{"id":8034,"date":"2026-09-25T21:21:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T04:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=8034"},"modified":"2026-09-25T21:21:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T04:21:43","slug":"tgfi-volume-573-your-brain-is-complicated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/09\/25\/tgfi-volume-573-your-brain-is-complicated","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 573: your brain is complicated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a> You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news.stanford.edu\/stories\/2026\/09\/human-brain-two-separate-organs\">The human brain is two sep\u00ada\u00adrate organs, study finds<\/a> (Krista Con\u00adger, Stan\u00adford News): \u201c&nbsp;\u2018We\u2019ve shown for the first time that the front of the brain aris\u00ades from a total\u00adly dif\u00adfer\u00adent prog\u00aden\u00adi\u00adtor cell than the back of the brain,\u2019 said Kyle Loh, PhD, asso\u00adciate pro\u00adfes\u00adsor of devel\u00adop\u00admen\u00adtal biol\u00ado\u00adgy.\u2026 This rev\u00ade\u00adla\u00adtion explained decades of frus\u00adtra\u00adtion in the field \u2014 sci\u00aden\u00adtists had been try\u00ading to turn one type of prog\u00aden\u00adi\u00adtor cell into anoth\u00ader that it is fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adly inca\u00adpable of becom\u00ading.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/stanfordreview.org\/stanford-r-de-uses-ai-to-race-swap-students-for-advertising\/\">Stan\u00adford R&amp;DE Uses AI to Race Swap Stu\u00addents for Adver\u00adtis\u00ading<\/a> (Gar\u00adret Mol\u00adloy and Zayd Patel, Stan\u00adford Review): \u201cStan\u00adford Res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial &amp; Din\u00ading Enter\u00adpris\u00ades recent\u00adly used AI to change the races of the stu\u00addents it includ\u00aded in its adver\u00adtise\u00adments. AI was also used to notice\u00adably slim down and alter stu\u00addents\u2019 faces. On his jour\u00adney to cam\u00adpus, Stan\u00adford stu\u00addent Bil\u00adly Ramirez \u201927 was sent an image he recalled a Stan\u00adford pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adph\u00ader tak\u00ading. Upon clos\u00ader exam\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion, he noticed that he had been removed from the pho\u00adto and replaced by a AI-gen\u00ader\u00adat\u00aded black woman.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li> This is so bizarre. If RD&amp;E wants a spe\u00adcif\u00adic racial or male\/female break\u00addown in a pho\u00adto at Stan\u00adford it is not hard to have hap\u00adpen organ\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly. Look around the cam\u00adpus! The demo\u00adgraph\u00adic per\u00admu\u00adta\u00adtions of friend groups are wild\u00adly var\u00adied, so just take more pic\u00adtures. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/not-christian-nationalist\/\">Why I\u2019m Not a Chris\u00adt\u00adian Nation\u00adal\u00adist<\/a> (J. D. Greear, The Gospel Coali\u00adtion): \u201cSince Rev\u00ade\u00adla\u00adtion tells me that the weaponiza\u00adtion of gov\u00adern\u00adment pow\u00ader against believ\u00aders isn\u2019t only a pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty but a prob\u00ada\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty, I don\u2019t want to hand the Beast author\u00adi\u00adty over my con\u00adscience or put him in a posi\u00adtion to arbi\u00adtrate our church\u2019s beliefs. Instead, I\u2019m con\u00advinced that the best way to lim\u00adit the dam\u00adage evil rulers can do to faith and con\u00adscience is to deny them pow\u00ader over faith and con\u00adscience in the first place. Fur\u00adther\u00admore, quite frankly, our gospel doesn\u2019t need the pow\u00ader of human gov\u00adern\u00adments. Its pow\u00ader is suf\u00adfi\u00adcient on its own.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/22\/world\/asia\/china-zion-church-pastor-detained-family.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DVE.xRz-.j3i9PN5a8VWf&amp;smid=url-share\">The Oth\u00ader Vic\u00adtims of China\u2019s Church Crack\u00addown<\/a> (Vivian Wang, New York Times): \u201cCherie had to do every\u00adthing. Her hus\u00adband, a pas\u00adtor at one of China\u2019s biggest under\u00adground church\u00ades, was seized last Octo\u00adber by offi\u00adcers who roused him from bed at 2 a.m. After\u00adward, Cherie, fear\u00ading arrest her\u00adself, had fled with their son to Thai\u00adland. Since then, she had been in charge of not just cook\u00ading, but also rent\u00ading a home, sort\u00ading out visas, find\u00ading schools and earn\u00ading an income. She\u2019d had to fig\u00adure out where she could find authen\u00adtic Chi\u00adnese beef noo\u00addles, where to buy Chi\u00adnese pic\u00adture books. Hav\u00ading just learned to dri\u00adve in Bei\u00adjing, she now had to dri\u00adve on the oth\u00ader side of the road.