Omg this reads like neuroeconomics!! Yohan John is the perfect person to talk to on this (he's new to Kempner institute and vibes really well with ppl on sabbaticals!) + his original research was on the basal ganglia hm, policy complexity could really be used to model complexity of someone's gaming moves!
Congratulations on your PhD! I came across your video today while exploring Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) systems and felt fortunate to have stumbled upon it. I watched your entire thesis presentation and was impressed by your clear explanation of the decision-making process in the brain. I have a few questions regarding your research: You posed three questions about the amount of thinking, learning, and memory required in your thesis. Can these aspects be quantified using current technologies like EEG or ECoG? I appreciated the distinction you made between the DLS and DMS in decision-making. My question is, can this part of the brain be influenced to function more optimally? For instance, could external interventions enhance cognitive abilities in individuals with memory issues?
thank you for watching! i think that they certainly could be measured by EEG and ECoG but the right task has to be designed in order to isolate those functions (and rule out any confounds). i also think that cognitive abilities can be enhanced! for example, with enough practice and repetition, certain complex skills become habitual and therefore take up less space in the brain. for example, after practicing the same song on the piano for many hours, you are able to play it without much mental effort
Interesting video but alot to take in for first twenty minutes, rest still watching. Wondered how this could improve my life. I will need to think about it.
Dear Dr. Lucy Lai, Thank you for your wonderful video. It serves as a reminder of many important concepts, and I hope it has the same effect on your viewers. There are several aspects to cover, so I will list my points and then dive into each one. One: Brain Injury. Two: Cognitive Capital - Memory Capital. Brain Injury In your experiment video with the two mice, you demonstrated that there are two areas in the brain responsible for different types of memory. One area is for learning new information, while the other is for performing familiar tasks. When the brain lacks one of these functions, the mice struggle to complete the light sequence and eventually give up. This is illustrated in your figures from both the controlled and uncontrolled environments. What this showed me, which I later reflected upon, is the importance of our brain. We must consider the actions we take in our lives that may risk our brain health. Although I’m not American, I know that rugby is popular there, and I’m aware of the statistics showing long-term damage to professional players. I have no intention of participating in activities that jeopardize my brain health. While trauma is a well-known cause of brain injury, we can learn about brain injuries through other means. For example, psychological factors can contribute when individuals are exposed to harmful substances or negative influences. Studies have shown that children exposed to electronic devices can experience “insufficient good quality sleep, sedentary behaviors, obesity, and mental health issues” (Lewis R, Yap CH J, 2022). Of course, we are not children anymore, but this serves as an extreme example of how too much of something can affect brain health, even for adults. We should be mindful of anything that affects our brain health psychologically, such as excessive social media use and insufficient sleep. Cognitive and Memory Capital Your lecture highlighted the concept of decision fatigue. Every day, we must make choices-some are routine and easy, while others impose a higher cognitive load. You provided the example of choosing to cook a familiar meal for your roommate versus catering to a friend’s specific dietary preferences. I won’t delve into your material in detail to avoid losing those who haven’t watched your entire video, but I will reflect on what I learned. First, we all have decision-making capacity before we become worn out. Second, our memory capacity declines over time, especially regarding our friends' preferences when they come over for dinner. It takes effort to remember what your friends like. From your lecture, I learned that we should reduce our cognitive load in decision-making so we can focus on the choices that truly matter. Additionally, developing the habit of writing things down can help us avoid solely relying on memory. Having recently graduated from Nanyang Polytechnic School of Business Management, I find myself in a slow phase of life, waiting for the next chapter. However, I’ve learned from experience that decision-making is crucial when time is scarce. Back then, I have a deadline to submit a business report on a topic outside my area of expertise. Compared to classmates with experience in the field, I have none. I can only rely on my willpower to scour Google Scholar and the guidance of my lecturer, for which I am grateful. Although there’s a page requirement for the report, the grades depend on the quality of the content. Therefore, the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know. As I acquire more knowledge, I become more skeptical about which content is suitable, necessitating guidance to determine which information best answers the question without diluting my main points. Regarding decision-making capital, memory capacity, and time stress, I’ve learned that procrastination can ruin students. In my case, I took an extreme approach to completing my report. I avoided social media, except for UA-cam, which I primarily use for music and educational content, such as the latest business developments in Singapore. I also didn’t install any games. This approach saved my decision-making capital, as I didn’t have to choose between playing games or working. By staying focused, my memory of the material remained intact, preventing the need to reread