Gambling and the Brain
Why do gamblers bet more after they just lost a hand? Why do investors throw good money after bad? Why do people believe that a string of losses makes a win more likely? Why do so many people say that they will win their money back in the next hand? Is part of the appeal of gambling its unpredictability? Or do we just look at it as a way to "get rich quick"? The answer to these questions may lie in the science of the brain. Some studies indicate that gamblers bet more after a loss because they are induced to fix an error. Their brains are telling them they've made a mistake and that they need to correct it (1). These studies could possibly explain other risky acts. If you ask many people why gamble, their response is "it is like a drug" (5).
Compulsive gambling is a behavior which may rely on brain circuits that evolved to help animals assess rewards important to their survival. Researchers have found that those same circuits are used by the human brain to assess social rewards. They found that the brain systems that detect and evaluate such rewards generally operate outside of conscious awareness. The study said that much of what happens in the brain goes outside of conscious awareness. There are automatic brain circuits which affect activities such as gambling (2). However, this challenges prior notions which say that people make conscious choices about their everyday decision making. If people can get themselves to work unconsciously, how does the brain really know what it must pay conscious attention to? Also, how did evolution create a brain which makes such distinctions?
Experiments performed on animals and humans are showing that the brain has evolved to shape itself according to what it e...
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3)Gambling has drug-like effect on brain,USA Today Newspaper article
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2001-05-24-gambling.htm
4)Gambling—Like Food and Drugs—Produces Feelings of Reward in the Brain , Scientific American
http://www.sciam.com/missing.cfm
5)You Bet Gambling Is Addictive , Business Week Online
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2001/nf20010531_176.htm
6)The Good, the Bad, and the Anterior Cingulate, Science Journal, Science Magazine
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5563/2193a?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Gambling&searchid=1017881463081_295&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&fdate=3/1/2002&tdate=3/31/2002
7)The Medial Frontal Cortex and the Rapid Processing of Monetary Gains and Losses, Science Journal, Science Magazine
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5563/2279
As the United States economy struggles through a sluggish time with the stock market dropping and unemployment rising, being competitive in the job market has become extremely important among professionals. Engineers are no exception. For most engineering firms, being competitive and successful requires obtaining design projects offered by companies in other fields. These projects can range from designing heating and ventilation systems for office buildings to water systems for cities to computer networks for businesses—the list of possibilities and disciplines is extensive. To get these jobs, engineers must make a bid proposal for the project. Bidding involves estimating the entire cost of the project, including the designing and building processes, as well as the materials and labor. Usually, the company with the lowest bid and the best plan gets the job. The ethical issue in this process is determining the cheapest building materials and construction procedures possible without compromising public safety.
Wright III, B. (1998, November). The Chemical Warfare Service Prepares for World War II. Retrieved from http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/NovDec98/MS274.htm
Ruud, C., Bijleveld, E., & Aarts, H. (2011). Once the money is in sight: Distinctive effects of conscious and unconscious rewards on task performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(4), 865-869.
The purpose of this essay is to deal with the fact that chemical warfare should be brought back to modern warfare strategies. As Warren Rudman said, “And they will tell you unequivocally that if we have a chemical or biological attack or a nuclear attack anywhere in this country, they are unprepared to deal with it today, and that is of high urgency.” Rudman’s words are true in what they say and that we should do everything to counter-act his statement. Biological weapons are a key to outstanding success in war and therefore, I strongly suggest that chemical warfare is an effective and producible weapon tactic that can be used on today’s battlefield.
Lyell, Lord. "CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS:THE POOR MAN'S BOMB." North Atlantic Assembly AN 255 STC(96) 10. North Atlantic Assembly, 04 Oct. 1996. Web. 26 May 2014.
