Predictive templates

A recent study from Northwestern University (1), demonstrates that the brain uses predictive templates to identify specific smells. In many cases, this allows the brain to react to stimulus before it actually arrives. One could imagine such template driven decision-making in many cognitive functions. The ability to make decisions faster may have had an evolutionary advantage.

This is, however, a double edged sword. For most of the human evolution, the rate of change has been low. Today was similar to yesterday and hence experience generated from yesterday's interactions were relevant today. Experience based templates were, thus, expandable across time without the consideration of regime changes. This is not necessarily so for modern humans. In a world where today looks significantly different from yesterday, the value of experience based templates are lower. Further, such an architecture may lead us down the wrong decision-paths.

For example, visual templates may be a precursor to racism that is highly prevalent today. Such templates are highly sophisticated, using proxies such as the shape of the skull and the distance between the eyes to detect members of unfriendly clans. Early detection of the intruders based on physical characteristics has been an important survival mechanism for humans, till recently. The ability and the proclivity of the brain to use such templates in the modern world have pegged the humans back, as they separate themselves in less sophisticated attributes.

Understanding the operating system that drives the brain is important. Most of the brain is largely designed for the past. The cost to society due to "predictive templates" is high – as they are not generally applicable to modern humans. Much has changed in the last 1000 years and those who adapt to the new reality will survive and thrive. Those who remain prisoners to their instincts developed over 50,000 years ago will likely perish. A measure of how advanced a society may be, is the ability to override instincts and predictive templates. The primary role of education has to be to wean the next generation from these.

(1) Sniffing out the brain's predictive power, Published: Friday, October 7, 2011 - 16:34 in Psychology & Sociology