Jan. 19th

This Is Your Brain On Taxonomy

Merlin Donald's article about the "traffic" between culture and the brain and his reversal of the traditional hypothesis of unidirectional flow (is that a word?) reminded me of a chapter out of the book Freakonomics in which Levitt and Dubner argue (if I remember correctly) that one of the best indicators for student success is their cultural environment (i.e., things like whether their parents own a lot of books, which not only means that they are economically well-off but also value learning and knowledge). Donald's piece to me underscores the importance of surrounding people with a culture of education, which, as it turns out, can have an effect on their brain physiology.