If you google how to give a powerpoint presentation which I may or may not have done- it will tell you that you have 4-7 seconds to capture your audiences attention.

In the midst of a bunch of fast jet experts there may be some questions as to the rocket profile I was using, all i will say is that under pressure, in this case a ZSO23mm anti air gun, everything becomes fluid. Accurate tables for 3km lob As aircraft commanders we are required to know aircraft and its systems intimately, we have sensors and monitoring systems throughout the aircraft and even the smallest anomaly can be cause to cancel or delay a flight However there are no checks or sensors for the most critical component in an aircraft, a component which is very fragile and susceptible to a plethora of limitations and not surprisingly , responsible in part for a number of mishaps in aviation . The reason behind my research was a ---- monumental stuff on my part which I will build up the courage to admit to later. I have been lead

The Human Brain Forgotten in Aviation The chairman of the session Barbra Gordon Distinguished Colleagues, lady and gentlemen. It is an honor and privilege to be standing here today for what is without a doubt the highlight of my career. I do not wish to challenge the theories of evolution or creation. I want to understand more about human error. Every component in an aircraft is built to exacting standards They undergo exhaustive testing before certification and installation-thereafter regularly by pilots or engineers and have very specific component times Our brain was originally built over 2 million years ago , today it has doubled in size and a few new parts have been added. It runs on a very delicate mix of chemicals and electronic signals and is only really good for a few hours before it needs to be recharged Generally we install 2 but they don't always work well together, if everything is not just right they work against each other There is no doubt that it is a very complex organ but in many ways it is really quite simple and predictable.

Human Error “all occasions in which a planned sequence of mental or physical activity fails to achieve its intended outcome”. Anybody who has stood on the tee box on a golf course with an overly expensive driver in their hands will relate to this Our brain is us, everything from thoughts to actions begin and end in our vast neural networks, our body is simply an elaborate support system for our brain. We like to think that we talk to each other as people when in fact it is our brains which are communicating with each other, and this happens on a number of levels from physical to chemical. And like most neural functions, a lot of it takes place without us even knowing knowing Reason, 1990

Scope Executive Brain Social Brain Science of Insight Today i will briefly cover just a few areas and some of their limitations relating to aviation

Reptilian - basic functions Mammalian - emotions 3 Brains Reptilian - basic functions Mammalian - emotions Neocortex - higher functions, language etc To understand human error we need to what makes us unique as humans There are a number of domains in which we are unique but the size of our brain is the major physical difference. All mammals have these parts but humans have a new part

Prefrontal Cortex Newest part of our brain Executive Function Contains our conscious thoughts at any one time Two basic modes Serial processor Mental braking system Covers the front of our brain tenth of an inch thick and 4-5% of total volume Newest part also called our executive brain - make decisions and think creatively and contains our conscious thoughts at any one time and it has two modes of operation or networks, Pay attention Direct -taking information from senses whether it be sight sound or touch, you are not thinking about the past or future, other people or yourself, or considering much at all. Rather you are experiencing information coming into your senses in real time When you lose external focus,medial PFC activated, this internal/narrative network kicks in and your attention goes to more internal thoughts such as being more aware of something that may be bothering you We have all read a book at some stage in our lives and got to the bottom of the page the two modes are inversely correlated

Prefrontal Cortex Newest part of our brain Executive Function Contains our conscious thoughts at any one time Two basic modes Serial processor Mental braking system What is required is being aware of our state of mind allows us to identify which network is active and consciously switch between the two This awareness of internal states is nothing new and has nothing to do with spirituality, religion or meditation- but rather it allows us more control over our brain function. This is evolution happening PFC is very inefficient , it runs on glucose from our blood and it uses up huge quantities. The older parts of our brain evolved when resources were limited, subconscious activities like breathing use up very little energy. 1+1 10+10 57+186-19 = Our brain wants to run on this narrative or internal network because we are rewarded for using less energy good focus does not come from how hard you concentrate, but rather how you inhibit the wrong things entering into your mind It is the only way to optimize information processing-- inhibiting involves our ventrolateral pfc or mental braking system

