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Online courses - Good Brain, Bad Brain


Lumo

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After clicking about on the website futurelearn.com I enrolled in a free course called Good Brain, Bad Brain: Parkinson's Disease which, as the title suggests, is about Parkinson's Disease.

 

It's the first time I have done any online learning or online courses. It says it will take 3 hours a week for 3 weeks. It's organised by the University of Birmingham and is a mix of videos, things to read, and online text discussions (well the bits I have done so far have been). There is also another course in the same series after this one on the origin of medicines.

 

There seemed to be an enormous amount of courses on futurelearn.com covering all sorts of things. Has anyone done any other online courses?

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I've done a few using Coursera. I enjoy them but I rarely have the time to commit while working - or rather, when I've been working for 8 hours, I find it hard to focus on learning for another hour in the evenings when my brain just wants to unwind, and if I fall behind at all, I lose interest.

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I had not seen Coursera before, thanks, I'm having a look now. I know what you mean about not having the time to commit, last time I looked at futurelearn about six months ago, I just couldn't imagine where the time would come from. However, this summer I have a bit more free time so am going to see if I can complete a course or two. I've already seem some on coursera that look good.

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I did some online courses but I would like to do more. however I don't have the time, it's almost impossible for me right now. I like learning and specially if it's related to my degree. I recommend futurelearn and also edx, it has very good courses and universities, take a look. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been trying to learn more about Philosophy just through videos on Youtube. I've found the School of Life and Wireless Philosophy channels to be very useful - they make short videos which break down famous philosophers works into digestible chunks. They in no way cover everything there is to know, but they have certainly encouraged me to look deeper into the topics.

 

I've just come across an Introduction to Philosophy course on Coursera which sounds rather interesting. I'm planning on enrolling later today - it'll be a nice way to spend the summer. :)

 

I've tried reading some philosophical works myself, and while there are some authors I'm glad I've stumbled upon such as Sartre, a lot of the theories go over my head. I feel something like Coursera will give me more of a foundation first.

Edited by Angury
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I studied Philosophy in college for my minor subject and I freaking loved it. I still have my books on philosophy of mind, morality, ethics and free will. A bunch of that ties in interestingly to psychology, if you have any interest in that - or maybe not ties in, but they provide two different views of questions, like how if we don't have free will how does that affect our moral responsibility to do things, and given that science shows physiologically we don't have free will, then why psychologically do we feel like we do, etc. I've been meaning to do that Coursera Philosophy course for a while to refresh my memory.

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I registered with FutureLearn and started a Mindfulness course run by a Uni in Australia. I took some principles from it but didn't have the time each week to complete it - and realised I was already doing much of what they were talking about. Hoping to do more when I feel more "with it" regularly.

 

My wife has done a couple of different courses on there, too.

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I've been trying to learn more about Philosophy just through videos on Youtube. I've found the School of Life and Wireless Philosophy channels to be very useful - they make short videos which break down famous philosophers works into digestible chunks. They in no way cover everything there is to know, but they have certainly encouraged me to look deeper into the topics.

 

I've just come across an Introduction to Philosophy course on Coursera which sounds rather interesting. I'm planning on enrolling later today - it'll be a nice way to spend the summer. :)

 

I've tried reading some philosophical works myself, and while there are some authors I'm glad I've stumbled upon such as Sartre, a lot of the theories go over my head. I feel something like Coursera will give me more of a foundation first.

 

I took some philosophy courses as an undergraduate alongside the psychology I was actually studying. I really liked philosophy. I will look at those youtube channels you mentioned, I will also look into the Coursera course on philosophy, it sounds interesting.

 

 

I studied Philosophy in college for my minor subject and I freaking loved it. I still have my books on philosophy of mind, morality, ethics and free will. A bunch of that ties in interestingly to psychology, if you have any interest in that - or maybe not ties in, but they provide two different views of questions, like how if we don't have free will how does that affect our moral responsibility to do things, and given that science shows physiologically we don't have free will, then why psychologically do we feel like we do, etc. I've been meaning to do that Coursera Philosophy course for a while to refresh my memory.

 

While the study of free will is fascinating, I was not aware that science shows that we don't have free will. There are some clever experiments that make one question when a decision is made versus when we consciously perceive the decision, but I am not sure any show we don't have free will.

Edited by Lumo
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While the study of free will is fascinating, I was not aware that science shows that we don't have free will. There are some clever experiments that make one question when a decision is made versus when we consciously perceive the decision, but I am not sure any show we don't have free will.

