Thinkers know. It's generally understood that racists are, well, not thinkers. It's not that racists are necessarily stupid--it's that they are not enlightened.


We want to think that since they do not know any better, racists are choosing to hang to their bias. Those of us who really are educated--or who think --can overcome any bias through intention and tips. Right?


Tell that.


A current study done at Dartmouth College presents some fascinating ideas about the brain and racism. According to the extensively published outcomes of this research, racism can cause. Even professors from esteemed universities like Stanford are quoted as saying such things as "Racism actually does make people dumb."


Well, that makes for an interesting sound bite, but it's somewhat misleading. Here's what happened: white test subjects using a bias against black faces after being interviewed through an African American person performed badly on a cognitive abilities test. The more biased the areas were (based on their scores about the Harvard implicit association test), the worse they did.


What's fascinating concerning this study is that it's the first to reveal through magnetic resonance imaging that there's a specific area of the brain related to efforts to say or do the right thing. This "executive control" portion of the mind revealed increased activity during both implicit association test as well as the interview. Those who had scores indicating a better bias showed the most activity within their brains in this area as they fought to refrain from making racist selections or offensive comments. Subjects were temporarily not able to perform thinking jobs as this poor small segment of the brain was overloaded.


So, actually, the opinion that is powerful here is not just that racism makes you stupid. It's that our ability to think is affected by the existence of someone about whom we feel a bias. In the event you reside in a fairly homogenous community, your bias--and the "executive management" part of your brain--is not really analyzed. However, if with people toward whom you are in possession of a racial bias you interact on a daily basis, your thinking becomes impaired, at least temporarily.


What exactly does this mean long term? Are racist individuals in integrated communities "dumbed down" because their overtaxed brains can not manage? Can there be a cumulative effect? A good deal more research must be performed to learn more about this.


No intelligent person needs to admit that they may have a bias when it comes to race. We know in our heads it is unfair, unwarranted, and hazardous to really have a negative viewpoint of someone on the cornerstone of race. In addition , we know it's politically incorrect. We want to think we are intelligent enough to outwit any insidious form of racism that will be lurking in the rear of our brains.


Well, that isn't known by our brains. These tests measure what is happening in our brains, not what we want to have going on. The outcomes can be quite shocking.


The great news is because there is a portion of our brains that's attempting to act correctly! This study was done with educated, intelligent, pretty progressive white pupils at Dartmouth College. It's likely that these pupils didn't consider themselves racist though it truly isn't mentioned in the report. What goes on when exactly the same study is conducted with those who easily acknowledge their prejudice?


We should prevent being racist, and if we know better, how do we go about doing so? We presume that more contact with individuals of other races will help us overcome our prejudices, but that occasionally backfires. Integrated communities are rarely racism-free. Contact doesn't eliminate racism-- positive relationships and greater understanding do.


Think about your brain as well as your personal bias regarding race. The first step will be honest: almost each and every individual on the planet has a racial bias of some sort. The following step would be to take a test where you stand to discover for yourself.


And then? What?


We learn racism. We realize enough about the mind and how it works to comprehend that whatever we learn we can also unlearn.


Absorb all you can about other ethnicities and cultures. Travel, read, see pictures, pay attention to music, try new foods--do everything possible to develop a voracious interest and strong enthusiasm for people of all races. Stimulate your brain in a attempt to leave that "executive control" area irrelevant.


Train your mind while building relationships with individuals of other races. By becoming colorblind outsmart the racism of your brain.


Thinkers know. The challenge is to free our brains of lingering uncertainties. Immerse yourself in the abundance of the whole world. It'll make you smarter-- and exceptional--in every manner.