Skip to Main Content
AlphaBrain
book

AlphaBrain

by Stephen Duneier
February 2019
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
304 pages
7h 38m
English
Wiley
Audiobook available
Content preview from AlphaBrain

Chapter 12Mind over Matter

Painfully Aware

Consider a turkey that is fed every day. Every single feeding will firm up the bird's belief that it is the general rule of life to be fed every day by friendly members of the human race “looking out for its best interests,” as a politician would say. On the afternoon of the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, something unexpected will happen to the turkey. It will incur a revision of belief.

Nassim Taleb, The Black Swan

I've had several old mercury fillings replaced and two root canals done over the past decade, all of which have been performed without anesthetic of any kind. No, I'm not a masochist, but rather a hyperrealist; one who enjoys an honest risk/reward analysis and welcomes a serious mental challenge. There are four things I always hated about visiting the dentist: (1) sound of the drill, (2) shrapnel that threatens to slide down my throat while my mouth is wedged open, (3) multiple, painful Novocain shots in the gums, and (4) numbness that leaves me drooling and unable to eat or talk normally for hours after the office visit is over. The first two can't be solved and the last two are actually self‐inflicted. I've found that even with Novocain getting cavities drilled out and fillings put in is a painful endeavor. Ultimately, the question is whether the combination of Novocain shots + lingering numbness + reduced procedure pain produces a more pleasant cumulative experience than no shots + no numbness + heightened procedure ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

AlphaBrain

AlphaBrain

Stephen Duneier
Navigating the Metaverse

Navigating the Metaverse

Cathy Hackl, Dirk Lueth, Tommaso Di Bartolo, John Arkontaky, Yat Siu
Casting the Dark Web in a New Light

Casting the Dark Web in a New Light

Keman Huang, Michael Siegel, Keri Pearlson, Stuart Madnick
Think for Yourself

Think for Yourself

Vikram Mansharamani

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781119335566Purchase book