Dr. Rita Smilkstein: How The Human Brain Work

There is a big difference living a life actively, and living a life passively. Once people start living a life passively, they tend to become too comfortable and committed to their life, which is devastating because they will never amount to their full potential. As for a life that is being acted-upon they are self – improving and opening new doors to experiences they never thought they could do. In Carol Dweck’s article “Brainology” describes two different mindsets students may have and how each can affect a student’s ability to reach a successful life. Also in connection with the mindsets based on Adrienne Rich speech “Claiming an Education” she argues about what receiving and claiming an education means. In the wake of these findings I come to learn that I had a fixed mindset, which only allowed me to receive an education. But now recognizing and understanding the “Growth Mindset,” I have decided to claim my education and see how putting the concept and process can help enlighten my academics and life.

In school, at the stores, anywhere, there are two types of people that can be encountered. What makes these two types of people different is their mindsets. One type has the mindset of a pessimist; they think they cannot do certain tasks and are afraid of looking stupid. The other type has the mindset of an optimist; they always try new things and are not scared to do so. In the article “Brainology” by Carol S. Dweck, she states that there are two different mindsets that people can possess, either a fixed mindset (pessimist) or a growth mindset (optimist); these mindsets are developed at a young age and will influence a person’s choices and opportunities.

Have you ever been lost in a location foreign to you? Typically, a person who is lost will use a map to gather their bearings before heading off in the correct direction. A similar approach can be used to discuss recent brain mapping technology, the primary research of Dr. Allen Jones. Dr. Allen Jones is a brain research whose ultimate goal is to unveil a complete map of the human brain, using recent brain imaging and histological techniques. In his TED talk entitled, A Map of the Brain, Dr. Allen Jones discusses a brief overview of the anatomical structures of the brain, as well as, the methods and conclusions of his brain research.

Everyone has their own preferred way of learning new things. Knowing how you learn can

Carol S. Dweck's article “Brainology – Transforming Student's Motivation to Learn” offers insights about student's mentality at school and why some students are better off than others. The article claims directly that students generally have two mindsets when it comes to learning; one is “fixed mindset,” a negative trait, and the other is “growth mindset,” a positive trait. Both of these traits contradict each other in terms of meaning. These two mindsets impact students on whether or not they will be successful on their academic road. In “Brainology – Transforming Student's Motivation to Learn,” Dweck explains how these two traits influence the outcome of having one of these two mindsets through

“The Human Brain”, by myPerspectives, is an informative article that claims that the brain is a complex organ that is truly impressive. The brain is a key part of the central nervous system, that controls the entire body’s activities, to simple things such as breathing. These actions are fired through neurons, that quickly travel through the spinal cord. Surprisingly, the brain transmits these messages at an unimaginable rate, at 150 miles per hour, through 85 billion cells, called neurons. These neurons can form up to 10,000 synapses, or connections to each other. By itself, the brain can create billions of synapses, which change the structure of the brain every time new information is learned. However, there is still much that scientists

I started my education in Erie, Pennslyviana.I attend McDowell High. I would say that we were one of the richer schools were I live. I am going to talk about my first assignment Brainology. I thought it was very interesting and it thought me a lot about how some people have different mindsets.

In the article titled, “Secrets of the Brain” published in the February 2014 issue of National Geographic, we learn that there have been many advances in understanding the inner workings of our brains. One of the leading scentists, Van Weeden, is working hard to understand the connections that occur within our heads.

Most people begin learning at a young age, beginning with your parents teaching you basic animals, letters, numbers, etc. Only to build on this learning throughout your walk of life. We learn every day, whether it be something minute, or something significant to your career. Everyone experiences learning differently,

We need to be amazed and interested in something if we want to learn about it. For example, is as if a boy watches a soccer game for the first time. He is intrigued by the players' moves and tricks and if he arrives at such point where he likes it, he would love to imitate them. Once he know the basics, or so called definitions, everything else follows. I also agree that the next step is to have courage, courage to pursue and do what you like. To me it is to lose the fear of the unknown, or challenge

When it comes to the topic of having a growth mindset, most of us will readily agree that students who are praised are motivated to learn. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how they are praised. Whereas some are convinced that praising students for their intelligence will motivate them to learn, others maintain that encouraging them for their efforts has a better impact on their motivation.

In the feature article “Brainology”, the author, Carol Dweck explains that there are consequences of praising children for their work, they is also different types of mindsets that enable a person’s development. She focuses on two types of mindsets. The first mindset is fixed where a person believes that if she or he is smart, they don’t need to put effort to be successful. The author explains on page 3 of the article that sometimes society encourages this mindset by using words such as smart , intelligent which sometimes creates confidence , however, when the assignment gets difficult then a fixed mindset person loses confidence so they stop working hard to complete the task. The second mindset is when a person believes that working hard to

For example, in order for me to learn how to do injections, or draw blood I’d have to practice in a clinic. Doing these tasks correctly means asking others for help when needed, setting a goal, and planning out the strategy to learning it, monitoring my progress, and getting feedback from others about my performance. The best way deliberate practice can help me fully learn these new skills is by practicing them repetitively. You know the saying “practice makes perfect?” You can’t learn how to do billing, or how to administer injections overnight. It takes time, and effort to learn something new. Paying attention to what you’re doing is very important as well.

The Brain That Changes Itself is an informative and an educational book was written by Canadian Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, writer, and researcher Norman Doidge, who delivers a dramatic change message about the plasticity of the brain; how the brain changes itself. "The Brain That Changes Itself" is a chain of excellent case studies of individuals who have undergone a brain deficit of some kind and examines different types of brain deficits from simple sensory; auditory and visual to complex deficits; missing brain regions. The book recounts neuroscientific advances on how neuroplasticity does not limit the individual to predefined neural limitations and that our way of thinking, as well as the activities that we perform every day,

I read the article called “Secrets of the Brain” by Carl Zimmer from the February 2014 issue of National Geographic. Zimmer told of a story of a 43 year old woman named Cathy Hutchinson suffered a massive stroke which caused her to lose movement ability, becoming completely paralyzed, and lost her ability to speak. Her doctors didn’t know if she was brain-dead or still mentally there, until one day Hutchinson’s sister asked Hutchinson if she could hear and understand her and Hutchinson looked up with her eyes to answer yes and to let her sister know that she was still there and could understand her.