Leah Bonnell's blog

“The brain is capable of being trained and physically modified in ways few people can imagine”- Richard Davidson, neuroscientist

The truth is we live in a culture obsessed with self-improvement, a fact demonstrated by the immense of popularity of such things as self-help books, plastic surgery, and even, drugs, such as neuroenhancers. What if there was way to obtain heightened focus and possibly forestall aging? Would you try it? Researchers believe regular meditation can achieve these improvements by changing the structure of the brain.  

Is human cognition the same everywhere? Or do styles of cognition differ depending on geographic or cultural boundaries? Richard Nisbett explores these questions in his 2003 book “The Geography of Thought.”  Nisbett primarily focuses on differences between Eastern and Western thought, defining Westerners as people of European culture and Easterners as East Asian (including China, Korea, and Japan). He proposes that Easterners and Westerns have markedly different styles of thought, using evidence from diverse areas such history, philosophy, language, and social science.