

Study finds reduced brain volume in expert chess players - adam_klein
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/beware-playing-lots-chess-will-shrink-brain/

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w1ntermute
Smells like bullshit. The only publication linked to in this article is one
that has nothing to do with chess players[0].

0:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4118031/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4118031/)

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comex
Probably a mistake, as the article discusses that paper later on. The study in
question is probably

[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393214...](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393214002395)

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tuxracer
Headline: "Beware, Playing Lots of Chess Will Shrink Your Brain!"

Last three sentences: "...shrinkage are not necessarily a bad thing. They can
be a sign of neural efficiency and a reflection of behavioural expertise.
Remember that the next time a journalist tries to scare you with a brain
shrinkage story."

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lkrubner
This might be consistent with the finding that homo sapiens 30,000 years ago
(such as those in found in Europe, often called Cro-Magnon) had larger brains
that moderns homo sapiens. One argument that I have heard about this is that
humans might, nowadays, be more clever about using their brains, using better
algorithms, or simply are more specialized, doing brilliant in some areas,
while losing some skills that no longer seem relevant. There is also the
possibility that homo sapiens are, in some sense, "domesticate" and have lost
brain size for the same reason that domesticated cows have lost brain size.

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tshadwell
"bees have tiny brains and are very smart". Smart in what sense, exactly?

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CDRdude
As a swarm, they forage for nectar with a pretty neat algorithm[1]. As
individuals, they are capable of learning [2]. Apparently, honeybees can even
learn to identify human faces. Oh, and they can also beat me at chess.

[1]:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bees_algorithm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bees_algorithm)

[2]:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_learning_and_communication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_learning_and_communication)

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contingencies
Tighten the tinfoil!

