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THE THINKING APE

THE THINKING APE: Exploring consciousness, cognition, and the human mind.

Members: 197
Latest Activity: 9 hours ago

 

Consciousness | Mind | Awareness & Identity | Reason & Emotion | Cognition | Evolutionary Psychology | Cognitive Biology | Memetics | Language | Intelligence | Metacognition | Theory of Mind | Neuroscience | Neuroanatomy


This group is for those who have an interest in the intersection of mind, biology, and culture. This is a group basically about us: human beings—the thinking ape. It is an exploration into who we have become, and how we got here, with the emphasis on the mind and consciousness. In other words, what we perceive, how we think, and why we believe. It is about how we understand and process information, and what we do with it once we have it.

For example, a good post topic would be what goes on in the mind that causes tribalism based on perceptions of race, nationality, belief, etc. But posting on the ethnic tensions in Kosovo, not so much.

So yes to what causes schizophrenia in the brain, but no to the latest clinical trials for treating it, unless the discussion concentrates on how the mind is specifically altered by the drugs.

Yes to articles on how evolution has caused us to develop a sense of morality and ethics, but no to posts about moral dilemmas, like should you tell your best friend his wife is cheating on him.

Same for culture: yes on how our mental faculties shape our culture, but no on the history of Mardi Gras.

Thumbs up to posts on language evolution, but thumbs down on questions about prescriptive grammar.

Get the idea? The post must be tied in some manner to the mind—how it has evolved, how it works, and how it influences us as a species.

I am not a scientist in any field. I do not know a lot about these topics, but I do have an increasingly strong interest in them. It is my hope that we can all learn from one another in this group.


ONGOING THREADS
Blurbs & Tidbits – post short, interesting links here
Get Mental: The Thinking Ape Repository - for miscellaneous info
Quotes – post interesting quotes here
The Reading List – post interesting books here
Video Thread – post your videos here

Discussion Forum

Gestalt psychology

Started by Dallas the Phallus May 11. 0 Replies

Think: How The Mind Makes Meaning

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by Pope OoO (Out of Order) Mar 22. 1 Reply

Steven Pinker: Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by Pope OoO (Out of Order) Jan 6. 1 Reply

Video Thread

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by Dallas the Phallus Nov 23, 2012. 46 Replies

Blurbs & Tidbits

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by Pope OoO (Out of Order) Sep 22, 2012. 26 Replies

The Self Illusion: An Interview With Bruce Hood

Started by Dallas the Phallus May 27, 2012. 0 Replies

Why We Like What We Like

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by Dallas the Phallus Apr 29, 2012. 2 Replies

Spine Tuning: Finding Physical Evidence of How Practice Rewires the Brain

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by Dallas the Phallus Apr 20, 2012. 2 Replies

Why can smells unlock forgotten memories?

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by Dallas the Phallus Apr 20, 2012. 2 Replies

Your Brain, Typically Female or Male?

Started by T A A. Last reply by Tatyana Harris Nov 7, 2011. 13 Replies

The Hardest Problem in Science?

Started by Dallas the Phallus Nov 4, 2011. 0 Replies

The No-Fear Woman (And What Her Brain Reveals)

Started by Dallas the Phallus Oct 31, 2011. 0 Replies

Rapture Ready: The Science of Self Delusion

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by H Oct 16, 2011. 1 Reply

The Seven Sins of Memory

Started by Dallas the Phallus. Last reply by H Oct 16, 2011. 1 Reply

On Intelligence

Started by Dallas the Phallus Sep 27, 2011. 0 Replies

Comment Wall

Comment

You need to be a member of THE THINKING APE to add comments!

Comment by Adrian on September 3, 2010 at 10:41am
Interesting article, doone. I have always made a distinction between religious faith and religious practice, and it should be remembered that some who attend do not believe, but attend for social reasons, or are "religious" in a nontheistic sense. And, of course, as the article points out, faith and organised religion are not always coexistent.
Comment by Dallas the Phallus on July 15, 2010 at 3:03pm
Yeah, I like it too. I liked the old one, but it was too closely cropped, and I couldn't change that. Just uploaded it last night. Thanks.
Comment by Sydni Moser on July 15, 2010 at 3:00pm
Dallas, great new picture you chose for the group's new icon... (it is new right? Or have I just spaced out on when you changed it?)
Comment by Jaume on May 11, 2010 at 4:35am
I guess it also works for hard-boiled eggs - in the evening, after a day of hard work.
Comment by Jaume on May 11, 2010 at 4:08am
Emotions? Bullshit. Sex has a very practical purpose.
Comment by Dallas the Phallus on May 10, 2010 at 5:54pm
For me, emotions play a huge role. My tastes are all over the place -- really, they are -- but whether it is A or B I'm fixating on, my emotional response to that is very important. I'm not going to get into all the personal details about what turns me on, but one thing I will mention (which is quite innocuous) is that I find I'm very turned on by men I respect and admire, as long as they also satisfy some of my physical interests as well. I see men that are physically attractive, but so unlikeable that they loose all erotic potential. So for me, respect is a huge turn on.
Comment by T A A on May 10, 2010 at 5:47pm
Interesting that, whatever I've found erotic As or Bs in life have usually turned out to be a dissappointment in bed. Maybe it's cuz I'm a third generation atheist... I don't know, but feelings, emotions, and such considerations have absolutely no impact on my propensity for orgasm. Committed monogamous relationships have never been a part of my culture or value system. I guess my only remaining fantasy would be to live a community neolithic vacation camp where females raise the young and providing part of the food source, and males go about doing whatever... except at copulation time :) I think once the whole abstinence thing disappears from school curriculae, maybe then we can begin to reintroduce female choice into our value system. 'choice' has an entirely different connotation in the gay community.
Comment by Dallas the Phallus on May 10, 2010 at 5:33pm
Well, for me, the things that I find erotic are definitely physical acts/actions, but why I would prefer A over B has a lot to do with the brain, I believe.
Comment by T A A on May 10, 2010 at 5:31pm
I must be weird then cuz my orgasms are SO not in my brain! And my orgasms are not proportional to foreplay either. For me it's a very simple equation, and the numbers matter. I've only been felt in love a few times in my life, and it's been when that body connection is so intense that it leaves absolutely no room for any brain pattern whatsoever :)
Comment by Dallas the Phallus on May 10, 2010 at 3:12pm
It's all in the brain. Sexual organs don't have sexual preferences. Brains do.
Very likely that is it.
 
 
 

Discussion Forum

Gestalt psychology

Started by Dallas the Phallus May 11. 0 Replies

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