A learning Machine

It is quite difficult to see the author’s main point in the sense that he simply discussed the findings of the five psychological scientists regarding their research on the neural plasticity of the brain. It appears that the author adapted the findings of the scientists which have served as the main point of the article.

That is, based on the scientists’ findings the author depicted that the brain is “a learning machine” that it is capable to bend, stretched, expand, and specialize it self in order to respond to challenges. The author apparently believed that the topic was a breakthrough in scientific research regarding the human brain.

The author made this clear citing the remark of one of the presenter; Nelson states, “Psychological sciences are on the point that it should become a big science. We should think about the way that chemistry became great sciences.

The time of each person in his own lab may be over.”[1] As stated earlier, the author’s main point is to show that the human brain is capable of adjusting to the current challenges. The brain can be trained in order to become capable to cope up with the present challenges. It is true that the author described other people’s argument and he does have his own opinion. He simply cited the opinions of the five presenters and supports his main point by citing the remarks of the presenters regarding the topic.

The information presented by the author is that the neural plasticity in able the brain to adapt to sort and interpret a huge variety of incoming data from the world. This finding was derived from an experiment on the adult monkey’s brain which concludes that human brain can be train to adapt new skills. The author says it is a breakthrough in scientific research of the human brain.

What are the strong features of the author’s argument?

Indeed, the author does not have his own argument, but the strong feature of the article is that it tells the reader of what more the human brain is capable of.

On the part of the writer, he simply presented the findings of the five scientists. However, the argument is definitely supported by solid data because they are based on actual experiment. Yes, the research appears to have been conducted properly because obviously, the writer validated all his information through the statement of the scientists which conducted the actual experiments regarding the topic. Regarding information, I do not think the author provided more than one side of the issue.

The author simply presented what is necessary to give fair information. In my opinion, the weak feature of the article is its humanist notion. The article is not based on anecdote nor does it rely on isolated case study but on evolutionary principle. But generally, the author research is adequate as it is informative. The data presented was not misinterpreted nor the author tried to infer a causal connection from co-relational data.

Comparison was not possible rather the author corroborated the findings the scientists. Regarding other possible interpretations, this seems not possible as even the writer simply presented the opinion of the presenters. Nelson was careful not to make any unsubstantiated claims or has ignored other explanations as there was not such thing in the article.

What have you learned in the course that supports arguments made by the author?

I have learned from the course that the brain carries various cognitive activities and that it is a very complex information processor which process input information in many different levels of consciousness and unconsciousness. While this is a common knowledge, it clearly connects to the author’s argument that the brain is a learning machine.

That is the brain is capable of adjusting, bending and acquiring skills. This argument is specifically noted by the author citing Michael Rutter of King’s college observation of the cognitive capability of Roman children form an adopted by UK families from an orphanage. Rutter noted the progress of the children who were all tested as mentally retarded upon their arrival, but after some years of living in above average environment, “they were nearly normal”[2].

The thing that I have learned from the course that goes against the author’s argument is that the human brain distinctly set apart human’s from animals because of its capacity to adopt, to develop new skills, and bend stretched in order to respond to challenges. This kind of capability is so distinct from that of animals which attest that human beings are a special creation and not a product of evolution.

This runs counter to the author’s argument which clearly adheres on the theory of evolution. Citing Gopnic, the author stated, “evolution requires that we discover new things about the works and use this knowledge to imagine new things, to change the world based on imaginings”[3] I could apply what I have leaned from this events first, locally by telling people who are struggling to cope with new challenge that they are capable of imagining a better situation and of turning it to reality.

Second, nationally, I can write article which discussed on the capacity of human brain to cope and to adjust with new challenges which I will seek to publish on a national level. I understand that this is easier said than done but if this will help people to overcome their current difficult situation, then I will be willing to pursue it. Globally, this may sound impossible, but publishing an article of international circulation may be possible

Select a concept from the article and connect it to or relate it to events happening in the world today.

The concept I selected from the article is the concept that brain can be trained. The human brain can be trained to be skilled, can be trained to become sensitive and can be trained to adjust or stretched.  Today, the world is witnessing the rise of new technology and the world is fast becoming technology drive.

The need of new skills, new knowledge, and visions requires human being to respond by adapting to the new situation. In this new development, the ability of the brain to acquire new skills, to adapt to new situation, to cope with challenges, and the capability of the mind to be trained relates highly because the new knowledge demands new skills. In other words, training people for this type of knowledge is possible because of brains capability to adjust and to adopt.