You Are A Bit Psychic, and Have Been Since Late Adolesence

I go through these phases where things interest me.  I don't know what it is, curiosity I suppose.  Someday it will probably kill me.

Lately I have been reading, watching, and listening to neuroscientists discuss their latest discoveries. I learned something from a women named Rebecca Saxe. She said, and I am paraphrasing, "Thomas Valadez you are a psychic person".  Now I am pretty sure I think that is what I thought she said, but then again perhaps what I heard wasn't exactly what she meant.  

People have a small part of the brain called the RTPJ (right temporal parietal junction) that is completely specialized to think of other peoples thoughts.  As you read this that little part of your head is going "why is he writing this blog" and the little part in my head is going "cool, someone is reading my blog". Throughout life this area of the brain becomes more and more specialized, and it isn't completely devoloped until late adolescence.

We are basically the same as these two.

• At age 3 a child doesn't understand that different people have their own thoughts.
• Age 5 a kid understands that people have their own thoughts, but still doesn't understand morality in others.
• Age 7 kids learn to understand morality in others, though it is still confused.
• Eventually around 15-18 children finally become able to fully grasp the concept of "other peoples' minds", or at least they understand it as well as an adult does.

Interestingly side note, this part of the brain looked to be about the same size of the Broca (the area of the brain specialized for linguistic skills.)

Reading the thoughts of other people isn't easy though.  Think about it.  You are not just a linear black and white thought process.  You are feelings, emotions, moral mazes, complex experiences, sensations without words. The real neat thing is, the brain is already working to understand all those feelings, thoughts, emotions sensations and moral convictions of other people. Immediately when you see a picture of someone, you have a sense of what they felt and thought.  

Up till now I didn't know that such an area of the brain existed.  Now I wonder. Would it be possible to develop this specific area of the brain.  I am sure it could be done. I mean, would their be some drastic change in society if we made that part of a public school regimen?