\u2026 And she prayed, con\u00adstant\u00adly. There was an irony to her sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion: Now, when the bur\u00adden of being a pastor\u2019s wife was heav\u00adier than ever, she was final\u00adly doing what Yingjia had always advised her to do, just giv\u00ading up con\u00adtrol and trust\u00ading in God.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded by an alum\u00adnus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/18\/opinion\/organ-donation-system-ethics-trust.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DlE.WExz.KPotrx3Z-VGy&amp;smid=url-share\">What I Found Out About Organ Dona\u00adtion Shocked Me<\/a> (Greg Segal, New York Times): \u201cAntho\u00adny Thomas Hoover II was 33 when he arrived at a hos\u00adpi\u00adtal in Ken\u00adtucky, unre\u00adspon\u00adsive after a drug over\u00addose. Doc\u00adtors told his fam\u00adi\u00adly he was brain-dead, and the fam\u00adi\u00adly agreed to remove him from life sup\u00adport. A pro\u00adcure\u00adment orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion was called in to col\u00adlect his organs. While being eval\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded for dona\u00adtion, Mr. Hoover opened his eyes and thrashed on the bed. The case should have been stopped. Instead, Mr. Hoover was sedat\u00aded and giv\u00aden a par\u00ada\u00adlyt\u00adic drug. Hours lat\u00ader, he awoke again and moved his toes on com\u00admand; his fam\u00adi\u00adly was told he was mere\u00adly exhibit\u00ading reflex\u00ades. In the oper\u00adat\u00ading room, Mr. Hoover pulled his knees to his chest and shook his head \u2018no.\u2019 Tears rolled down his face. The sur\u00adgeon refused to pro\u00adceed. Whis\u00adtle-blow\u00aders say pro\u00adcure\u00adment exec\u00adu\u00adtives called their staff mem\u00adber on-site at the hos\u00adpi\u00adtal and demand\u00aded she find anoth\u00ader sur\u00adgeon to take the organs. No sur\u00adgeon would. Mr. Hoover sur\u00advived, though he still asks his old\u00ader sis\u00adter, \u2018Why did they try to kill me?\u2019&nbsp;\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>AI-relat\u00aded\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/ai-youth-group-girls\/\">What AI Is Teach\u00ading My Youth Group Girls<\/a> (Jensen Holmes, The Gospel Coali\u00adtion): \u201cMy small group of stu\u00addents is con\u00adstant\u00adly being told by their most trust\u00aded companion\u2014AI\u2014that they\u2019re not that bad, that they\u2019re [mis]understood, and that their reac\u00adtions and respons\u00ades are jus\u00adti\u00adfied. This is keep\u00ading them from true repen\u00adtance and expe\u00adri\u00adenc\u00ading the full grace offered by Jesus (Rom. 6:23).\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wapo.st\/4d3vD7n\">Using AI, a pro\u00adfes\u00adsor wrote 200 papers this year. Researchers are alarmed.<\/a> (Todd Wal\u00adlack, Wash\u00ading\u00adton Post): \u201cSome espe\u00adcial\u00adly busy pro\u00adfes\u00adsors might pub\u00adlish a dozen or more stud\u00adies a year. Then there\u2019s the curi\u00adous case of Nicholas Pol\u00adson. The Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Chica\u00adgo sta\u00adtis\u00adti\u00adcian has authored or co-authored more than 200 papers and as many as 14 books released this year, unleash\u00ading spec\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion on the inter\u00adnet about whether he used arti\u00adfi\u00adcial intel\u00adli\u00adgence to inflate his pro\u00adduc\u00adtion with\u00adout dis\u00adclos\u00ading the assis\u00adtance.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/25\/opinion\/ai-doctor-medical-students.html?unlocked_article_code=1.D1E.5uWQ.6NMub-Q8jH0K&amp;smid=url-share\">A.I. Has Made Me a Bet\u00adter Doc\u00adtor. It\u2019s Made Med Stu\u00addents Worse.<\/a> (Rachael Bedard, New York Times): \u201cI prac\u00adtice pri\u00adma\u00adry care, where every mal\u00ada\u00addy is my busi\u00adness. Almost every month, I\u2019m con\u00adfront\u00aded with a com\u00adplaint or syn\u00addrome that I don\u2019t rec\u00adog\u00adnize. I\u2019m con\u00adfi\u00addent in my mas\u00adtery over what doc\u00adtors <em>do<\/em> \u2014 his\u00adto\u00adry-tak\u00ading, rea\u00adson\u00ading, com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adcat\u00ading. I\u2019m less con\u00adfi\u00addent about my con\u00adtin\u00adued mas\u00adtery of an ever-evolv\u00ading uni\u00adverse of facts. Now, the chat\u00adbot in my pock\u00adet reas\u00adsures me that I will always know enough, or have access to the cloud-based intel\u00adli\u00adgence that gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly does.