"Sociopaths, Neuroscience and Mortality" by MathGuyiNTulsa at the Daily Kos

[applegrove]

Sociopaths, Neuroscience and Mortality

by MathGuyiNTulsa at the Daily Kos

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/22/1135188/-Sociopaths-and-Morality

"SNIP.........................................

These two scenarios appear in the most recent issue of Scientific American. The author of the article cites research that suggests a couple of things are going on. The first scenario creates distance between us and the potential victims of our decision: we’re on a bridge, they’re on the tracks. They are “different” from us. This causes a more intellectual kind of decision-making, involving the cerebral cortex, and a deliberate calculation.

The second scenario keeps the five potential victims at a distance, but the other potential victim is standing right beside us, in our emotional space. That triggers a different brain area, the amygdala, and causes a different, more emotional, calculation to take place. In most people, this leads to a different decision.

Neuroscience confirms this hypothesis. Brain scans show that in almost everyone, sociopath or not, the cerebral cortex lights up for scenario one. In scenario two, for most people the fireworks happen in the amygdala. But for sociopaths, the amygdala stays dark in scenario two and the cerbral cortex lights up just like in scenario one.

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The Prisoner’s Dilemma from game theory also could illuminate this discussion. Moreover, simulations of the role of cooperation versus competition in evolution suggest that cooperation might actually be more important than competition in the long-term. But that’s for another blog.

........................................SNIP"

[BlancheSplanchnik]

1. we certainly know what MoneyBooHoo's cerebral cortex

would be lookin' like, don't we?


sociopaths have been taking over the rungs on the corporate ladder for too long

isn't it amazing that now the prime example is imploding right before our very, public, eyes.