![]() ![]() As well as being an important lesson in not judging people by your own preconceptions (and maybe about doing better groundwork before beginning an experiment), this example shows how the very concept of intelligence is seriously affected by the environment and preconceptions of society. These are people who live off the land, so sorting things into arbitrary categories would be a meaningless and wasteful activity, something a ‘fool’ would do. In The Idiot Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett tours our mysterious and mischievous grey (and white) matter. This was deemed ‘less’ intelligent, but clearly the Kpelle disagreed. ![]() Buy a discounted Paperback of The Idiot Brain. But the Kpelle always sorted things into function (things I can eat, things I can wear, things I can dig with). Booktopia has The Idiot Brain, A Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head is Really Up To by Dean Burnett. The researchers decided that sorting items into categories (tools, animals, items made of stone, wood, and so on), something that required abstract thinking and processing, was more intelligent. ![]() Burnett is most fascinated by the brain’s tendency to trip us up when it’s just trying to help. “Given the language and cultural barriers, the tests involved sorting items into groups. In his new book, Idiot Brain, Burnett aims to take our most prized organ down a peg or two. ![]()
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