The November issue of SAM has a lot of new ideas related to IQ and brain function.

Highlight:

"Just what does a “smart” brain look like?

Now, for the first time, intelligence researchers are beginning to put together a bigger picture. Imaging studies are uncovering clues to how neural structure and function give rise to individual differences in intelligence. The results so far are confirming a view many experts have had for decades: not all brains work in the same way. People with the same IQ may solve a problem with equal speed and accuracy, using a different combination of brain areas. [For more on IQ and intelligence, see Rational and Irrational Thought: The Thinking that IQ Tests Miss" by Keith E. Stanovich]"

Could I just add here, along the lines of irrational thought, that I have just eaten too much chocolate?

Val

Not possible!

Off to read the article...

Chocolate is an antioxidant!!

In that case, all my oxidative stress has been replaced by a feeling of general ooginess. I'm not sure which one's worse.

Val

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/12/20/health.chocolate/
"... preliminary research at West Virginia's Wheeling Jesuit University suggests chocolate may boost your memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving skills by increasing blood flow to the brain..."

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/choco.html
"Adam Drewnowski at the University of Michigan [...] found that eating chocolate causes the brain to produce natural opiates, which dull pain and increase a feeling of well-being."

Not that I'm trying to justify my own chocolate addiction or anything...

You know, once I got over the ooginess, I felt all perky and solved about six major problems in theoretical physics while I was driving home.

Problem was, there was a traffic jam, the chocolate buzz wore off before I got home, and I forgot everything. And I was all out of chocolate!

Val

and it has lots of magnesium