A neuroscientist reveals how to think differently

In the last decade a revolution has occurred In the way that scientists think about the brain.

The best way to see things differently to other people is to bombard the brain with things it has never encountered before. Novelty releases the perceptual process from the chains of past experience and forces the brain to make new judgments. Successful iconoclasts have an extraordinary willingness to be exposed to what is fresh and different. Observation of iconoclasts shows that they embrace novelty while most people avoid things that are different.

The problem with novelty, however, is that it tends to trigger the brain’s fear system. Fear is a major impediment to thinking like an iconoclast and stops the average person in his tracks. There are many types of fear, but the two that inhibit iconoclastic thinking and people generally find difficult to deal with are fear of uncertainty and fear of public ridicule. These may seem like trivial phobias. But fear of public speaking, which everyone must do from time to time, afflicts one-third of the population. This makes it too common to be considered a mental disorder. It is simply a common variant of human nature, one which iconoclasts do not let inhibit their reactions.

Questions 1-6

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage?

In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, write

YES    if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO    if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN    if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

1  YES NO NOT GIVEN     Exposure to different events forces the brain to think differently.
2  YES NO NOT GIVEN     Iconoclasts are unusually receptive to new experiences.
3  YES NO NOT GIVEN     Most people are too shy to try different things.
4  YES NO NOT GIVEN     If you think in an iconoclastic way, you can easily overcome fear.
5  YES NO NOT GIVEN     When concern about embarrassment matters less, other fears become irrelevant.
6  YES NO NOT GIVEN     Fear of public speaking is a psychological illness.