BLACK Mental Braking System Activated when we inhibit natural responses Say the color of the text not the word Another example is your phone number- last 5 digits backwards You have to inhibit your natural response and dampen down other thoughts which you may be having Same as inhibiting your default or internal network- Our ability to inhibit decreases each time we do BLACK

The brain’s limited mental resource “We have a limited bucket of mental resources for mental activity like decision making and impulse control, when we use these up we don’t have as much for the next activity.” There have been a number of studies on this the most famous being the marshmallow This explains why it is harder to think when you are tired- the 2 things needed to recharge are glucose and deep restorative sleep. Scott Schappells lecture on fatigue But if we exercise this inhibiting we can increase our capacity to do so. Develop thicker pfc and increase the quality and quantity of our attention DR Roy Beaumeister

If yuo can raed tihs, you hvae a sgtrane mnid Intelligence If yuo can raed tihs, you hvae a sgtrane mnid Not measured by behaviour but by prediction. Every second your brain is making predictions because it likes certainty Walking up stairs Take in info compare it to what we have stored and makes a prediction Info is stored in sequence over time and that is how we recall it - phone number Checklist distracted half way through. it is also stored in an invariant form - brain compares bits and makes up a prediction when there is limited energy available low fewer points It gets worse if you are expecting to see or hear something

3. Planning or problem solving 3 Levels of Thinking 1. Deleting emails 2. Scheduling a meeting 3. Planning or problem solving These are some examples of the 3 levels of thinking- we tend to do things in this order which is actually not very efficient use of our limited mental resources

Our PFC is an Experience Simulator ‘With mental rehearsal, minds and bodies become trained to actually perform the skill imagined’ Repeated use of neural pathways hardwires the access to that information because our brain is embedding the information in order to conserve energy. If not used over time this information will fade, like a field of grass, if you constantly travel one path the path remains clear, if you dont use it the grass grows back We can use our PFC to combine any combination of information we have in our brain Rehearse emergencies - become hardwired and we can recall with little effort

Social Brain Social creatures by design Maslows hierarchy from 1943, social needs in the middle-wrong- Social needs foremost- clinical data existing conditions, mortality rate is 3 times higher at extreme end of social scale- loneliness is profoundly stressful The fundamental principle of brain function is first minimize danger then maximize reward. First code of instruction in the brain is self preservation. We are still ruled by our mammalian brain constantly assessing every situation for threats. When it perceives a threat it activates our limbic system which starts releasing cortisol and noradrenaline in preparation to respond Reward - dopamine and other feel good chemicals Toward and away response- fear, loneliness-lust, happiness

Human Social Behavior Status Certainty Autonomy Relatedness Fairness relatedness- default foe unless repeated positive social interaction, when foe speaks different parts of the brain are activated Threat Reward

Limbic Response Feel Good Reward Threat Get ready to run Same with larger reward but they are fewer. Example is the study done with students who had to complete a maze on paper, in the middle was a mouse, one with cheese and one with owl Results - those with owl at the end almost 50% less than those with the cheese Threat Get ready to run

Requires a ‘quiet’ brain The Moment of Insight Requires a ‘quiet’ brain 60% of complex problems are solved in this manner Brain storming can inhibit insight The moment of insight or aha moment has been studied in real time with volunteers in fmri scanners. The most common insight is remembering a persons name long after you were trying to recall it. Come about as a result of very weak associations and we need a quiet brain to detect these associations, like a quiet cell phone in a loud room Prof Mark Beeman used a Tibetan monk in a scanner- these guys have mastered their awareness of internal states. What he found was that for complex problems which required out of the box thinking, the subject had to stop thinking about the problem rationally and inhibit his internal or default network and consciously manipulate his thinking in order to solve cmplex problems

Moment of Insight

Conclusion Our PFC is the seat of human error It is very fragile an inefficient We need to be aware of internal states Social needs are most important We can change our brain so why don't we?