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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What studies does Eagleman look at in this chapter?

2. What does Eagleman think is a good model for how the brain works?

3. Who is Charles Whitman?

4. What disease does Eagleman mention in support of his argument about free will?

5. What does Eagleman say a man named Alex started demonstrating?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Eagleman use an example of early robotics to illustrate how the mind may be divided?

2. To what part of the body are newborns drawn and what does this imply about human beings' predisposition?

3. How does a rat react to conflicting choices?

4. Does Eagleman think genetics or upbringing has more to bear on one's actions and does he think it is an important question?

5. How does Eagleman see many of the small sub-routines of the mind and what example does he give?

6. How does Eagleman compare the conscious mind to our senses?

7. What comparison of thought to wavelengths does Eagleman make?

8. Who is Charles Whitman and what did he do and what may have contributed to his actions?

9. What does Chapter 4 explore?

10. What does Eagleman write about Kenneth Parks?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This kind of social hard-wiring affects our thinking in some interesting ways, Eagleman claims. He gives an example of a difficult logic puzzle involving colors and numbers and asks the reader to solve it. He then presents a different puzzle that has the same underlying logical solution but has been rephrased to make it about people and their ages. He claims that most people find the second puzzle easier to solve than the first, even though they are essentially the same puzzle. The reason, he argues, is that we can more easily process information if we can frame it in a social context.

1. Give an example of a problem that can be put into a social context and easily solved. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. What you think the fact that social context is more real to most humans means to us as animals? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. Discuss the idea that humans are hard wired to be social and that is why married people tend to live longer than single people. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Often, authors will write about "what they know," and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Eagleman.

2. What in Eagleman's background may have helped him in writing Incognito? What may have influenced the way he depicts various characters and scenes?

3. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her books? Why or why not? Give examples.

Essay Topic 3

Our conscious minds represent only a small part of the activity of our brains. As evidence, Eagleman refers to the common experience of reacting to something before a person is fully aware of what is happening, such as when a car backs out in front of a driver and the driver has already stepped on the brakes before he fully "sees" the other car. Major league baseball players are able to hit 100-mph fastballs even though they must begin their swing before their brains have had time to visually process the image of the approaching ball.

1. Discuss an incident in your life in which you reacted to a situation before you fully realized what the situation was and relate this to Eagleman's ideas of the unconscious reacting. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. Do you think Eagleman is correct that our conscious minds only represent a small part of the activity of our brains? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. Discuss the ways in which Eagleman's assertion about the unconscious has changed the way you view your behavior. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

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