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Scientists Find 'Altruistic' Center of the Brain
davidwr writes "A team of researchers at Duke University published a paper linking the brain's posterior superior temporal cortex to altruistic behavior. The BBC also picked up the story. If confirmed this has applications in neurology, psychology, child-rearing, and a host of other domains. From the BBC piece: 'Using brain scans, the US investigators found this region related to a person's real-life unselfish behaviour. The Duke University Medical Center study on 45 volunteers is published in Nature Neuroscience. The participants were asked to disclose how often they engaged in different helping behaviours, such as doing charity work, and were also asked to play a computer game designed to measure altruism.'"
I'm sick of being altruistic while selfish bastards get all the money.
..was that of every Randroid's head asploding. "But, but, I'm *supposed* to be a selfish bastard!...KABOOM!"
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
This just seems like a very roundabout, tenuous way to find the altruism center. They used an extremely unreliable method -- survey responses -- and then had people play a computer game they *know* is pretend, which would just show how altruistic they are in fake scenarios, which isn't really altruism, just like my willingness to slaughter demons in Doom doesn't show a real "willingness to resort to violence".
Much cheaper way to accomplish the same thing:
-Scan Ayn Rand's brain (Peikoff would be a fine subsititute today if you need a living one).
-Compare to an average human's brain.
-Look for the most striking difference.
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
Tasks requiring the perception of agency activate the posterior superior temporal cortex (pSTC), particularly in the right hemisphere
Wow, that is one informative article. I can't wait for the countering study that concludes the 'Greed' center of the brain has been found just opposite the posterior superior temporal cortex and there is big fight on the opposite left side of the brain in the soon to be named 'AynRandian degenerative temporal cortex'?
end:sarcasmGod: When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
Surely one of the CIV series right?
Subjects heard shouting phrases such as... "AAAAHA, Taste my ICBM you Iroquois scum", where marked down!
That was really great of them to do this study and share it with us. They didn't even have to do that!
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Probably playing WoW and running low levels through RFC with your level 60.
If this can be proven to be accurate, perhaps it can be used on politicians before an election to see just how much good they actually intend to do for the public.
Or would the machine not be able to handle negative values?
Ok, how can you heal that cancer out?
is located here.
I hope this helps.
Altruistically yours,
Kilgore Trout, ex-patriot
they will throw themselves on a grenade to save a comrade's life five years hence.
And tell me what's wrong with throwing a comrade on the grenade to save your own, uhh, nevermind...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
To that end, I suggest Ayn Rand was a self-serving bitch.
Short for "Aynus", wasn't it?
That's a really uncharitable viewpoint.