I won't go into details, but I've enrolled in a scientific study on brain performance that will last the better part of 3 months. It will involve MRI Scans at the beginning and at the end of the study, zoom interviews, and use of some software for 15 min/day for 12 weeks. This will be the first time I will be participating in any kind of study, and I think I should have fun doing so.
Why do I note this?
As I get older, I want to contribute a little to the world. Doing anything related to politics is a non-starter, as I have way too many skeletons in my closet that, if exposed, would cause me a lot of grief. The idea of leaving money to a scholarship fund still has value to me, but the logistics of setting it up may make this idea a non-starter. Volunteering has lost its luster for me, given how little I enjoy many of the grunt tasks I once did. So, when RQS told me about this study, I figured that I'd apply and see if I would be accepted. And I was. (More on this study later....)
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What I'd love to see is a scientific study on the types of people who hold rigid social/political/religious beliefs. Is there something that can be gained by knowing how people function better than they know themselves? Would this information be abused? We already know how well political pollsters can gauge how the masses will react to certain messaging. We already know how people react to selected advertising campaigns. But at what level should this information stop being collected and analyzed? Could we figure out why people join cults, and how to break their ties to their cults? Could this be used in politics? What about marketing? Just because I'd like to see research in this area, I'm not sure if it wouldn't be misused.
We have extreme political polarization right now. I'd like to be able to use scientific methods to end that polarization, as well as prevent it from happening again. Sadly, populist leaders have an innate sense of how to manipulate people, and society at large doesn't have the tools to prevent populism from becoming a cult. Life isn't simple as I'd like it to be....
I could ramble on for a long while and say nothing of note. So I'll end this entry here for today.
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