WOLF EXPLAINS THAT Our “selves” are made of moments of consciousness that exist then fade. THEN ANOTHER “SELF” ARRISES TO TAKE ITS PLACE SO WE ARE MANY INDIVIDUAL MOMENTS OF CONSCIOUSSNESS.
IN “THE BELLSHAPED CURVE OF LIFE”
WOLF TELLS US THAT WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR TYPES OF THOUGGHTS ON A BELL CURVE WE SEE MOST OF OUR THOUGHTS (THE WIDER SECTION OF THE CURVE) CONTRIBUTE TO HOMEOSTASIS OR FALL INTO THE USUAL PATTERNS WHILE A SMALLER NUMBER THE THINNER ENDS, ARE DESCRIBED AS HETROSTATIC ACTIVITY , THESE UNUSUAL THOUGHTS ACCOUNT FOR WHEN WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING OUT OF OUR “NORMAL” LIKE MOVING TOWARD SOMETHING BIGGER SUCH AS OUR GOALS.
HE ALSO SAYS YOU CAN PREDICT A PERSONS LIFE TO AN EXTENT BY WHICH OF THEIR THOUGHTS FALL IN THE LARGER PORTION OF THE BELL CURVE WHICH MEANS THEY ARE MORE PREVALENT.
DON’T SNEER AT THIS
WOLF USES SNEERING AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW OUR PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR AND SPEECH ARE MOULDED BY THE SPECIFIC SOCIETY WE ARE AFFECTED BY. OUR PATERNS ARE REFLECTED BY THE BEHAVIORAL NORMS OF THE SOCIETY A PERSON LIVES IN. SO YOUR SNEER AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS MAY BE DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON WHICH COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN.
FLIP OF A COIN
WOLF TALKS ABOUT HOW A CONSIOUSS OBSERVATION OF A BEHAVIOR CAN ALTER THE BELL CURVE OF YOUR THOUGHTS BY ADDING MORE NEURONS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT BEHAVIOR. THE MORE YOU OBSERVE THE MORE INFLUENCED YOU ARE BY THAT BEHAVIOR.
AND THEN WOLF DICSUSSES “A SMALL EXPERIMENT”
WHICH DESCRIBES HOW OUR ABILITY OF PATTERN RECOGNITION IS HOW THE BRAIN CALCULATES PROBABILITIES AND THE MORE WE KNOW THE GREATER OUR ACCURACY WILL BE.