everything. Another example is when I created a list of tasks for my report labeled in capital letters: “TO BE DONE.” I hated feeling fatigued and needing sleep while worrying that if I went to sleep without completing my tasks, I would waste precious cognitive capital refreshing my memory instead of executing my plans. The time stress factor you discussed also resonated with me. I proactively consulted my teacher both in class and via email regarding my queries. Thus, my time stress was not about submitting my work before the deadline but rather completing portions of my work before the next class so I could consult my lecturer. Finally, you included a graph showing examples of reduced cognitive workload in society regarding organ donations and retirement savings policies. For instance, being automatically enrolled in organ donation and having savings transferred automatically to retirement accounts. Singapore has implemented the former. As I reflected on this, I realized that reducing decision-making for daily tasks allows for more decision capital for more important matters. Of all the insights from your video, the highlight I want to emphasize is the mice experiment. Just as the mice eventually excel in performing the light sequence, so too can we humans. If we want to create the life we dream of, we must continuously strive for it. Personally, I want options in life, and I recognize that many graduates, like me, are competing for ideal jobs. What we learn in school is only the beginning. Once we step out, do we decay and wait for the river to carry us down, or do we swim continuously upwards? I reflect on the mistakes I made during college, hoping not to repeat them in university and beyond. I know that university will be much faster-paced, and I cannot always expect my professors to hold my hand. There will be those willing to help, like yourself, but I must first demonstrate my commitment to learning. There is a Chinese saying: “The teacher opens the door; you step in by yourself.” I am also focused on increasing my intellectual capital to gain an advantage in school and work. For instance, if I enter the workforce, I will not just do what I’m told but will strive to understand the rationale behind tasks and align myself with my boss’s vision. Thank you for creating this video. I hope my reflections show the value of your work in uploading it. I wish you all the best in your university studies and your channel. Yours sincerely, Aaron Lau
great question-not always! if the policy is high entropy (choosing actions randomly) then high entropy policies are low complexity. but choosing the same action all the time is low in entropy, but also low complexity. complexity is more relative to how specific your action selection is to the state! i hope that helps :)
thank you so much for watching! i know i’ve been off youtube for awhile but i have an update video coming very very soon!! 😊
Hey dont know you particularly, got this recommended, but CONGRATULATIONS 👏🎉🎉
Omg this reads like neuroeconomics!! Yohan John is the perfect person to talk to on this (he's new to Kempner institute and vibes really well with ppl on sabbaticals!) + his original research was on the basal ganglia
hm, policy complexity could really be used to model complexity of someone's gaming moves!
congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ur soo amazing and such an inspo!
congratulations!
so cool!
Congratulations on your PhD! I came across your video today while exploring Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) systems and felt fortunate to have stumbled upon it. I watched your entire thesis presentation and was impressed by your clear explanation of the decision-making process in the brain. I have a few questions regarding your research:
You posed three questions about the amount of thinking, learning, and memory required in your thesis. Can these aspects be quantified using current technologies like EEG or ECoG?
I appreciated the distinction you made between the DLS and DMS in decision-making. My question is, can this part of the brain be influenced to function more optimally? For instance, could external interventions enhance cognitive abilities in individuals with memory issues?
thank you for watching! i think that they certainly could be measured by EEG and ECoG but the right task has to be designed in order to isolate those functions (and rule out any confounds).
i also think that cognitive abilities can be enhanced! for example, with enough practice and repetition, certain complex skills become habitual and therefore take up less space in the brain. for example, after practicing the same song on the piano for many hours, you are able to play it without much mental effort
Nice content,thank you
Interesting video but alot to take in for first twenty minutes, rest still watching. Wondered how this could improve my life. I will need to think about it.
Dear Dr. Lucy Lai,
Thank you for your wonderful video. It serves as a reminder of many important concepts, and I hope it has the same effect on your viewers. There are several aspects to cover, so I will list my points and then dive into each one. One: Brain Injury. Two: Cognitive Capital - Memory Capital.
Brain Injury
In your experiment video with the two mice, you demonstrated that there are two areas in the brain responsible for different types of memory. One area is for learning new information, while the other is for performing familiar tasks. When the brain lacks one of these functions, the mice struggle to complete the light sequence and eventually give up. This is illustrated in your figures from both the controlled and uncontrolled environments.
What this showed me, which I later reflected upon, is the importance of our brain. We must consider the actions we take in our lives that may risk our brain health. Although I’m not American, I know that rugby is popular there, and I’m aware of the statistics showing long-term damage to professional players. I have no intention of participating in activities that jeopardize my brain health.
