Concepts: How the Brain Constructs Reality, Emotional Experience and Who You Even Are - w/ Nicholas Shea
Understanding the Building Blocks of Learning and Mastery in the Brain with researcher Nicholas Shea
Ever wonder why you can recognise your friend's face instantly but struggle to remember where you put your keys? Your brain is running the most sophisticated learning system ever created, and most of us have no clue how it actually works.
Nicholas Shea is an Oxford and King's College Researcher working in philosophy of mind, cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence.
He breaks down the fascinating psychology behind how we build concepts in our minds. Think of concepts as mental shortcuts - when you see a dog, you don't analyse four legs, fur, and a tail. Your brain instantly accesses everything you know about dogs.
We dissect these fundamental building blocks of learning into how the brain actually works and learns, and build mastery.
Three key takeaways:
- What builds basic concepts into subject mastery?
- How do emotions inform decision-making?
- The real difference between deliberate practice and passive learning
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Nicholas Shea
- Nick & his work - https://www.nicholasshea.co.uk/
- Book - Concepts at The Interface - https://philpapers.org/rec/SHECAT-11
- Paper - Concepts as Plug and Play Devices - https://www.nicholasshea.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Shea_22_Concepts_plug-and-play_RSTB_OA.pdf
Recommended Books
- "Consciousness Explained" - Daniel Dennet
- Metazoa : Animal minds and the birth of consciousness” - Peter Godfrey Smith
- "Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Origins of Consciousness” -Peter Godfrey Smith
- "The Pleistocene Social Contract" - Kim Sterelny
- Helen Steward - Book on Free Will in animals (let me know if you can find it!)
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Show: Growth Mindset, psychology of self-improvement
Episode: The Building Blocks of Learning and Mastery in the Brain - w/ Nicholas Shea
Chapters:
00:00 How does your mind really work?
03:21 Playing with Concepts
05:00 Overview of Concepts in Psychology
06:14 Building and Storing Concepts
06:30 Concept Learning in Adults
07:59 Concept Acquisition in Children
08:46 Motor Skills and Conceptual Thinking
09:29 Automatic vs. Deliberate Thinking
11:00 Richness and Accessibility of Concepts
13:56 Cognitive Shortcuts and Biases
15:09 Narration on how media affects our thoughts
17:27 The Frame Problem in AI
22:25 Emotions in Decision Making
26:17 Animal Cognition and Emotions
29:14 Neurotransmitters and Learning
30:44 Philosophy methods and experimentation
31:32 Interdisciplinary Approach in Philosophy
33:13 Practical Implications of Abstract Research
34:29 Challenges in Applying Theoretical Insights
37:54 Recommended Books and Final Thoughts
39:45 Books Repeated
40:34 Take-home ideas
42:27 How to change the world podcast
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