Neuroscience
I've been wondering about the confidence that professional athletes and politicians have been displaying lately. New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress said on Monday that the Giants would beat the Patriots 23-17 in Sunday's Superbowl. (New York Times article). Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday's edition of Face the Nation that he was going to win in Florida.
I hope that the Giants beat the Patriots on Sunday, but I don't have Burress' confidence. I'm not a politician or a pollster, but I didn't think Giuliani would win in Florida. We don't know yet who will win the Superbowl, but we do know that Giuliani didn't win in Florida.
Cognitively, where does this faith, this certainty come from? Is it hormonal, like when a baby is born and the mother is immediately ready to breastfeed, and possibly even "energized"? Is there a hormone for confidence (maybe testosterone? pure speculation on my part...)
I clearly don't have it. I didn't believe the Giants could win any of their last four games, and I was right only 25% of that time, and they are in the Superbowl. And the one time I was wrong, they lost to the undefeated Patriots by only 3 points. Does my pessimism, or native New Yorker status, prime me for this lack of faith in my team? Does Plax's testosterone prime him for his belief that the Giants will prevail on Sunday?
Some cognitive scientist knows, and possibly will refer us to an article or study showing where confidence in the face of insurmountable odds comes from.
In the meantime, go Giants!
For More Information
- Widgets! Libraries Need 'em
This is one of my favorite Giants, Osi Umenyiora. And this is an ESPN widget of him ... doesn't seem to include the postseason or the Superbowl (which is a shame), but it was *ridiculously* easy to add to this blog. Or, frankly, just about any other...
- Test To Assess Concussion
The NewsHour reported on Nov. 26, 2007 about a test that measures cognitive impairment after concussion, and is more accurate than the more common "how do you feel" assessments that are done before sending athletes back onto the field following concussion....
- Football & Math
It's unusual, but not impossible, that two of my favorite things come together. And technically, math isn't one of my favorite things, but football is, and when one of "my" players wants to be a high school math teacher when he's done playing...
- Sacking The Poem
The current issue of Poetry Magazine has a review of the 2006 New York Giants season. It's quite insightful. This is my favorite part: 11/27: So we're up 21-0 with less than ten minutes to play against the worst team in pro football, and somehow...
- Very Tangential To Cs, But Interesting Nonetheless
The New York Times covers football -- but this year, they have three (3!) *women* covering the NFL. At least preseason. Haven't seen many men over there writing about football. See: Judy Battista, Karen Crause, and Lynn Zinser. Great to see that women...
Neuroscience
Confidence? Faith? Boasting?
I've been wondering about the confidence that professional athletes and politicians have been displaying lately. New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress said on Monday that the Giants would beat the Patriots 23-17 in Sunday's Superbowl. (New York Times article). Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday's edition of Face the Nation that he was going to win in Florida.I hope that the Giants beat the Patriots on Sunday, but I don't have Burress' confidence. I'm not a politician or a pollster, but I didn't think Giuliani would win in Florida. We don't know yet who will win the Superbowl, but we do know that Giuliani didn't win in Florida.
Cognitively, where does this faith, this certainty come from? Is it hormonal, like when a baby is born and the mother is immediately ready to breastfeed, and possibly even "energized"? Is there a hormone for confidence (maybe testosterone? pure speculation on my part...)
I clearly don't have it. I didn't believe the Giants could win any of their last four games, and I was right only 25% of that time, and they are in the Superbowl. And the one time I was wrong, they lost to the undefeated Patriots by only 3 points. Does my pessimism, or native New Yorker status, prime me for this lack of faith in my team? Does Plax's testosterone prime him for his belief that the Giants will prevail on Sunday?
Some cognitive scientist knows, and possibly will refer us to an article or study showing where confidence in the face of insurmountable odds comes from.
In the meantime, go Giants!
For More Information
- Branch, John. On a Day of Talk, Burress’s Words Anger Giants Coach, New York Times, January 30, 2008.
- Face the Nation, January 27, 2008. (full transcript in pdf)
- Lothian, Judith A. The Birth of a Breastfeeding Baby and Mother. Journal of Perinatal Education 2005 Winter; 14(1): 42–45.
- Widgets! Libraries Need 'em
This is one of my favorite Giants, Osi Umenyiora. And this is an ESPN widget of him ... doesn't seem to include the postseason or the Superbowl (which is a shame), but it was *ridiculously* easy to add to this blog. Or, frankly, just about any other...
- Test To Assess Concussion
The NewsHour reported on Nov. 26, 2007 about a test that measures cognitive impairment after concussion, and is more accurate than the more common "how do you feel" assessments that are done before sending athletes back onto the field following concussion....
- Football & Math
It's unusual, but not impossible, that two of my favorite things come together. And technically, math isn't one of my favorite things, but football is, and when one of "my" players wants to be a high school math teacher when he's done playing...
- Sacking The Poem
The current issue of Poetry Magazine has a review of the 2006 New York Giants season. It's quite insightful. This is my favorite part: 11/27: So we're up 21-0 with less than ten minutes to play against the worst team in pro football, and somehow...
- Very Tangential To Cs, But Interesting Nonetheless
The New York Times covers football -- but this year, they have three (3!) *women* covering the NFL. At least preseason. Haven't seen many men over there writing about football. See: Judy Battista, Karen Crause, and Lynn Zinser. Great to see that women...