People have asked that I explain why this sort of reporting is blatant nonsense.
So here's a #BrainStuff thread about it
Does working from home affect your brain?
Yes
So does working from the office. Or from the moon. Or not working at all. THAT'S HOW BRAINS WORK!
/1
So here's a #BrainStuff thread about it
Does working from home affect your brain?
Yes
So does working from the office. Or from the moon. Or not working at all. THAT'S HOW BRAINS WORK!
/1
https://twitter.com/garwboy/status/1468723261781463042
It's reminiscent of the scaremongering news stories that you still occasionally get, the ones which argue that [Insert latest technological thing] is bad, because it 'changes children's brains'.
Yes, that's true. But so do books, and playing outside, the 'healthy' stuff
/2
Yes, that's true. But so do books, and playing outside, the 'healthy' stuff
/2
EVERYTHING brings about changes in our brain. If it were static, rigid, unchanging, it would be completely useless. Might as well lodge a coconut in our skulls and have done with it. The brain changing in response to our experiences is the default norm.
/3
/3
In fairness, I'm sure the real concern is that [new technical thing] causes harmful and lasting changes in children's brains.
It's odd how they know that within weeks of [new technical thing] becoming commonplace, when such things take years to manifest. Very strange
/4
It's odd how they know that within weeks of [new technical thing] becoming commonplace, when such things take years to manifest. Very strange
/4
Similarly, 'Chess players don't play as well remotely as they do in person' is probably a valid observation, for many reasons. But to conclude that this definitively means "Working from home is harmful to the brain" is a RIDICULOUS level of extrapolation and tortured logic
/5
/5
There are so many factors that could hinder a chess player's performance online
- Lack of social cues
- Not enough sensory stimulus
- Different context to usual play environment
And so on. All these can affect play, and all regularly occur in a fully functional normal brain
/6
- Lack of social cues
- Not enough sensory stimulus
- Different context to usual play environment
And so on. All these can affect play, and all regularly occur in a fully functional normal brain
/6
Personally, I think it's deeply cynical to say something's 'affecting your brain' when 'makes you feel slightly different about how you approach a task' would work just fine, and is more accurate. The former sounds way more serious, more alarming.
/7
/7
In any case, I'd like to know how someone at the Telegraph figured out changes in brain function and activity from some chess scores. That isn't a scientifically approved method that I've come across in the literature. And I've been looking, believe me.
/8
/8
Changes in brain function are usually determined by MRI scans or other complex and high-tech interventions. So I've no idea how you're going to use such things to figure out brain changes induced by working from home.
/9
/9
To work out how the brain functions while working from home, we'd have to study it in that situation, and what it normally involves them doing.
I'm guessing most people's experience of working from home doesn't involve getting an fMRI scan in the process.
/10
I'm guessing most people's experience of working from home doesn't involve getting an fMRI scan in the process.
/10
In fairness, if you did do an fMRI scan of someone while their working from home, you probably would see some odd activity.
But that'll probably be due to the whole 'a bunch of scientists turned up in my house and inserted me into a 5 ton screaming magnet' thing.
/11
But that'll probably be due to the whole 'a bunch of scientists turned up in my house and inserted me into a 5 ton screaming magnet' thing.
/11
Yes, the experience of working from home is different to that in the workplace. And those differences may be negative. But they could easily be positive
- No toxic co-workers
- No commuting
- Fewer disruptions, greater personal comfort etc.
/12
- No toxic co-workers
- No commuting
- Fewer disruptions, greater personal comfort etc.
/12
Ultimately, the subjective experience of both working from home and in the workplace will differ so wildly for so many people, even if you did somehow manage to study their brains in detail and found changes, it would be impossible to work out the ultimate cause of them
/13
/13
'Working', be it from home or in the office etc., is both such a vague concept and a multifaceted, subjective experience, that you'd be hard pushed to clearly establish how it affects our brains with any certainty.
/14
/14
So, any claims you see in the news about how working from home 'affects our brains', you can be reasonably sure that it's not based on anything scientifically robust.
Which is my diplomatic way of saying 'disingenuous manipulative bullshit'. I'm nice like that.
/15
Which is my diplomatic way of saying 'disingenuous manipulative bullshit'. I'm nice like that.
/15
So yeah, all that.
I go into more detail about the effects of work and stress, and the dubious application of neuroscience, in my books, available now
amazon.co.uk/Books-Dean-Bur…
hive.co.uk/Search/Search?…
[The Happy Brain and Psycho-Logical in particular]
/end
I go into more detail about the effects of work and stress, and the dubious application of neuroscience, in my books, available now
amazon.co.uk/Books-Dean-Bur…
hive.co.uk/Search/Search?…
[The Happy Brain and Psycho-Logical in particular]
/end
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