The Neuroscience behind Mental Models
The subject of neuroscience is vast, complex and changing rapidly as new discoveries are made. Indeed, it is said that we have learned more about how the central nervous system works in the past ten years than in all previous history. This has been made possible in large part by developments in science and technology that have permitted direct access to the brain and nervous system. We no longer have to just “think about thinking.” Neuroscience and even philosophy can now start to have a deep empirical basis. While the science is changing rapidly and the details of our understanding of the brain are continuing to evolve,our discussions in this book have focused on core concepts that havebeen robust, and in many cases have been strengthened, as a result ofrecent scientific advances.
Any discussion of this topic is humbling. The more we know about the brain, the more we realize that most fundamental aspects of the mind remain a complete mystery. Yet we need to act today in our businesses, personal lives and society, so we do not have the luxury of waiting for all these mysteries to be unraveled (assuming that this can be done at all). Despite the limitations of our knowledge, our emerging understanding of neuroscience does offer some insights into how we make sense of the world and provides the basis for changing our thinking and actions.
