#embodied-cognition

#embodied-cognition

When we handwrite, especially something as emotionally loaded as a thank-you note, our brains engage in what neuroscientists call "embodied cognition"-the physical act of writing actually shapes how we think and feel about what we're expressing. The people I wrote to started responding differently. Not just polite acknowledgments, but genuine, heartfelt replies that often led to deeper conversations.

Digital interfaces, as convenient as they are, bypass many of the sensory pathways that help us process and retain information. Think about it this way: when you write something by hand, your brain engages multiple systems simultaneously. You're planning the movement, feeling the texture of paper, hearing the scratch of pen on page, and seeing the words form. This multi-sensory engagement creates what psychologists call "embodied cognition"-the idea that our physical actions directly influence our thinking patterns.

Metaphors are linked to how we experience the world around us, according to seminal work by researchers George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. In English, we "move forward" with our lives and don't "retreat into" the past. We speak about people who are "cold as ice" and "heavy" matters we need to resolve. Some of these metaphorical expressions are more than just, well, expressions-they are actually based on our sensory experiences. This mind-body link is called "embodied cognition."

In a world obsessed with productivity hacks and optimization strategies, I propose we try something radical: What if the secret to peak performance isn't doing more, but doing differently? What if our industrial-era approach to productivity is not just outdated-but it's actively sabotaging our best work? We tend to think about productivity as time-something that can be constructed and divided up into neat segments. But this view of productivity has serious limitations, especially in a knowledge economy dependent on imagination and creativity.

Traditional views of human cognition often describe mental faculties as computations performed by the brain in isolation from bodily experiences. The mind and body separation implies that the focus of learning is purely an intellectual activity. The field of embodied cognition proposes that bodies play a central role in our thinking and learning (Macrine, 2022). Cognition is not just an isolated mental activity but is closely linked to physicality. This approach considers the mind as something that goes beyond the brain.

Cognitive neuroscience has made significant progress in mapping the neural circuits that underpin emotions, memory, perception, and cognition, highlighting the physical structures involved.