Back to Topics │Abstract Feelings and Abstract Senses│ Start: Relativity & Reaction
– Nerd Cheat Sheet: Development of the Mind
This annex supports the discussion of how the human mind develops from a largely unprogrammed biological organ into a system capable of abstract thought, emotional regulation, and learned skill.
It ties together neuroscience, developmental psychology, and evolutionary context — showing how experience trains the neural architecture that later supports bias, pattern recognition, and emotion.
🧠 Neuroscience and Brain Development
Foundational research on how neurons form, connect, and specialize during infancy and childhood — the biological groundwork for learning, memory, and abstract cognition.
- Bear, M. F., Connors, B. W., & Paradiso, M. A. (2020). Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
- Kolb, B., & Gibb, R. (2011). Brain plasticity and behaviour in the developing brain. Brain Research, 1389, 140–150.
- Herculano-Houzel, S. (2012). The remarkable, yet not extraordinary, human brain as a scaled-up primate brain. PNAS, 109(Suppl. 1), 10661–10668.
- Giedd, J. N., & Rapoport, J. L. (2010). Structural MRI of pediatric brain development: What have we learned and where are we going? Neuron, 67(5), 728–734.
- Huttenlocher, P. R., & Dabholkar, A. S. (1997). Regional differences in synaptogenesis in human cerebral cortex. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 387(2), 167–178.
- Striedter, G. F. (2005). Principles of Brain Evolution. Sinauer Associates.
🧩 Cognitive and Emotional Development
Studies outlining how cognition, social understanding, and emotional regulation emerge — the psychological scaffolding that later supports reasoning, empathy, and moral awareness.
- Piaget, J. (1952). The Origins of Intelligence in Children. International Universities Press.
- Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
- Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. Basic Books.
- Schore, A. N. (2012). The Science of the Art of Psychotherapy. Norton.
- Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. Putnam.
- LeDoux, J. (2012). Rethinking the Emotional Brain. Neuron, 73(4), 653–676.
🔄 Learning, Skill, and Abstraction
References explaining how repeated practice, observation, and feedback sculpt the neural circuits underlying abstract reasoning and skill acquisition.
- Ericsson, K. A., & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- Gazzaniga, M. S. (2018). The Consciousness Instinct: Unraveling the Mystery of How the Brain Makes the Mind. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Miller, E. K., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 24, 167–202.
- Fuster, J. M. (2015). The Prefrontal Cortex (5th ed.). Academic Press.
🧬 Evolutionary and Comparative Context
Connecting the developmental trajectory of the human brain to its evolutionary foundation — why our species evolved such prolonged learning and social dependency.
- Hrdy, S. B. (2009). Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding. Harvard University Press.
- Deacon, T. W. (1997). The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. Norton.
- Tomasello, M. (2019). Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny. Harvard University Press.
📘 How to Use This Annex
The references here support both the biological reality and social context of mental development.
They provide the factual frame for understanding how observation, emotional feedback, and early learning establish the biases and skills explored in later chapters of Relativity and Reaction.
📖 Series Roadmap
- Forward: A Little Background
- Introduction: Action, Reaction, and the Human Paradox (16.09.2025)
- Looking Back in Time: The Development of the Human Brain (23.09.2025)
- Abstract Senses: Enhancing the way we see the world outside (30.09.2025)
- Bias as a Concept & Climbing the Stairs: Pattern Recognition & Everyday Tasks (07.10.2025)
- Abstract Feelings and Abstract Senses (14.10.2025)
- Motivation (04.11.2025)
- The Social Knowledge Base (11.11.2025)
- Potential (18.11.2025)
- The Subliminal Way We Go Through Life (26.11.2025)
- Taking Responsibility (02.12.2025)
- Fishing for Complements (22.12.2025)
- Peter and Fermi (22.12.2025)
🔗 R&R Navigation
Back to Topics │Abstract Feelings and Abstract Senses│ Start: Relativity & Reaction
– Nerd Cheat Sheet: Development of the Mind
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