a href="https://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html">Nick Bostrom</a> showed that at least one of three possibilities is true:1) All human-like civilizations in the universe go extinct before they develop the technological capacity to create simulated realities;2) If any civilizations do reach this phase of technological maturity, none of them will bother to run simulations;3) Advanced civilizations would have the ability to create many, many simulations, and that means there are far more simulated worlds than non-simulated ones.

The Theory

The simulation hypothesis is the modern equivalent of an idea that’s been around for a while. For example, in Hindu culture, the world around us is called Maya, an illusion.A fresh version of the idea is that the physical world that we live in, including the Earth and the rest of the physical universe, is actually part of a computer simulation.

The Simulation Hypothesis

In The Matrix, Keanu Reeves plays the character Neo, who meets a guy named Morpheus, who is aptly named after the Greek god of dreams, and Morpheus gives him a choice of taking the red pill or the blue pill. And if he takes the red pill, he wakes up and realizes that his entire life, including his job, the building he lived in, and everything else, was part of this elaborate video game, and he wakes up in a world outside of the game.

The Matrix

There are lots of mysteries in physics that are better explained by the simulation hypothesis than by what would be a material hypothesis.There’s much we simply don’t understand about our reality. It’s more likely than not that we are in some kind of a simulated universe. Now, it’s a much more sophisticated video game than the games we produce, just like today World of Warcraft and Fortnite is way more sophisticated than Pac-Man or Space Invaders.

This World Being A Software Program

Everything we see as physical is really the result of bits of informationComputers do follow rules, but the fact that the rules always apply doesn't rule in or rule out that we could be part of a computer simulation.If we are conscious beings, we are more likely to be a simulated beings than biological ones because it’s so quick and easy to create them.

The Question Of Us Being Real Or Simulated

There are 10 stages of technology development that civilization would have to go through to get to the simulation point, which is the point at which we can create a hyperrealistic simulation like this. We’re at about stage five, which is around virtual reality and augmented reality. Stage six is about learning to render these things without us having to put on glasses, and the fact that 3D printers now can print 3D pixels of objects shows us that most objects can be broken down as information.

The Simulation Stages

We all may not be real, but just a player in an elaborate video game.

Why this computer scientist thinks we’re probably living in the Matrix.

sciencefiction

Science Fiction

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

Are we living in a computer simulation? I don’t know. Probably.

Light is a powerful stimulus for our mental and physical health.  Light controls when we are asleep and when we are alert. Lights directly affect how our nervous system functions.

Light affects your sleep and your energy levels


Wake up, go outside and get 5 - 20 minutes of bright light exposure. 	If you get up before sunlight, use bright artificial lights.  The aim is to get as much bright light during the day and as little as possible between 10 PM and 4 AM. This will have enormous physical and mental health benefits. Bright light exposure through windows or windshields doesn’t work as they filter the light that activates your neutrons. Blue light is great to create alertness and well-being throughout the day.

The best way to get sunlight exposure

Cortisol is a key hormone for health. Every 24 hours there is a peak cortisol release. This wakes you up in the morning and gives you focus. If you wake up early, you will get a peak early in the day. But when cortisol arrives later in the day, people get mood issues. Late-shifted cortisol is also contributing to depression.

Cortisol in the body

Your peak of alertness happens about 90 minutes before your natural sleep time. While it will pass, it can give you a useful indicator of your optimal bedtime. Before bedtime:<ul><li>Taper off thinking and anticipation.</li><li>Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) is a powerful tool that helps you relax, and reduce stress and anxiety. </li><li>Yoga Nidra and Reveri (a self-hypnosis app) can help you relax your nervous system before you go to sleep.</li></ul>

Evening routine

Behavioural tools are the foundation of sleep and wakefulness. When you learn progressive relaxation techniques, you get better at falling asleep and feeling alert when you wake up.Supplements and prescription medication can be great, but they don’t rewire your brain as behavioural tools do. Supplements that can help with depth and transition to sleep:<ul><li>Magnesium threonate or magnesium bis-glycinate (100 to 200 milligrams)) makes you feel drowsy.</li><li>Apigenin (50 milligrams) is taken 30 - 60 minutes before sleep.</li><li>Theanine (100 to 400 milligrams) has positive effects on jitteriness and anxiety.</li></ul>

Behavioural tools before medication and supplements

Ideally, you should sleep in a cold room and cover yourself with warm blankets. If you get too hot, you can jump heat by extending your feet or hands. Take a cold shower or ice bath to heat up in the morning. You will experience a dopamine increase. When you expose yourself to cold water, you build a reservoir of heat generation.

