Welcome to the first post in my new blog. My objective is to share neuroscience discoveries that give people new ideas for improving their own and other people's effectiveness.
This blog will cover many fields, including the workplace, health and fitness, as well as parenting, relationships and even sex. I plan to write about new research that comes out, but I also know there are a ton of findings in the last 5 to 10 years that deserve some airtime, so I will cover some fairly new research too.
I thought for this first post I might provide a bit of context on why I think neuroscience overall as a field is important, followed by, for those interested, a little background on my influences and how I think.
So, why should we care about neuroscience?
This is a question I often get asked when speaking to the media or sometimes to practioners who are concerned about the relevance of this research.
I think there are three main answers to this.
Firstly neuroscience is providing more robust, solid (meaning physical) evidence for some things we already new.
Like the importance of emotional regulation, where research by people like
Matt Lieberman and
David Creswell shows that people who know themselves better
activate more of the brain's braking system when they need to dampen an emotion. We even know now about some central regions involved in this breaking system, the right and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (the right and left temple, see picture on the left.) By providing new evidence for old ideas, we highlight the importance of certain behaviours that we can all improve on.
Secondly, neuroscience is bringing some surprises into view about human experience. For example, we are seeing that social pain activates the same pain network as physical pain, something we couldn't have known without access to brain imaging. This finding explains a lot of everyday experiences, and may jolt some people (and organizations) to revalue the social environment.
Thirdly, neuroscience is a language that speaks to some people better than languages like poetry, art or philosophy, even when the ideas are the same. The message can get through when the medium is right. Many people today, for better or worse, trust science more than other domains. If we can use science to increase self and social awareness, (especially within people of influence who are often a little mind-blind,) that's a good thing.
On a final personal note about the value of neuroscience, it personally helps me, and I hear many others, understand everyday experiences so much more. With increased certainty comes less reactivity and therefore increased choice.
What do I believe?
Here's a little about my social / cultural / political / philosophical bents, so you know who you are listening too. I am originally Australian, though I have lived part time in New York City since 2002. I also work globally, running both an international Institute, the NeuroLeadership Institute, and a consulting firm in 15 countries. I speak at conferences all around the world about leadership, human effectiveness and change. Having a global perspective, I don't have a strong political 
view in any one country. I do have a philosophical bent though, which is that people have potential that can be brought out in the right environment, (rather than people need to be controlled.) I do also however understand how limited our self-control functions are, and I don't think this is widely understood enough yet. I was born Jewish, and while I don't practice any formal religion, I find I have a lot in common with people of faith of some sort.
I believe in the power of the will and the power of your own attention. I am not a reductionist, I am what you might call academically a constructionist / existential / non reductionist / humanist. Which means I think we create the world through language and ideas, that I like to live life fully in the moment, that I like to seek patterns and solutions rather than reasons or problems, and I believe in values, and purpose.
Personally I am married to a wonderful woman, still the love of my life after 13 years, and have two gorgeous young daughters (who all travel with me a lot). Professionally you can learn more about what I am up to in my personal blog, http://www.davidrock.net. I also am active on Twitter where I post many times a week about new studies and what I am working on, see http://twitter.com/davidrock101
That's enough about me. I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned about the brain with you.
