Lecture Discussion Questions: The Brain

1. Neurologists Debunk 11 Brain Myths

1. What stood out to you in this video? Did you learn anything that you didn’t already know?
2. Consider the quote by Dr. Kamitaki:

   “There is so much that goes into intelligence that one test or even multiple different tests can’t measure that very well.

   • Where do IQ tests come from?
   • What do they measure?
   • What do they not measure?
   • Why do you think there aren’t tests for social or emotional intelligence, creativity, etc.?
   • Why is it important to measure intelligence?
3. Myth: different sexes have different brains (this has also been said of different people of different races during the Eugenics era).
   • Why do you think people have been – and continue to be – so fixated on comparing brains across social categories?

2. Neuron Basics

This video is pretty technical. That said, many AI researchers are trying to better understand and mimic how neurons communicate and form connections with one another, so this is an important and very active research area. A few key things to understand:

1. What is the role of sodium and potassium in neuron communication?
2. What do neurotransmitters do?
3. How is electricity passed from one neuron to the next?

3. Synaptic plasticity

1. What is Hebb’s postulate?
2. The video talks about how different neurons have different connection strengths. See if you can describe the process through which our brains strengthening and weakening neuron connections.