ScienceDaily — The healthy brain is in a constant struggle between learning new experiences and remembering old experiences.

Virtually all social interactions require the rapid exchange of new and old information. For instance, normal conversation requires that while listening to the new information another person is providing, we are already retrieving old information in preparation of an appropriate reply.

Yet, some memory theories assume that these different modes of memory cannot happen at the same time and compete for priority within our brain.

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THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BECOME A THINKING INSTRUCTOR!

SOT members who have completed all 80 lessons in the following two SOT training programs are qualified to apply for the TISOT Certificate:

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THE SWITCH

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The Funny Feeling Inside Your Head …

Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously.

Wikipedia: Cognitive dissonance is a psychological state that describes the uncomfortable feeling between what one holds to be true and what one knows to be true. Cognitive dissonance theory is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology.

Similar to ambivalence, the term cognitive dissonance describes conflicting thoughts or beliefs (cognitions) that occur:

- at the same time, or
- when engaged in behaviors that conflict with one’s beliefs.

In academic literature, the term refers to attempts to reduce the discomfort of conflicting thoughts, by performing actions that are opposite to one’s beliefs.

Example:
Smokers tend to experience cognitive dissonance because it is widely accepted that cigarettes cause lung cancer, yet virtually everyone wants to live a long and healthy life. In terms of the theory, the desire to live a long life is dissonant with the activity of doing something that will most likely shorten one’s life.

The tension produced by these contradictory ideas can be reduced by quitting smoking, denying the evidence of lung cancer, or justifying one’s smoking. For example, a smoker could rationalize his or her behavior by concluding that everyone dies and so cigarettes do not actually change anything. Or a person could believe that smoking keeps one from gaining weight, which would also be unhealthy.

More from Wikipedia …

See also: How and Why We Lie to Ourselves: Cognitive Dissonance

Last year, 2009, was the Bicentennial Year of Darwin and celebrations around the world were held to acknowledge 200 years since Charles Darwin was born and also 150 years since the publication of his world-famous work Origin of Species.

Here’s an educational treat! If you can find an hour … sit back and relax and watch this discussion. It’s a meeting between Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins both discussing Darwin’s dangerous idea:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lfTPTFN94o&feature=related