For Great Artery Stenosis in Children with Congenital Cardiac Disease." Cardiology in the Young 22.2 (2012): 178-183. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Poison gas was perhaps the most feared weapon out of all. Created to overcome the long stalemate style of trench warfare, its purpose was to draw out soldiers hiding in the trenches. One side would throw the poison gas into the enemy trenches and they would either wait for their enemy to come out into open fire or perish in the trenches. The first poison gas used in battle was chlorine at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres on April 22, 1915 by the Germans. Shortly after, followed the phosgene. The effects of these gases were ghastly. Chlorine was the most deadly as "within seconds of inhaling its vapor, it destroys the victim's respiratory organs, bringing on choking attacks" (Duffy). Phosgene had similar effects, except the fact that the effects started kicking in after 48 hours of inhalation. In September 1917, the Germans introduced the mustard gas or Yperite which was contained in artillery shells against the Russians at Riga. Those exposed t...
Chemical warfare has been used in war for thousands of years as a means to lethally fight the battle. Just to give a few examples of the devastation, chlorine and phosgene gases were used during World War I and were dispensed from canisters causing around 90,000 deaths and over one million casualties during war (Mass, 2013). Apparatus for dispensing these weapons developed tremendously during the first half of the twentieth century, increasing these weapons’ alarming ability to kill. The United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War maintained massive stockpiles of chemical weapons enough to eliminate a large amount of the human race and animal life on Earth. In 1980, Iraq used chemical weapons on Iran during war and in 1988; Iraq used mustard gas and nerve agents on the Kurdish civilians in Northern Iraq. Pictures of the horrific attack on the Kurdish civilians were released and the world was stunned by the horrendous devastation.
Gambling... Who does not like to gamble? People play lotteries, bet on sport games or try their luck on slot machines with a thought to win some amount of money. In fact, this excitement for gambling can be seen even from early ages; for example, ancient Egyptians used to play dice in 2000 BC or the first casinos opened their doors to customers during the Greeco-Roman period ( Whittaker and Cushman 1 ). Nowadays casino industry is a large business in the United States that brings high revenues and offers various entertainment that attracts people from different areas. So just recently residents and visitors of Worcester, Wicomico and surrounding counties got a great opportunity to try themselves in a new Ocean Downs casino that came into operation couple months ago. Ocean Downs casino is an excellent benefit to the community that helps to improve the economic and social status of the county and also serves as a great entertainment for the adult population.
Joe Dispenza suggests, in his book ‘Evolve the Brain’, that if we choose to solely rely on our genetics, we are struck with our traits: the good, bad, or indifferent. However, if we choose to alter our neuroplasticity and experiences, we can thereby alter our genetics as well. It is possible to make new synaptic connections in the brain by two methods: learning new things and having new experiences. A new suggested theory is that the brain can be altered by attuning to our conscious mind and refining it.
Pita, R. (2009). Toxin weapons: From World War I to jihadi terrorism. Toxin Reviews, 28(4), 219-237. doi:10.3109/1556950903246136
...owell, E. R., Thompson, P. M., & Toga, A. W. (2004). Mapping changes in the human cortex
Gambling addiction has become very real, very quick, to me and my friends and family. My best friend’s mother, Beverly Roan, is currently incarcerated at Sandy Mush Correctional Facility in Merced, California after allegedly embezzling over $350,000.00 from her employer to fund her gambling addiction. Beverly is a 58 year old mother of three, and grandmother of eight; no one ever suspected this level of addiction or criminal activity based on our daily interactions with her. We were shocked and appalled when she was arrested at her work back in February. We were completely unaware that her penchant for going to Chukchansi to play the slot machines had evolved into a full-fledged gambling addiction. Pathological gambling has become a devastating mental illness plaguing millions of Americans.
The adrenaline-rushing feeling of gambling offers people the idea that opportunity lies within their hands. Unfortunately, there are far too many consequences to gambling to even begin to count. To win you must play, and to win big you must play big. As more gamblers can recall their losses rather than their winnings, gamblers are often dealt with poor hands and must play the risky game to stay alive. Even though gambling has so many faults, some still fall under its corruptions because of gambling’s deceiving fallacies.