Temperature is an important stimulus for wakefulness

Naps should be shorter than 90 minutes. Most of the rewiring and neuroplasticity occurs during deep sleep and also during a short nap. Short naps accelerate neuroplasticity and learning, especially if you nap after an intensive learning session. If you have problems with the afternoon slump, delay your morning caffeine for 90 to 120 minutes after waking.

The short nap

The two most common reasons for waking up at night:<ul><li>Too much or too little exercise throughout the day. Generally, 150 to 180 minutes per week of zone 2 cardio and resistance exercise 3 or 4 times a week is sufficient.</li><li>Going to bed too late. Every hour of sleep before midnight recharges you deeper than the hours after midnight.</li></ul>

Why people wake up in the middle of the night

Caffeine creates wakefulness in the body and brain. It also increases the sensitivity of the dopamine receptors.<ul><li>It makes us more motivated to go out and pursue goals.</li><li>It makes us focus on things outside our immediate experience.</li></ul>However, try and taper off caffeine toward the afternoon for better sleep.

Caffeine boosts adenosine

The Basal ganglia are important for controlling and integrating thought and action. Some of the circuitry in basal ganglia pathways are involved with the “go” action and “no-go” suppressing functions. As children, we learn no-go behaviours (don’t interrupt, sit still). As adults, everything is “go, go, go” and we seldom rehearse the no-go functions.  We need to continue to keep the no-goes circuits in working order., e.g. resisting the urge to pick up your phone.

Tips to control bad impulses

Dr. Andrew Huberman explains how small behaviours can make a huge impact on your health. 

 Leading neuroscientist and Stanford University School of Medicine professor Dr. Andrew Huberman goes in-depth on how small behaviors can make a huge impact on your health.  Dr. Huberman offers essential insights into how light affects your sleep and your energy levels, which supplements actually work, tips to control bad impulses, exercises to slow the aging process, and so much more.   Dr. Huberman has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning. Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award in 2017, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states, such as fear and courage.    --  Want even more? Members get early access, hand-edited transcripts, member-only episodes, and so much more. Learn more here: https://fs.blog/membership/ Every Sunday our Brain Food newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish 

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Productivity

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Health

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Problem Solving

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Podcasts

Master the best of what other people have already figured out so you can use their lessons in your life to create an unstoppable advantage.   Shane Parrish is an entrepreneur and sought-after speaker. His newsletter (https://fs.blog/podcast) offers timeless insights you can use to change your life.    In The Knowledge Project, Shane interviews people at the top of their game. Every episode is packed with hard-earned lessons that you can use in your life. Tune in to create an unstoppable advantage.   Sit down and learn from the best. Previous guests include Reid Hoffman, Esther Perel, Daniel Kahneman, Tobi Lutke, Marshall Goldsmith, Kunal Shah, Ander Huberman, David Sinclair, Ret. General Stanley McChrystal, Marc Andreessen, Patrick Collison, Robert Cialdini, Walter Isaacson, Chris Bosh, Kat Cole, Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, Seth Godin, Matt Mullenweg, Lisa Feldman Barrett, Maria Konnikova, Bill Ackman, Annie Duke, Derek Sivers, Jim Collins, Naval Ravikant, and many others. They reveal hard-earned lessons on leadership, decision-making, hiring and firing, productivity, habits, and more.   New episodes are released every second Tuesday.   Learn more at https://fs.blog/podcast

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

#133 Andrew Huberman: The Science of Small Changes

Our culture has many different perspectives about what “beauty” entails. Beauty isn’t all about just nice, lovely-looking things or people. It is more about an emerging fullness, a greater sense of grace and elegance, a deeper sense of depth, and a kind of homecoming for the enriched memory of your unfolding life.This could include anything from the sunset on your way home to the budding magnolia in your driveway. It may also show up in the piano piece your child is learning for the first time or in your newborn’s smile.

What Is "Beauty?"

