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and another thing
May. 22nd, 2012 12:23 pmJust because someone with an fMRI has discovered that X produces a response in a reward circuit of the brain does not mean that X is addictive. Everything we gain pleasure or satisfaction from is producing a response in a reward circuit, because that's what pleasure and satisfaction is.
More generally, just because we can identify some anatomical feature in the brain with some behavioral characteristic does not make that "hardwired" in the sense of being immutable or inherent or intrinsic. This is because our brains are not computers, with a neat division between hardware and software. Our hardware is our software. Everything that happens to you changes your brain anatomically, because that is the only way we have of doing it. Your memories, your knowledge, your personality, everything about you that lasts more than 15 seconds, is carved into the structure of your neural network, and therefore any lasting change in you is a lasting change in your anatomy. So when someone announces that they've found evidence that political orientation or sexual orientation or anger or a sweet tooth is associated with "actual differences in your brain itself", you should slap that person and say "of course it does you idiot, how else could it possibly be?"
More generally, just because we can identify some anatomical feature in the brain with some behavioral characteristic does not make that "hardwired" in the sense of being immutable or inherent or intrinsic. This is because our brains are not computers, with a neat division between hardware and software. Our hardware is our software. Everything that happens to you changes your brain anatomically, because that is the only way we have of doing it. Your memories, your knowledge, your personality, everything about you that lasts more than 15 seconds, is carved into the structure of your neural network, and therefore any lasting change in you is a lasting change in your anatomy. So when someone announces that they've found evidence that political orientation or sexual orientation or anger or a sweet tooth is associated with "actual differences in your brain itself", you should slap that person and say "of course it does you idiot, how else could it possibly be?"
