Mostly when something is too good to be true it isn't. It's been drilled into our subconscious by our elders since birth and proven true every time since the first time we jumped at the chance to get something for nothing and got exactly that, nothing.
But, wait a minute. Maybe that's not so true any longer. Just maybe if somebody says they know how you can stop craving a Camel Light, a Johnny Walker Black, a Dove bar with almonds and raisins, Hagen Daas of any flavor, or the love of a lifetime who left you yesterday, etc., etc., without having to go through the pains of withdrawal and then the forever and ever amen will power necessary to truly pull it off for good, and your BS detector starts buzzing, maybe you should turn that sucker off and give that would-be snake oil salesman a good listen.
And maybe you should look at the artwork below and then go click on the article below it from The New York Times.
The recent news about smoking was sensational: some people with damage to a prune-size slab of brain tissue called the insula were able to give up cigarettes instantly.
Suppose scientists could figure out how to tweak the insula without damaging it. They might be able to create that famed and elusive free lunch — an effortless way to kick the cigarette habit.
That dream, which may not be too far off, puts the insula in the spotlight. What is the insula and how could it possibly exert such profound effects on human behavior?
According to neuroscientists who study it, the insula is a long-neglected brain region that has emerged as crucial to understanding what it feels like to be human.
They say it is the wellspring of social emotions, things like lust and disgust, pride and humiliation, guilt and atonement. It helps give rise to moral intuition, empathy and the capacity to respond emotionally to music.