<ul><li>In our often hurried lives, it's easy to pass right by objects and experiences of beauty. Taking the time to appreciate and find beauty can actually promote our health, relationships, and well-being in several ways.</li><li>Research shows that when we engage in expressive outlets such as music, dance, poetry, and art, we can experience improved physical and mental wellbeing.</li></ul>

Beauty’s Benefits

<ul><li>From the perspective of interpersonal neurobiology, the mind is able to flourish when its' domains are differentiated and linked, a process described as integration</li><li>Beauty encourages this integration process, encouraging present moment awareness, attunement, and emotional sensing between other people and objects</li><li>Engaging in expressive, artistic, aesthetic experiences supports our mind's ability to flourish</li><li>This is amplified when we can engage in such acts in the presence of a larger community and relationships with others.</li></ul>

Beauty and Interpersonal Neurobiology

Our culture has many different perspectives about what “beauty” entails.

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

fashion

Fashion & Beauty

How Beauty Can Support a More Wholesome, Meaningful, and Integrated Life

<ol><li>Classical conditioning</li><li>Operant conditioning </li><li>Shaping</li></ol>

 3 conditioning techniques designers use to influence behavior

Classical conditioning is a subconscious association technique that pairs a neutral stimulus with a desirable stimulus to create an associated trigger. After many successive pairings throughout time, the neutral stimulus can elicit a positive response without the desirable stimulus present.Example:A user’s mobile device vibrates each time they order takeout from a food delivery app, eventually leading to an increase in orders.

Classical Conditioning

Operant conditioning is an associative learning process that guides an individual to desired behavior through the use of positive and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is the addition of something that rewards or punishes an action. Negative reinforcement is the subtraction of something that rewards or punishes an action.Example:A social media app wants users to post more content.

Operant conditioning

Shaping is the reinforcement of different and successive approximations towards a targeted behavior. Employ a shaping strategy when a targeted behavior is complex or a difficult sell.Example:A VR editing app wants users to buy pre-built components.

Shaping

3 conditioning techniques designers use to influence behavior. These methods are widespread and employed in almost every successful app

This article covers 3 conditioning techniques designers use to influence behavior. These methods are widespread and employed in almost every successful app. Use with caution.

communication

Communication

product

Product & Design

3 techniques to influence user behavior

<ul>
<li>Nostalgia is a peculiar feeling. It is the sentimental reminiscence of happy times, and yet it leaves us feeling curiously sad. </li>
<li>Nostalgia reveals that we do not live only one life but many lives. We look back on our past selves with a poignant and disconnected sense of change. </li>
<li>New research shows in what ways nostalgia is good for us. It even acts as an effective method of pain relief.</li>
</ul>

Nostalgia

As we get older, we spend more time looking backward. We reflect on all those happy days in our past, reminiscing about days of warmth, laughter, security, and love. Our memory is a funny old thing. It is not some photographic record, but rather it selects, exaggerates, and warps everything. Our peaks and troughs, our highs and lows, come looming out from the great fog of time.Nostalgia is a peculiar feeling — slippery and, in many ways, indefinable — but it’s a key aspect of being human. According to new research, it might even make being human a bit easier, as well.

The Pleasure And Sadness Of Being Human

While love, fear, or anger might move and evoke great passion, nostalgia lies in a much subtler place. <ul><li>It is the heart-aching reminiscence of your parents singing you to sleep. </li><li>It is in the laughter of friends we once knew, but which now echoes into an empty space. </li><li>It is in first love, childhood pets, movie nights, Christmas mornings, and final goodbyes. </li><li>It is a great joy, shadowed with sadness and longing. It is that dark well of poignancy that makes you feel lonely and without something you once had. </li><li>It is the tear-soaked smile of happy times, no longer here.</li></ul>

The Depth Of Nostalgia

To be able to enjoy your former life again is to live twice.

The older we get, the more we realize that life is made of episodes and stages. There are facets of ourselves that are more or less constant, but who we are today can feel strangely remote from our childhood. We look at our past like some oddly familiar story to reread.Hence, there is a disconnect and alienation that comes with nostalgia. We look back on our previous selves and we feel as if we have changed. We see that our path has wandered far from its original way, that we hardly know who we once were, or who we are now.

The Many Stages Of Life

The reason nostalgia is so peculiar is that it’s really hard to say if it’s good or bad. The reminiscence of past happiness feels nice, but the longing and sense of absence it leaves can be deeply upsetting. What’s interesting, though, is a recent study has shown that nostalgia can also make pain more bearable. It even goes some way to numbing that pain altogether.Nostalgia promotes psychological wellbeing, increases physical comfort, and reduces distress, apart from relieving pain.

Nostalgia Is Good

That Beautiful Feeling of reliving old memories.

