The photo and the text can be changed by modifying the about.php file.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
MEMORIES, PATTERNS, AND THE MACHINERY OF WISDOM: KNOWLEDGE DESCRIPTIVE AND KNOWLEDGE PRESCRIPTIVE
Tacit knowledge is more about solving problems than about knowing facts. This brings us to a very important distinction: the difference between the descriptive and prescriptive aspects of cognition and between the descriptive and prescriptive aspects of wisdom and competence. As we pointed out earlier, knowledge can be descriptive and prescriptive. So too can be pattern recognition and the attractors that embody it in the brain.
Descriptive knowledge is the knowledge about how things are. It is sometimes called “veridical knowledge.” Because things exist in the world independently of you, the observer, various statements about things can be judged as “true” or “false” regardless of your wishes and preferences. The statement “five plus five is ten” is true, and the statement “five plus five is twelve” is false. And if you wish that it were the other way around, then well, tough luck! Veridical, descriptive knowledge is the knowledge of the true nature of things.
By contrast, prescriptive knowledge is the knowledge not about how things are, but how they should be, and in particular it is the knowledge of what we must do to set them according to our wishes and our needs. Prescriptive knowledge is the knowledge of what needs to be done, the knowledge of the desired course of action. Unlike descriptive knowledge, prescriptive knowledge is not independent of you. Quite the reverse, it is knowledge about your needs and about the course of action that is best for you. Prescriptive knowledge is not the knowledge about the objective, “true” nature of things, but about the best course of action. Because the choice of such action is different for different people, I sometimes refer to it as actor-centered knowledge.
We humans are in command of the powerful mental machinery enabling us to acquire and store descriptive knowledge, but this machinery is secondary, ancillary, subordinated to our needs for the acquisition and storage of prescriptive knowledge. The evolutionary pressures that have shaped our brain and our body were directed at enhancing our survival and not our ability to establish the ultimate truth, even though the latter would be a nice facilitator of the former. And unless you are Diogenes living in a barrel, the primary objective for most people is to improve their lot, while finding the truth is a means to that end rather than the end in its own right.
With this in mind, it comes as no surprise that prescriptive knowledge is particularly valued, and so are prescriptive wisdom and prescriptive competence. People are more likely to turn to a sage or an expert for advice on what to do than for an explanation of how things are. The prescriptive power of wisdom and the prescriptive power of competence deserve a separate discussion.
To begin with, we need to understand where in the brain knowledge is formed and stored, and also how the difference between descriptive and prescriptive expertise is reflected in the brain machinery of knowledge. And for that we need to consider two major distinctions in the architecture of the brain: the distinction between the two hemispheres and the distinction between the front and back of the cerebral cortex. Both descriptive and prescriptive knowledge are based on pattern recognition, and the patterns are embodied in attractors. Since knowledge is stored where the information was first processed (remember, there is no designated, spatially separate warehouse of memories in the brain), the attractors embodying descriptive and prescriptive knowledge inhabit somewhat different neocortical territories.
Both descriptive and prescriptive knowledge are stored in the most advanced parts of the neocortex, known as the association cortex. Descriptive knowledge is stored mostly in its posterior subdivisions, in the temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes. By contrast, prescriptive knowledge is stored in the frontal lobes. Recent research has also shown that the two cerebral hemispheres play very different roles in knowledge acquisition and storage, in the formation of attractors, and in the machinery of pattern recognition.
In the next few chapters we will further explore the brain mechanisms of wisdom and competence and how these coveted traits depend on the two halves of the brain and on the frontal lobes. As we learn more about the frontal lobes, their intimate role in the acquisition and storage of prescriptive knowledge will become increasingly clear. And as we learn more about the differences and interactions between the two cerebral hemispheres and how they relate to new and familiar cognitive challenges, we will better understand what sets the wisdom patterns apart from other manifestations of the mind, how they come about, and what allows them to withstand the ravages of aging.
*31\302\2*
Add A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.