Empathy Represses Analytic Thought, and Vice Versa

hessian sends this quote from a Case Western Reserve University news release: "New research shows a simple reason why even the most intelligent, complex brains can be taken by a swindler's story – one that upon a second look offers clues it was false. When the brain fires up the network of neurons that allows us to empathize, it suppresses the network used for analysis, a pivotal study led by a Case Western Reserve University researcher shows (abstract). ... At rest, our brains cycle between the social and analytical networks. But when presented with a task, healthy adults engage the appropriate neural pathway, the researchers found. The study shows for the first time that we have a built-in neural constraint on our ability to be both empathetic and analytic at the same time. The work suggests that established theories about two competing networks within the brain must be revised. More, it provides insights into the operation of a healthy mind versus those of the mentally ill or developmentally disabled."

Comments

Observed this many times in women...

[Anonymous Coward]

Just swap empathetic with emotional (Yeah different, but related definitions.) and all I have to do is look/listen to my spouse in the morning to see what wife I will spend the day with.
If she is overly emotional, no amount of logic or analysis with help with anything. It's gonna be a rough day for me.
If she is overly analytical of what I do or say, there is nothing I can do or say, even gifts of chocolate, will not sway her from her incorrect analysis of my mistakes.

Women, you can;t live with 'em.

(Posting as AC becuace my spouse reads slashdot and this post will cause her to fly off the handle.)

Re:Observed this many times in women...

[Ironhandx]

Slashdot husbands of even semi-suspicious wives around the world have to hide now thanks to this one AC.

Well done sir.

(Posting to hopefully clear my own name)

Re:Observed this many times in women...

[vlm]

(Posting to hopefully clear my own name)

Yeah that's exactly the kind of post I'd write to clear my own name if I was the OP. Unless she knows that I know that she knows... I believe this is a recursive trap we've entered here.

Re:Finally explains it

[vlm]

I think this explains why conversations on facebook back when I used to have an account were ridiculous stupid and conversations on /. are usually well above room temp IQ but perhaps lacking in some civility.

FB: "Boo hoo I think I'm catchcing a cold, ironically; I can't figure the first derivative of 1/x"

FB: Oh you poor baby lets play farmville together till you feel better, have you tried aromatherapy yet for the cold?

/. : "Boo hoo I think I'm catchcing a cold, ironically; I can't figure the first derivative of 1/x"

/. : "You Fing idiot you can't even spell catching, don't know what irony is, and if you could spell google correctly instead of spelling it as /., you'd see its -1/x^2"

All you complainers

[DarkOx]

See all of you kept crying about how all our C?O and Political leaders are psychopaths were wrong. You should be happy about that. They are better at thinking than you are and no doubt producing more optimal solutions than you could.

Thank goodness we have these unfeeling psychopaths to lead us.

Re:Oblig

[almitydave]

The "spock" tag has been deprecated in favor of the less implementation-specific "eyebrow" tag. Optionally use the "height" attribute with the following values: spock, jeeves, therock, connery, or scully.