What is Human Intelligence? ??

image: Matt Cherubino

It sure is an interesting time to be alive... 

Assuming that The Donald hasn’t gotten himself into a constitutional crisis by the end of the week (but even then, there’s still Pence), this article on Gaslighting, by Psychology Today , will do you some good for navigating bullshittery and ‘alternative facts’. (Kudos to Warren Wu for the rec.)

And when it all gets too much, there’s always this. Truly never gets old.

As ever, hit reply and let us know what you think of this week’s morsels.

What is Human Intelligence?

Human Intelligence, aka H.I., is a burgeoning area that utilises current software & hardware capabilities to improve the “wetware” of the brain. Ideally the end goal is to improve humans’ conception of performance and perhaps fulfillment in life.

One such application of hardware, combined with software is the “Neural Lace”. First identified through a brilliant piece of research in Nature Nanotechnology by combined teams from Harvard & Beijing’s National Centre of Nanotech. The Smithsonian has provided commentary since then, and companies such as Kernel are developing products, where even Elon Musk has weighed in.

Our underlying goal, as a company that focuses on Human Intelligence (media now, maybe products later), is to identify these developments and tools available to us.

Strange Answers to the Psychopath Test

Jon Ronson is an exceptional author & presenter. His talk at TED on the Psychopath Test is fascinating, adding a question to this overmedicated, overstimulated world; is there a gray area of mental health?

It’s a brilliant delivery, and if you like this, I strongly recommend his interview with Joe Rogan discussing all forms of conspiracy investigation. My opinion is that it’s largely dependant on the disease, but there are significant areas that lack objectivity in the science of psychology.

Yes, there are a multitude of new diseases, but the science of the mind is only just beginning to be understood properly.

Harry Potter & The Methods of Rationality

A fantastic Harry Potter fan fiction created by Eliezer Yudkowsky, one of the key Artificial Intelligence researchers to assist readers by building their general intelligence. As the excerpt from Wikipedia explains “...it adapts the story of Harry Potter by applying the scientific method to the fictional universe of author J. K. Rowling. Unlike Rowling's original books, where the orphaned Harry Potter is raised by the abusive Dursley family, the Harry Potter character in HPMOR is raised by an Oxford scientist, and is trained by his parents in science and rational thinking before learning about magic and traveling to the wizarding school Hogwarts.”

I’m only 20 pages in, and I strongly recommend downloading the pdf here. 

Remember, as Feynman once said, “the first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.” 

Thanks to Tony Khaybulaev for the recommendation.

image: Alanna Howe

The Amazing Hour

James Hamblin is a funny guy, but this topic is super important in maintaining your brain function. 

I wonder how many of us type-A individuals actually feel rested? Perhaps you should be trying this rest test by spending more time doing these particular activities (reading, listening to music, being in nature, etc) on your own - then you’ll gain an understanding of how tired you truly are. 

So, when would be the best time to do that? I personally think before bedtime and at least once on the weekend, as that’s what I currently do, and I’ve found that consistent reading for an hour before bed will knock me out like a tranquiliser and make it far quicker in getting to sleep (my Fitbit told me so). 

Enter, The Amazing Hour . The hour before bed, without a phone, or anyone else really. Try it, you’ll thank me later.

image: The Atlantic

Which morsel was your favourite? What lessons do you want more or less of?

Let us know!

Just send a tweet to @Neuralle and put #MondayMorsels in there so we can find it.

Happy reading,

Jordan & team @ neuralle.com

Neuralle is focused on Human Intelligence (H.I.) to dramatically increase the output of business owners & quality of life of high performers.

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