While trauma is a well-known cause of brain injury, we can learn about brain injuries through other means. For example, psychological factors can contribute when individuals are exposed to harmful substances or negative influences. Studies have shown that children exposed to electronic devices can experience “insufficient good quality sleep, sedentary behaviors, obesity, and mental health issues” (Lewis R, Yap CH J, 2022).
Of course, we are not children anymore, but this serves as an extreme example of how too much of something can affect brain health, even for adults. We should be mindful of anything that affects our brain health psychologically, such as excessive social media use and insufficient sleep.
Cognitive and Memory Capital
Your lecture highlighted the concept of decision fatigue. Every day, we must make choices-some are routine and easy, while others impose a higher cognitive load.
You provided the example of choosing to cook a familiar meal for your roommate versus catering to a friend’s specific dietary preferences. I won’t delve into your material in detail to avoid losing those who haven’t watched your entire video, but I will reflect on what I learned.
First, we all have decision-making capacity before we become worn out. Second, our memory capacity declines over time, especially regarding our friends' preferences when they come over for dinner. It takes effort to remember what your friends like.
From your lecture, I learned that we should reduce our cognitive load in decision-making so we can focus on the choices that truly matter. Additionally, developing the habit of writing things down can help us avoid solely relying on memory.
Having recently graduated from Nanyang Polytechnic School of Business Management, I find myself in a slow phase of life, waiting for the next chapter. However, I’ve learned from experience that decision-making is crucial when time is scarce.
Back then, I have a deadline to submit a business report on a topic outside my area of expertise. Compared to classmates with experience in the field, I have none. I can only rely on my willpower to scour Google Scholar and the guidance of my lecturer, for which I am grateful. Although there’s a page requirement for the report, the grades depend on the quality of the content. Therefore, the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know. As I acquire more knowledge, I become more skeptical about which content is suitable, necessitating guidance to determine which information best answers the question without diluting my main points.
Regarding decision-making capital, memory capacity, and time stress, I’ve learned that procrastination can ruin students. In my case, I took an extreme approach to completing my report. I avoided social media, except for UA-cam, which I primarily use for music and educational content, such as the latest business developments in Singapore. I also didn’t install any games.
This approach saved my decision-making capital, as I didn’t have to choose between playing games or working. By staying focused, my memory of the material remained intact, preventing the need to reread everything.
Another example is when I created a list of tasks for my report labeled in capital letters: “TO BE DONE.” I hated feeling fatigued and needing sleep while worrying that if I went to sleep without completing my tasks, I would waste precious cognitive capital refreshing my memory instead of executing my plans.
The time stress factor you discussed also resonated with me. I proactively consulted my teacher both in class and via email regarding my queries. Thus, my time stress was not about submitting my work before the deadline but rather completing portions of my work before the next class so I could consult my lecturer.
Finally, you included a graph showing examples of reduced cognitive workload in society regarding organ donations and retirement savings policies. For instance, being automatically enrolled in organ donation and having savings transferred automatically to retirement accounts. Singapore has implemented the former. As I reflected on this, I realized that reducing decision-making for daily tasks allows for more decision capital for more important matters.
Of all the insights from your video, the highlight I want to emphasize is the mice experiment. Just as the mice eventually excel in performing the light sequence, so too can we humans. If we want to create the life we dream of, we must continuously strive for it. Personally, I want options in life, and I recognize that many graduates, like me, are competing for ideal jobs. What we learn in school is only the beginning.
Once we step out, do we decay and wait for the river to carry us down, or do we swim continuously upwards? I reflect on the mistakes I made during college, hoping not to repeat them in university and beyond. I know that university will be much faster-paced, and I cannot always expect my professors to hold my hand. There will be those willing to help, like yourself, but I must first demonstrate my commitment to learning.
There is a Chinese saying: “The teacher opens the door; you step in by yourself.”
I am also focused on increasing my intellectual capital to gain an advantage in school and work. For instance, if I enter the workforce, I will not just do what I’m told but will strive to understand the rationale behind tasks and align myself with my boss’s vision.
Thank you for creating this video. I hope my reflections show the value of your work in uploading it. I wish you all the best in your university studies and your channel.
Yours sincerely,
Aaron Lau
Wow have you read David Badre's latest book? [and his research in general?]
not yet but i know his work is similar! :)
is policy complexity related to entropy of the policy?
great question-not always! if the policy is high entropy (choosing actions randomly) then high entropy policies are low complexity. but choosing the same action all the time is low in entropy, but also low complexity. complexity is more relative to how specific your action selection is to the state! i hope that helps :)