 

That's what I meant, I was typing fast and summarizing badly. We don't become conscious of decisions to do things until after those actions have already begun, sometimes up to several seconds after. The obvious issue with it being it's hard to pin down the precise moment a test subject makes a decision, because we have only their word for it, and it takes time for them to vocalize it.

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That's what I meant, I was typing fast and summarizing badly. We don't become conscious of decisions to do things until after those actions have already begun, sometimes up to several seconds after. The obvious issue with it being it's hard to pin down the precise moment a test subject makes a decision, because we have only their word for it, and it takes time for them to vocalize it.

 

Yes, I remember one study in particular where the participants had to look at a screen and make a decision about what they saw (for example, I agree or I disagree)  and then they had to press a button with their left hand for one choice or their right hand for the other choice. Their brains were being scanned throughout the experiment and from the scans the experimenters could reliably predict almost seven seconds before the participant pressed either button, which button they would ultimately press. The participants claimed they made the decision a split second before pressing the left or right button, putting the results of the scan before when they claimed to make the decision. I found that weird, but as you say, it's very hard, if not impossible, to get the timing accurate in these studies as it relies on believing what the participant said about something that is hard to pin down.

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I actually find the philosophy side of the free will stuff far more interesting - there are no conclusive answers but some very interesting questions and reasoning! I still have my Intro to Free Will text from college, I must re-read it.

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Very interesting discussion about free will to which I feel I am unable to contribute as an amateur philosopher. :P

 

I studied Philosophy in college for my minor subject and I freaking loved it. I still have my books on philosophy of mind, morality, ethics and free will. A bunch of that ties in interestingly to psychology, if you have any interest in that - or maybe not ties in, but they provide two different views of questions, like how if we don't have free will how does that affect our moral responsibility to do things, and given that science shows physiologically we don't have free will, then why psychologically do we feel like we do, etc. I've been meaning to do that Coursera Philosophy course for a while to refresh my memory.

Do you have any recommendations for books on philosophy, particularly linked to psychology or morality, which would be easy to read for a lay audience? A lot of the books I have come across are very dense unfortunately.

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Very interesting discussion about free will to which I feel I am unable to contribute as an amateur philosopher. :P

 

 

Do you have any recommendations for books on philosophy, particularly linked to psychology or morality, which would be easy to read for a lay audience? A lot of the books I have come across are very dense unfortunately.

 

I can look up the names of my college texts when I go home? They were meant for study by 21/22 year olds. Not sure they're any less dense! But otherwise, afraid not!

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I can look up the names of my college texts when I go home? They were meant for study by 21/22 year olds. Not sure they're any less dense! But otherwise, afraid not!

That'd be great thanks (no rush though!).

 

I've been finding the Coursera philosophy course very helpful as well. It's set at a good pace, and encourages you to think and analyse outside of the videos and texts. I'd definitely recommend it if anyone else is interested in learning more about Philosophy.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Lumo

I did the one on Parkinson's, and Good Brain, Bad Brain. Drug Origins, which is very good. The GB,BB is a three-part series. I'm starting part one in September. I wanted to do them in order, but Part 1 wasn't available. I encourage you to do all three. They're very good.

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Hi Lumo

I did the one on Parkinson's, and Good Brain, Bad Brain. Drug Origins, which is very good. The GB,BB is a three-part series. I'm starting part one in September. I wanted to do them in order, but Part 1 wasn't available. I encourage you to do all three. They're very good.

 

Hi Cheryl, welcome to the forums :-)

 

I thought the Parkinson's one was well done, so also did the subsequent one on drug origins. I did not think that one was nearly as well done (for example, no mention of drug development through animal testing). It was a shorter course, and I think it glossed over many issues.

 

I also missed the first of the good brain, bad brain series and I might take it next time it comes around too.

Edited by Lumo
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I sometimes watch some Crash Course videos but I have to admit for some of the subjects they do, things seem a bit too dumbed down for me. I did watch the first few Philosophy videos, and I do like Crash Courses's animations. But I personally learn a lot faster and easier reading things from a textbook rather than auditory, so I only watch some of their videos on occasion (I am subscribed to them on YouTube). Have fun :).

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I already did three years of Philosophy so I'm really only looking for some reminders of everything :P I may go read my texts, but these videos should hopefully serve to remind me of the stuff I liked or didn't like so I can go focus on those things myself. I've also done some Psychology, and might do Crash Course Psychology for the same reason. I can see how there might not be enough detail in and of themselves, but I think they're a good jumping off point.

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