Nostalgia is a happy remembrance of the past, yet it also leaves us feeling sad. Perhaps ironically, it can serve as a painkiller.

Nostalgia: powerful, poignant — and a painkiller

Having already gone through several popular qubit modalities already, The Quantum Insider is now moving on to some of the companies whose money is bet on superconducting electronic circuits being the best way of developing a fully functional, fault-tolerant quantum computer. The thirteen listed, giant corporations and startups alike, are led by some fascinating people with some even more fascinating approaches and technologies. Whatever the eventual outcome, the path in front of them is an exciting one that we hope our readers will join us to witness.

Via a fully managed quantum computing service designed to help speed up scientific research and software development for quantum computing called Amazon Bracket, AWS provides access to quantum annealing technology based on superconducting qubits from D-Wave, as well as access to quantum hardware based on the gate model from Rigetti Computing and CQC.

1. AWS

Google offers a quantum computing service to scientists developing algorithms for noisy-intermediate-scale quantum processors like Sycamore.Everything happens in Google’s quantum research lab located in Santa Barbara, California, where fleets of cryostats, dedicated workshops, and a superconducting qubit fab bring together engineers and researchers to implement and deliver NISQ-era processors with increasing quantum computational volumes — stepping stones to our error-corrected quantum computer.

2. Google Quantum AI

A multinational that needs no introduction, <a href="https://quantumai.google/">Google Quantum AI’s </a>quantum computing service provides chaperoned access to NISQ processors and its simulator for researchers who aim to advance the state-of-the-art in quantum computing and publicly share their results in algorithms, applications, tools, and processor characterizations.Google offers a quantum computing service to scientists developing algorithms for noisy-intermediate-scale quantum processors like Sycamore. The goal is to advance NISQ state-of-the-art in new algorithms, tools, and characterizations that lead to useful applications. A<warningtag>pproved projects will run programs on Sycamore via the company’s Quantum Engine API, and user feedback will improve the service.</warningtag><warningtag>Everything happens in Google’s quantum research lab located in Santa Barbara, California, where fleets of cryostats, dedicated workshops, and a superconducting qubit fab bring together engineers and researchers to implement and deliver NISQ-era processors with increasing quantum computational volumes — stepping stones to our error-corrected quantum computer.</warningtag>

<a href="https://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/homepage.html">Intel’s </a>contribution to the QC race using superconducting qubits consists of working to achieve quantum practicality, the transition of quantum technology from the lab to commercial quantum systems that solve real-world problems.

3. Intel

The first and only UK-based company on the list, <a href="https://oxfordquantumcircuits.com/">OQC </a>was founded in 2017 by Ilana Wisby and Peter Leek and is building quantum computers utilizing superconducting circuits.OQC has built the UK’s most advanced quantum computers, the only ones commercially available in the country. It has also launched the UK’s first Quantum Computing as-a-Service (QCaaS), bringing quantum to the enterprise, at the fingertips of our customers and partners.

4. Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC)

A Canadian concern from Dorval, Quebec, <a href="https://www.anyonsys.com/">Anyon Systems </a>was founded in 2014 by Alireza Najafi-Yazdi.Anyon has developed unique technologies involving the full vertical hardware stack of a quantum computer by designing and manufacturing superconducting quantum processing units (QPUs), quantum control electronics as well as ultra-low temperature cryogenics systems which host QPUs.Anyon Systems now delivers turn-key Near-term, Intermediate-Scale, Quantum (NISQ) computers to early adopters. These machines enable our clients to get started with their quantum R&D program, build eco-systems.

5. Anyon Systems

The Armonk, New York-based company’s 127-qubit Eagle processor takes us into uncharted computational territory. This device embodies several important advances in our approach to hardware design, and marks a crucial stage in our climb toward quantum advantage.

6. IBM

<a href="https://eeroq.com/">EeroQ </a>is a New York-based leader in the field of quantum hardware, building a universal quantum computer using electrons on helium (eHe).At the heart of EeroQ’s technology is the trapping and control of individual electrons floating above pools of superfluid helium. These electrons form the qubits of its quantum computer, and the purity of the superfluid helium protects the intrinsic quantum properties of each electron. EeroQ’s ultimate goal is to build a large-scale quantum computer based on quantum magnetic (spin) state of these trapped electrons.

