Wager adds that the part of the ACC examined in this study “is one of the most frequently activated areas in the human brain across all kinds of tasks and psychological states”. Low ACC activity could have a variety of causes — impulsivity, caffeine use, vascular health, low motivation or better neural efficiency — and not all of these are necessarily related to criminal behaviour.
Something tells me this will be completely ignored in any future reports.
> We have to give up this silly notion of free will. The more we learn about the brain the more it turns out to be a fantasy.
If you're right, there's no possible way for us to "give up" this notion... it's predestined to end up whichever way it ends up and we're just cogs in the machine.
Counterpoint: It is not in your best interest to be an unsuccessful criminal. Many successful criminals are quite rational, whether they are drug lords or banking executives.
I'm on board with the idea of a post-free-will justice system; I believe a health-centric approach would have much greater efficacy. However, I also don't think punitive pressures should be removed entirely; there are a lot more high-functioning sociopaths weaved into the human fabric than anyone wants to admit.
My grandfather worked at the state prison in New Hampshire. One of the inmates would break into a house and wait for the cops to show up so they'd take him back to prison. One time, a judge decreased his sentence for good behavior. He was pretty shaken up about it.
We have to give up this silly notion of free will. The more we learn about the brain the more it turns out to be a fantasy.
The notion of free will isn't silly - 'giving up' on it is an absurd suggestion. It appears to serve a very useful purpose towards enabling us to not all be sociopaths, and is possibly fundamental to our view of self as rational agents in society. Without it, we immediately start 'misbehaving'.
I agree with many of the quotes below in that this his findings only state they are more "likely" to commit another crime.
I wonder if the lower activity in the ACC isn't a factor in them committing another crime but in them being caught? To put it bluntly they don't have a lot going on upstairs so they will do something very dumb, where as a criminal with more cognitive capacity would likely take longer to slip up.
"In a twist that evokes the dystopian science fiction of writer Philip K. Dick, neuroscientists have found a way to predict whether convicted felons are likely to commit crimes again from looking at their brain scans. Convicts showing low activity in a brain region associated with decision-making and action are more likely to be arrested again, and sooner."
[+] [-] biggfoot|13 years ago|reply
Wager adds that the part of the ACC examined in this study “is one of the most frequently activated areas in the human brain across all kinds of tasks and psychological states”. Low ACC activity could have a variety of causes — impulsivity, caffeine use, vascular health, low motivation or better neural efficiency — and not all of these are necessarily related to criminal behaviour.
Something tells me this will be completely ignored in any future reports.
[+] [-] qwertzlcoatl|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Aqueous|13 years ago|reply
So why are people criminals?
We have to give up this silly notion of free will. The more we learn about the brain the more it turns out to be a fantasy.
[+] [-] mpyne|13 years ago|reply
If you're right, there's no possible way for us to "give up" this notion... it's predestined to end up whichever way it ends up and we're just cogs in the machine.
[+] [-] lukifer|13 years ago|reply
I'm on board with the idea of a post-free-will justice system; I believe a health-centric approach would have much greater efficacy. However, I also don't think punitive pressures should be removed entirely; there are a lot more high-functioning sociopaths weaved into the human fabric than anyone wants to admit.
[+] [-] sp332|13 years ago|reply
My grandfather worked at the state prison in New Hampshire. One of the inmates would break into a house and wait for the cops to show up so they'd take him back to prison. One time, a judge decreased his sentence for good behavior. He was pretty shaken up about it.
We have to give up this silly notion of free will. The more we learn about the brain the more it turns out to be a fantasy.
It might be difficult or impossible to change your behavior on a moment's notice, but with practice, you can change it. http://www.ted.com/talks/matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_ha...
[+] [-] somelogicplease|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cobrausn|13 years ago|reply
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/science/22tier.html?pagewa...
[+] [-] DamnYuppie|13 years ago|reply
I wonder if the lower activity in the ACC isn't a factor in them committing another crime but in them being caught? To put it bluntly they don't have a lot going on upstairs so they will do something very dumb, where as a criminal with more cognitive capacity would likely take longer to slip up.
[+] [-] ananyob|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] liberte9|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] illuminate|13 years ago|reply