The Molecule of More

THE MOLECULE OF MORE

brain responsible for error detection (involving anticipation, attention,
and motivation) in a way the conservatives did not. When circumstances
change, liberals do a better job of rapidly activating neural circuits and
adjusting their responses to meet the new challenge.

WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE?

Intelligence has been defined in many different ways. Most

experts agree that an IQ test is not a measure of general

intelligence. It more specifically measures the ability to make

generalizations from incomplete data and to figure out new

information using abstract rules. Another way of saying it

is that an IQ test measures a person’s ability to build imagi-

nary models based on past experiences, and then use those

models to predict what will happen in the future. Control

dopamine plays a large role.

However, there are other ways to define intelligence,

such as the ability to make good day-to-day decisions. For

this type of mental activity emotions (H&N) are essential.

Antonio Damasio, a neuroscientist at the University of

Southern California and the author of Descartes’ Error: Emo-

tion, Reason, and the Human Brain, notes that most deci-

sions cannot be approached in a purely rational way. Either

we don’t have enough information or we have far more

than we can process. For example: Which college should I

attend? What’s the best way to tell her I’m sorry? Should I

be friends with this person? What color should I paint the

kitchen? Should I marry him? Is now a good time to express

my opinion, or would it be better to keep quiet?

Being in touch with our emotions and processing emo-

tional information skillfully are crucial for almost every deci-

sion we make. Intellectual prowess is not enough. Everyone

is familiar with the scientific genius or brilliant writer who is