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Your Brain isn't a Computer...
Episode 174th December 2022 • Simplicity Specialist Podcast with Jonathan Stewart • Jonathan Stewart, Simplicity Specialist
00:00:00 00:04:09

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Now I love me computers... but are our brains like a computer? Eh... not so much!

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Transcripts

Jonathan Stewart:

When talking about productivity and organization,

Jonathan Stewart:

a common analogy used is our brain is like a computer.

Jonathan Stewart:

This is based on a particular form of science that says

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that our brains have an input.

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So things come in.

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we capture our ideas.

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So we capture it.

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We process it and then do some magical stuff with it.

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And then it comes out.

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It's an output.

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It goes in, we do stuff.

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We store it in our memory or we put it somewhere so we can remember, and

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then we push it out and it's done.

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But as our brains fill up, we run out of RAM and space in

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our brain slash hard drive.

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But the problem is the idea that our brain is a computer is overly simplified.

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It's not quite like that, although there is some truthiness to it and there are

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some examples where it might seem like it.

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It doesn't hold all of the possibilities and it doesn't talk about the possible.

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Other alternatives.

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It's the kind of thing that they talk about in productivity or the time.

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You just store your tasks, write your tasks down, do your tasks, do your things.

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You store an X amount of things in your head.

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But.

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It's not quite enough now, do we know how the brain works?

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No, not fully, which is why I've not said it's completely not true

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but for me, this doesn't seem to fit that analogy is not quite enough.

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There is so much more nuance to this conversation.

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A little nerdy fact for you years and years before computers exist, there were

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multiple different things that our brain was compared to going back a fair ways.

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It was first documented in the Bible that the brain was dirt and clay

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and some form of being be it soul.

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was put in there.

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Then we moved to the third century where we figured out how to collect

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store and transport and use water.

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So our brains, and also how we functioned was compared to the movement of water,

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such as things like water pumps, which believe it or not last for 1,600 years.

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Holding us back quite considerably.

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We also had other comparisons with the creation of self operating machines

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in the 15th and 16 hundreds alongside lots of other wonderful and fascinating

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comparisons, including a Telegraph I'm.

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Going back to this now.

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A computer.

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To summarize a brain was compared to the latest modern advancement at the time.

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We really don't actually understand what our brain can do,

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but comparing it to a computer.

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Is oversimplified.

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The thing that excites me most about this is that it opens up opportunities

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to rethink what our brain actually is and how it can support us.

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When you see science in the business world.

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It's often based on research that it's at best is over-simplified or worse.

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Completely debunked.

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When I'm trying to figure new things out, I look.

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Into sports psychology.

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Because, although there are still some issues I do enjoy being on the cutting

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edge and realizing things are nowhere near, as simple as people in the business

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world commonly make it out to be.

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And that is delightfully freeing.

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We are bombarded by science advice that has been grossly simplified.

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Don't take everything you hear on face value.

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I believe that starting from you allows you to figure out how you work.

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As there is still a lot.

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We still don't know.

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And starting from you it's a good place to begin.

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Don't want to go it alone, reach out to me at simplicity.

Jonathan Stewart:

Dash specialist.com.

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