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1500 questions
14
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1 answer
Why do humans like being touched?
Why do people like to be touched so much, why would it make sense from a evolutionary perspective.
I know people enjoy hugs and company of opposite sex, but even people from the same sex hug and touch each other.
I wonder how this behavior could…
Xitcod13
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14
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Is a neuron's information processing more complex than a perceptron?
I've been researching the relationship between brain neurons and nodes in neural networks. Repeatedly it is claimed neurons can do complex information processing that vastly exceeds that of a simple activation function in a neural network.
The…
yters
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14
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4 answers
Why is training better when following an easy-to-difficult schedule?
As suggested in the answer to this question, experimental results show that training is most effective when it follows an easy-to-difficult schedule.
What theories and specifically computational models account for that?
In the simple computational…
Ofri Raviv
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14
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2 answers
What can one do to permanently increase one's baseline happiness (subjective well-being)?
According to the hedonic treadmill theory of subjective well-being each human has a hedonic set point. Positive or negative life events cause relatively short-term deviations to one's happiness before it returns to the baseline happiness level…
Justas
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14
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How does task difficulty schedule affect the rate and efficiency of perceptual learning?
In perceptual learning (line length/orientation discrimination, visual target detection, tone frequency discrimination, etc), when training people or animals to perform a task better, is there an optimal schedule for controlling task difficulty, to…
Ofri Raviv
- 3,805
- 18
- 33
14
votes
2 answers
How do we know human brain development stops around age 25?
I've heard this stated as a fact more times than I can keep track of, but I haven't been able to find papers that actually demonstrate this. This seems to be the most cited paper on the topic, but it just claims that maturity of the brain by age 25…
eyeExWhy
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14
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Does the transcription method used (e.g., printing, handwriting, typing, voice recording, etc.) affect memory retention?
When I was in high school, one of my teachers used to make us hand print copies of materials from transparencies on an overhead projector (I may be showing my age), with the reasoning that re-writing notes by hand was better for memory retention.
I…
AgentConundrum
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14
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2 answers
The computer model of the brain
I am a computer programmer or computer engineer, and am interested in comparing the brain to a classical computer in some way. How well does this comparison hold up?
This is a general introduction to the computer/brain metaphor and its practical…
Arnon Weinberg
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14
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1 answer
At what point does a complex become pathological?
I've a first question so I apologize if the format is completely awry.
I'm reading Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature and I came across this passage by Edward C. Whitmont:
The shadow cannot be eliminated. It is…
LitheOhm
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14
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3 answers
Does chess enhance cognitive abilities?
Some texts advise playing chess with children and mature people. Should I take them seriously, and why should chess boost intellect?
For instance, I would like to be able to read and understand technical texts quickly. Should I learn playing chess…
Little Alien
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14
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Motivation vs Goal Oriented Behavior
What's the difference between these two terms when used in the context of cognitive psychology? To the best of my knowledge, research on 'Goal Oriented Behavior' refers to the subset of motivation that involves translating explicitly construed goals…
zergylord
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14
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3 answers
Is there a reasonable scientific backing for Carl Jung's type theories?
I have read a lot on how most psychologists reject the Myers Briggs Type Indicator for its lack of scientific backing, but I have yet to find much information on the acceptance of Carl Jung's theories, specifically his idea of cognitive functions.…
Nathan BeDell
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14
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2 answers
How can the success of Bayesian models be reconciled with demonstrations of heuristic and biased reasoning?
In recent years, Bayesian models of cognition have been used - with considerable success - to explain human reasoning in a variety of inferential tasks (Chater, Tenenbaum, & Yuille, 2006). These models represent a "probabilistic approach" that seeks…
Chris
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1 answer
How does daily amount of sleep vary within and between healthy adults?
I'm interested in research that has employed the following or similar research design:
Measure the daily amount of sleep
every day for an for an extended period (e.g., more than a month)
in a relatively large sample (e.g., $n > 100$) of "normal"…
Jeromy Anglim
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14
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What type of learning mechanism produces a consistent typo?
There is a typographical error that I make and do so every time I try to type a certain word. Whenever I try to type remember, I type remeber. I do this every time. This is different to a regular typo because most typos happen at random, whereas…
Matt Ellen
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