\u2026 For the res\u00adi\u00addents I super\u00advise, how\u00adev\u00ader, the app\u2019s speed and antic\u00adi\u00adpa\u00adto\u00adry help\u00adful\u00adness are a hin\u00addrance as much as an enhance\u00adment. When I skim a chatbot\u2019s response to a ques\u00adtion about back pain, I\u2019m intu\u00aditive\u00adly test\u00ading its sug\u00adges\u00adtions against my hard-won men\u00adtal mod\u00adel for how to approach back pain. Could I have devel\u00adoped that if I\u2019d had a robot lead\u00ading my think\u00ading all along?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c7jGXPEY54k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">30 Life Cheat Codes I Wish I Knew At 25<\/a> (Daniel Pink, YouTube): six\u00adteen min\u00adutes.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There\u2019s a lot of good wis\u00addom in this video. The pre\u00adsen\u00adter is a NYT best\u00adselling author. Don\u2019t like videos? The \u201ccheat codes\u201d are also avail\u00adable in writ\u00adten form at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.danpink.com\/life-cheat-codes\/\">https:\/\/www.danpink.com\/life-cheat-codes\/<\/a> (although you need to sign up for his email list to get them).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newser.com\/story\/396716\/humpback-whale-spotted-60-miles-from-ocean.html\">Hump\u00adback Whale Spot\u00adted 60 Miles From Ocean<\/a> (Bob Cronin, News\u00ader):  \u201cNorth\u00adern Cal\u00adi\u00adfor\u00adnia received an unex\u00adpect\u00aded vis\u00adi\u00adtor in its inland waters: a hump\u00adback whale spot\u00adted rough\u00adly 60 miles from the Pacif\u00adic. The ani\u00admal was first seen Tues\u00adday mov\u00ading through San Fran\u00adcis\u00adco Bay, then turned up Wednes\u00adday in the Sacra\u00admen\u00adto Riv\u00ader near the Rio Vista Bridge, wit\u00adness\u00ades told local media. One fish\u00ader\u00adman said he ini\u00adtial\u00adly mis\u00adtook the mas\u00adsive shape for a sub\u00adma\u00adrine and esti\u00admat\u00aded it was about the length of at least half a school bus, ABC News reports.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar pro\u00adduced shrewd war\u00adriors \u201cwho under\u00adstood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way, we need to become wise peo\u00adple whose faith inter\u00adacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may con\u00adtin\u00adue the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chi Alpha is not a par\u00adti\u00adsan orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. To para\u00adphrase anoth\u00ader min\u00adis\u00adter: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agen\u00adda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agen\u00adda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agen\u00adda. Hav\u00ading said that, I read wide\u00adly (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Tur\u00ading test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fair\u00adly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI dis\u00adagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI under\u00adstand\u201d) and may at times share arti\u00adcles that have a strong par\u00adti\u00adsan bias sim\u00adply because I find the arti\u00adcle stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with every\u00adthing an author says in an arti\u00adcle I men\u00adtion, much less things the author has said in oth\u00ader arti\u00adcles (although if I strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with some\u00adthing in the arti\u00adcle I\u2019ll usu\u00adal\u00adly men\u00adtion it). And to the extent you can dis\u00adcern my opin\u00adions, please under\u00adstand that they are my own and not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly those of Chi Alpha or any oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion I may be per\u00adceived to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.\n\nAlso, remem\u00adber that I\u2019m not report\u00ading news \u2014 I\u2019m giv\u00ading you a selec\u00adtion of things I found inter\u00adest\u00ading. There\u2019s a lot hap\u00adpen\u00ading in the world that\u2019s not mak\u00ading an appear\u00adance here because I haven\u2019t found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading arti\u00adcles writ\u00adten about it.\n\nIf this was for\u00adward\u00aded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/09\/25\/tgfi-volume-573-your-brain-is-complicated\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cTGFI, Vol\u00adume 573: your brain is com\u00adpli\u00adcat\u00aded\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"0","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[219,125,169,135,162,247],"class_list":["post-8034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-china","tag-patriotism","tag-stanford","tag-theology","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-25A","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8035,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8034\/revisions\/8035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}