7. EeroQ

Fresh off closing a SPAC deal to debut on the NYSE, <a href="https://www.rigetti.com/">Rigetti Computing </a>(Nasdaq: RGTI) is building the world’s most powerful computers to help solve humanity’s most pressing and important problems.Rigetti believes quantum computing is going to significantly affect health care, how we treat disease, how we generate energy, and how we feed humanity. Our superconducting quantum computing systems are available over the cloud via Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services.

8. Rigetti Computing

<a href="https://www.quantumcomputinginc.com/">Quantum Computing Inc </a>(QCI) (Nasdaq:QUBT) is a publicly-traded cloud-based quantum software vendor, offering ready-to-run software for complex constrained optimization computations. The company’s flagship software solution, Qatalyst, is the industry’s only quantum application accelerator, empowering today’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and programmers to immediately leverage the power of quantum techniques for faster, better and more diverse solutions, with no need for quantum expertise or training.

9. Quantum Computing Inc (QCI)

<a href="https://www.nordquantique.ca/">Nord Quantique </a>is developing superconducting circuits that can mitigate errors on every individual qubit, providing a faster pathway to fault-tolerant quantum computing. Based in Sherbrooke, Québec, Nord Quantique was founded in 2020 by Julien Camirand Lemyre and Philippe St-Jean.

10. Nord Quantique

A Berkeley, California-based startup founded in 2017 by Alexei Marchenkov, <a href="https://bleximo.com/">Bleximo </a>is building full-stack superconducting application-specific systems. Its core thesis is that integrated solutions, with a focus on the unique challenges of each high-value practical problem, will offer a competitive advantage to its customers.

11. Bleximo

<a href="https://www.meetiqm.com/">IQM </a>is a Pan-European leader in quantum computers, headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Founded in 2018 by Dr. Kuan Yen Tan, Dr. Jan Goetz, Professor Mikko Möttönen, and Dr. Juha Vartiainen, IQM delivers on-premises quantum computers for research laboratories and supercomputing centres and provides complete access to its hardware. For industrial customers, IQM delivers quantum advantage through a unique application-specific co-design approach.

12. IQM

The final superconducting player on today’s list and another behemoth on the global tech scene, <a href="https://www.fujitsu.com/global/">Fujitsu </a>is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo.The RIKEN RQC-Fujitsu Collaboration Center will ultimately develop hardware and software technologies to realize a quantum computer with as many as 1000 qubits.

13. Fujitsu

The Quantum Insider (TQI) is the leading online resource dedicated exclusively to Quantum Computing.

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Money & Investments

artificialintelligence

Artificial Intelligence

13 Quantum Computing Companies Working With Superconducting Technology

Content on max-ing motivation and productivity is everywhere. You probably have a mental list of all the platitudes or hacks. Motivational quotes trick us into feeling like we’ve accomplished something.Then why do we have days when we check off items from To-Do's and days when we just can’t get ourselves out of bed on time? And when we do get motivated, why is it so hard to keep it up?

Did you read platitudes today?

Author Robert McKain quoted “Action precedes motivation.”, but we always read that motivation is what makes us act. So what is it? So should I wait for that drive to get stuff done, or not?There exists an elaborate process of brain activity that pushes you to pursue goals YOU REALLY WANT TO ACHIEVE and the performance tasks that are demanded from you irrespective of interest.

Patience or Impulse?

Having resolutions and not following through is not because you didn't have the time. It's the Neurochemistry of your Motivation & Reward Systems.Motivation is <ul><li>A complex process in the brain</li><li>Involves multiple brain regions</li><li>Several Pathways</li><li>Release of Neural Messengers (Neurotransmitters like Dopamine)</li></ul>

80% of NY Resolutions Fail??

Dopamine (DA) is synonymously used with happiness and reward. It helps feel pleasure and relays 'motivational salience'. Motivational Salience means DA<ol><li>Indicates positive rewarding stimuli and </li><li>Responds to negative non-rewarding stimuli like stress</li></ol>This means, that both external environment and mood play a role in your drive to act.

Craving and Prediction of Rewards

DA is released when we work towards something we think is rewarding - a video game or desire for something tasty. DA is released while predicting and craving rewards, not so much while experiencing it. The process : <ol><li>Release in Planning Network in Pre-frontal Cortex (does most of the thinking)</li><li>Release in Motivation Generating Network in Striatum</li></ol>Parts of the striatum read motivational variables & push you to act on them. This can sometimes go awry - depending on the path and timing of this DA release, you may feel motivated to carry on a task like reading a book or you just don’t feel like it.

Quick - Think of cheesecake!

