I Think, Therefore I Am — Sorta :The belief system of a virtual mind
by Margaret Wertheim in LA Weekly

ought to interest anyone who wants to know how their brain works - the article itself doesn't really do that! However, it makes you think a bit in the way the Turing Test did/does, and all the other stuff that one could read about in Daniel Dennett's "Consciousness Explained".

It does not use the term emotions which seems strange since that is where they seem to be going with this : in other words without emotions there is no weighting system in the brain to make decisions about what is import and what is not in the constant stream of information and conceptualisation. Brings to mind the psychology expts. to do with waitress dropping tray. Maybe this will remind you: Movie Poop Shoot. {Just type in tray in FIND once the page loads it takes a couple to get there }

Make up your own experimental design if you can't remember it: start by thinking about real life scenarios where a shock makes you forget what you were thinking or doing. Design a waitress dropping tray experiment : you might set students tasks in the classroom then get someone to come in to the room carrying a tray which is then dropped, creating a clutter, etc,etc.


Background material :

EQ

EI consortium

Both suggest software might be developed which school children could use as a virtual therapist. The major problem in schools, resulting in far more misbehaviour than otherwise, is lack of time to talk through life in general. Few teachers have the desire or flair for this type of interaction. The hours spent dealing with the consequences of bad behaviour might be better spent pre-empting it by having one-to-one or small group sessions with those who request it. A specialist member of staff for the job might be worth one teachers salary. Alternatively, or complementary to, the cyberagent which grasped your basic emotional problems would be a pretty good. And should, of course, be provided to all schools free by an enterprising software company.