Your Brain is not a Computer or a Muscle: Annie Murphy Paul on PYP 493

Plant Yourself - Embracing a Plant-based Lifestyle

An old Jules Feiffer cartoon (which my desultory, last-minute Google search failed to turn up, so I'm doing this from memory) depicts a man who is proud of his active and formidable brain, but views his body as a nuisance that must be clothed, fed, bathed, and rested. He only puts up with his body since he needs it to carry his brain from place to place.

That's pretty much how the modern world sees the relationship between mind and body.

The brain is this privileged organ, all alone and sequestered in the castle keep of the skull, and it learns by taking in data and processing it.

So in order to get smarter, we have to keep the mind from getting distracted by other people, external environments, and even the whispers and shouts of our own bodies.

Lately, with the advent of "growth mindset," we've added a twist: the brain is also a muscle that gets stronger when we exercise it. Hence we teach our kids to demonstrate "grit," sitting still and studying and working on harder and harder problems long after their bodies ache for a break.

Today's guest, Annie Murphy Paul, harnesses tons of science to show us how misguided these approaches are.

Her book, The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain, describes human cognition as being deeply entangled with our own bodies' sensations and movements, our intimate relationship with the natural and built spaces we navigate, and the social order that surrounds us.

Paul tells wonderful stories, weaves a powerful narrative, and exhorts us to reimagine some of our most fundamental assumptions and institutions to empower our species to take on the existential challenges we face.

And she agreed to sit down with me to talk about it all with wit, charm, and generosity.

Links

The Extended Mind, by Annie Murphy Paul

"The Extended Mind," by Andy Clark and David Chalmers

A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls