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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 5
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/assrj.85.10167.
Forbes, R. L. (2021). What’s All This Furor About An Enchanted Loom? Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(5). 114-118.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
What’s All This Furor About An Enchanted Loom?
Raymond L. Forbes Jr., Ph.D.
Franklin University
ABSTRACT
This article explores the growing interconnections between the Brain Sciences and
the Social Sciences. It provides a brief historical summary of the development of
brain science, reviews advances in what is currently known about the brain, and
describes where the field stands today. Importantly for those interested in the
Social Sciences, the article also discusses the potential impact of the brain sciences
on work in the discipline, indicates why we should care about developments in the
brain science field, and provides some practical tools that have come out of the
research. The article concludes with a summary of what all the developments might
mean for a Social Science practitioner.
Keywords: Brain science, Enchanted loom, Neuroscience, Social Science
INTRODUCTION
A Little Brain Science Context
Historically, the currently intense scientific interest in the brain has not always been the norm.
The ancient Egyptians thought the brain was so insignificant that they removed and discarded
it from the body prior to mummification of the dead. The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle
believed that the heart was the most central organ in the body. He thought that the heart and
not the brain was primarily responsible for sensation and movement. We now realize the brain
operates electro-chemically and is one of the most intricate and complex systems known to
exist.
Pioneering British neurophysiologist Sir Charles Sherrington imaginatively called the brain an
“enchanted loom.” His comparative metaphor combined the mysterious (enchanted) with the
commercial (a weaver’s loom). In the 1940s, when Sherrington first coined the phrase,
relatively little was known about the three pounds of grey and white goo that constitute the
human brain.
Just how complex is the brain?
In the past ten years we have learned just how really complicated the brain really is and how
little we may know about its secrets. Examples are: the crinkled outer layer or cerebral cortex
is composed of more than 86 billion neurons; each individual neuron is connected to up to
10,000 others; and the range of possible interconnections exceeds 100 trillion or more than the
number of known stars in the universe. The brain is also a very costly organ to operate.
Although the brain is typically about 2% of total body weight it consumes about 20% of the
available energy. Additionally, the brain generates enough electrical power to illuminate a 20-
watt light bulb and it continues to unconsciously control our essential bodily functions even
while we sleep.
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Forbes, R. L. (2021). What’s All This Furor About An Enchanted Loom? Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(5). 114-118.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.85.10167
The convoluted cerebral cortex, if unfolded, is about the size of a table napkin and about as thick
as a nickel. Following the pioneering work of American physician and National Institute of
Mental Health researcher Paul MacLean in the 1970s, many prominent neuroscientists think
that the brain has evolved over time in three stages. In the first stage of its development, the
human brain is very similar to that of a reptile. The reptilian brain controls most of our basic
life functions such as respiration, wake/sleep cycle, heartbeat, and level of consciousness.
The second stage brain resembles that of a simple mammal such as a mouse or a cat. At this
level the brain is concerned with emotions, the fight, flight or freeze response, as well as many
learning and memory functions. In its third or most advanced stage human brain structure is
very close to that of our primate cousins the gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos.
This most recent evolutionary phase consists anatomically of four main lobes or sections.
Collectively, these areas generate the essence of what it means to be human, including:
language, creativity, sight, audition, music, cognition, and problem solving. In practice, the three
stages or levels are highly interconnected and exist concurrently within the human brain.
Additionally, we have learned that the three-layered physical structure of the brain hasn’t
changed much in 10,000 years. We essentially have the same physical brain architecture as that
of our earliest hominid ancestors. The brain appears to be evolutionarily geared to focus on
individual survival in service of the continuation of our species through the passing on of
genetic material.
Can the Brain Actually Repurpose Itself?
The brain seems to be oriented toward maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain and is
exquisitely sensitive to threat. Much of its original organizational structure has been
repurposed by evolution to meet the demands ever more complex and changing environments.
For instance, many of the same brain circuits that register physical pain also react to social or
emotional pain. The use of tools, language, and the development of artistic expression also
appear to have significantly altered how our brain components are wired together. The brain’s
immense power seems to arise from its plasticity, massive interconnectivity, and ability to learn
and adapt.
The development of electronic sensing devices has greatly altered how we can look at existing
blood flow in the brain to see which areas of the brain are active for particular tasks and display
it in colorful images. Sophisticated electroencephalographs or EEG can detect and display the
brain’s weak electrical signals from multiple brain regions simultaneously as they occur.
Thus, we are now able to noninvasively, in near real time, depict what is going on inside the
brain as it does its work. And, what scientists are seeing has greatly advanced what we know
about the way the brain functions including how it attempts to make decisions and solve
problems.
Where does brain science stand today?
Currently many neuroscientists believe that we have learned more about the brain in the last
fifteen years than in all previous history combined. Much of this knowledge has come from
major institutional research initiatives such as the U.S. Library of Congress and National
Institute of Health’s co-sponsorship of the “The Decade of the Brain” during the 1990s. The
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 8, Issue 5, May-2021
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
emphasis was continued with the White House’s funding of the BRAIN or “Building Research
Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies” in 2013. Additionally, the European Union
is presently investing about 1.9 Billion Euros for its ten year “Blue Brain” research project to
replicate a mammalian brain within a computer.
One of the more important recent advances concerns dispelling the myth that neurons cannot
regenerate themselves. Researchers have found that certain neurons in the hippocampus (an
area closely associated with memory) as well as a set of neurons associated with the sense of
smell can regenerate. Additionally, researchers have discovered the brain’s default or idle
mode. This is what the brain does when it is not in actively processing information [Levitin,
2014].
Also significant is the emergence of the multi-disciplinary field of psychoneuroimmunology.
This integration of Psychology, Neurology and Immunology discipline recognizes that the mind,
brain, and immune system are highly interwoven, influence each other, and consistently
intercommunicate.
What’s Been the Impact Thus Far?
The result of this explosion of new knowledge about the brain has resulted in a whole plethora
of new sub-disciplines. These specialties include, among others: neurofinance, behavioral
economics, neuromarketing, and neuroleadership. Neurofinance is concerned with studying
the nature of the mental processes engaged in obtaining, processing, and utilizing information
related to financial decision making. Behavioral economics focusses on the identification and
consequences of decision choices on individuals and organizations particularly in relationship
to allocation of resources. Neuromarketing studies the brain’s responses to marketing stimuli.
Neuroleadership applies the findings of relevant brain research to the field of leadership.
The Social Sciences appear to be at just the beginning of possible use of brain science concepts
in its work. For, example the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has already
shown promise within other disciplines. It has been employed to image what is going on in the
brains of their practitioners when solving problems or engaging in creative work. Prominent
neuroscientist Eric Kandel [2016] has written extensively about the idea of reductionism in the
sciences. Additionally, an article by Zeki [2014] in the brain science journal Neuron suggests
similar brain operations are involved in both the social and brain sciences.
Why Should You Care?
In a very practical sense, several potentially useful tools and ideas are coming out of all the
brain science research interest. The notions of implicit and explicit biases in decision-making,
frameworks for thinking, belief in destructive myths, and methods for coping with personal and
organizational stress are all areas where further clarity might be of value in improving your
ability to do your work. Here are five examples:
Biases. Research has currently identified about 150 known biases [Dimitriadis & Psychogios,
2021] They appear to occur most often when urgency is heightened, information is confusing,
and the social environment suggests conformity. Additionally, biases appear to be related to the
brain’s determination of whether an individual is recognized as a member of our ingroup
friends or assigned as a member of an outgroup foes. One suggested method for dealing with