“I only write when inspiration strikes, Fortunately, it strikes at nine every morning.”

Reward/Incentive - achievability of a task and the perceived pleasure/reward from it decides your motivation levels. But the aim is to conquer your goals without waiting for that drive. So what else?<ul><li>Indulge in Challenges/ Competition: Activity of Glutamine and Glutamate determines motivational stamina (our ability to continue a difficult task)</li><li>Unexpected Rewards: Finding money on your walking path one day, will raise your hopes of finding more.</li><li>Habit: Once you start acting on those goals/tasks, a routine will act as a cue for your motivation.</li></ul>

What will boost my motivation?

Ways you can consciously increase and sustain your motivation : <ul><li>Anticipation of Rewards: Visualize a completed task and act towards it, it activates the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC)</li><li>Record your Progress: Track your progress and accomplishments while taking small steps</li><li>Health & Intake: Regular exercise can remodel your entire reward system, allowing increased dopamine release and availability. </li></ul>

Purposeful Self-Motivation

Something we need to know the science of before we blame ourselves for unproductivity. 

Neuroscience News research articles cover neurology, psychology, AI, brain science, mental health, robotics and cognitive sciences in a free, open access magazine.

habits

Habits

Finding Motivation the Neuroscience Way

Researchers have developed a far better method for training people to be creative. This method is based on narrative theory and helps people be creative in the same way children and artists are: making up stories that imagine alternative worlds, shift perspective and generate unexpected actions.

A new method to spark creativity and innovation

The narrative method recognises that we're all creative. According to professor Angus Fletcher, we are often so obsessed with the idea that some people are more creative than others that we undervalue some people's creativity. However, we should train creativity in the right way. Since the 1950s, creativity has been trained using divergent thinking - a "computational approach" that treats the brain as a logic machine. But divergent thinking has not been that successful as it relies on data about the problems of the past. It can't help prepare people for new challenges.

Everyone is creative

The narrative method uses the techniques that writers use to create stories. For example:<ul><li>Developing new worlds in your mind. If employees are asked to think about an unusual customer, then imagine a world where all customers are like that. Would that change your business?</li><li>Perspective shifting. An executive at a company might be asked to answer a problem by thinking like another team member.</li></ul> The scenarios you dream up will not actually happen, but they can open you up to imagine radically different possibilities.

The narrative method of training for creativity

The narrative method of training creativity through telling stories is how young children are creative. But creativity in children drops after four or five years of schooling when children start intensive logical semantic and memory training. Organisations that train employees to be creative no longer need to strive to hire creative people. Instead, they can employ a diverse group of people and train them to be creative.

Hire diverse, then train to be creative

A new method, based on narrative theory, helps spark creativity and innovation in people.

creativity

Creativity

Anyone Can Be Trained to Be Creative - Neuroscience News

In recent years, dozens of neuro-self-help books have been published that all purport to help improve brain function with just "one weird trick." With lifestyle changes, recreational drug use, prescription interventions, or the latest in fashionable electromagnetic stimulation, we can lightly embroider, severely alter, or dramatically deconstruct the brains we have. In The Tailored Brain, biologist and science writer Emily Willingham takes a different approach. There is no trick.

"One Weird Trick"

No prescription drug, perfect diet, or just-right dose of psychedelic is going to transform your mind and life forever. But there are ways to assess yourself inside and out and tailor an approach that is just right for you. This book looks at the realities of popular self-help and brain-tailoring promises, from cannabidiol to special diets to electromagnetic stimulation, and how they can (and cannot) produce results.

Brain-tailoring Promises

Willingham offers clear, actionable guidance on how treatments for epilepsy and mania might improve focus, why magnetic stimulation might help depression, and whether microdosing really improves creativity. TK also takes stock of what's outside your mind-your environment, including the people, places, and things - and explores how cultivating meaningful social relationships and a strong sense of community may help you think more clearly than any drug could. But even if we can tailor our brains, should we? Brain tailoring can often look like a plan for making your brain work the "right" way.

Actionable Guidance

Yet the idiosyncrasies and "flaws" we might perceive in our cognition are often not really flaws at all; they are different ways of thinking that contribute to the creativity and resilience of the human race. This book is unique in that Willingham also offers ways for readers to think through whether they want to tailor their brains to become something we want to be, something society expects us to be, or something we can't be because society doesn't give us the support we need. You and you alone can decide how your brain should function.

You Decide How Your Brain Functions

The Tailored Brain

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