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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. How does Eagleman compare thinking with seeing?

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

3. What is the orbitofrontal cortex?

4. What is hard wired into our brains?

5. What does the amygdala regulate?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Eagleman say is hard wired into our brains?

2. What incident does Eagleman discuss concerning Mel Gibson?

3. What example does Eagleman cite to demonstrate the difference between the rational and emotional mind?

4. What does Eagleman say about our ability to perceive light versus that of insects?

5. What does Eagleman have readers consider about Whitman?

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

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

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

9. Explain the physical division in the brain and what can happen if the two hemispheres are severed.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Another set of conflicting motivations in the human mind is the rivalry between short term and long term desires, Eagleman argues. He presents several examples of people acting in ways that serve a long-term interest and protect them from the their short-term tendencies. A Christmas club is one such example, where people put money aside each month and then have it returned at Christmas time for purchasing gifts. These kinds of self-bargains are called "Ulysses contracts" after the classical figure Ulysses who had himself lashed to the mast of his boat so he would not be persuaded by the beautiful song of the sirens to steer his boat into the rocks.

1. Why do you think it is important to learn how to delay gratification? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your reasoning.

2. What do you think might be the difference in delaying short term goals between a child of 10 and an adult? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your reasoning.

3. Discuss an example in your own life where you did or did not delay an immediate desire in order to achieve a long term goal. How did this incident relate to one of the examples Eagleman gave?

Essay Topic 3

Incognito belongs to the non-fiction genre. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "genre" and give several examples of three other genres in addition to the non-fiction genre.

2. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre.

3. What do you think is the difference between a nonfiction book and a novel?

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