Peg Herring's Blog - Posts Tagged "brain"
Why Humans Are Really Cool People
I'm reading a book about the brain (again, I know--I do this a lot). The author contends that somewhere along the line, humans took a huge evolutionary step that resulted in something unique to the earth: a creature that can consider its own being. It is that, he contends, not language or opposable thumbs or use of tools or whatever you've heard before, that makes us so special. He says we might imagine our computers taking off their covers and turning their webcams into their interior workings as a metaphor for what we as humans do to get to know ourselves better.
I am intrigued by this idea and by all that goes along with it. It's a very cool thing we do, although it results in both bad and good knowledge. We now know that the brain is amazingly complex, adaptable, and plastic, but we also know it can screw us up royally when something goes wrong.
What amazes me is the number of people who don't seem inclined to use the three pounds of amazing power they carry around with them: the people who accept everything they are told; the people who don't read; the people who actually seem proud of their ignorance. They're so open to manipulation from advertisers (Did you even THINK about whether you need that product?), religious zealots (Are you SURE you want to follow that line of non-logic?), and, especially this year, political rhetoric (Do you REALLY think things are going to change if you vote X into office?)
Having these wonderful brains that can examine, process, and filter isn't enough. We have to use them. So maybe the title of this piece should be "Why Some Humans Are Really Cool People, and the Rest Remained in the Primordial Ooze".
I am intrigued by this idea and by all that goes along with it. It's a very cool thing we do, although it results in both bad and good knowledge. We now know that the brain is amazingly complex, adaptable, and plastic, but we also know it can screw us up royally when something goes wrong.
What amazes me is the number of people who don't seem inclined to use the three pounds of amazing power they carry around with them: the people who accept everything they are told; the people who don't read; the people who actually seem proud of their ignorance. They're so open to manipulation from advertisers (Did you even THINK about whether you need that product?), religious zealots (Are you SURE you want to follow that line of non-logic?), and, especially this year, political rhetoric (Do you REALLY think things are going to change if you vote X into office?)
Having these wonderful brains that can examine, process, and filter isn't enough. We have to use them. So maybe the title of this piece should be "Why Some Humans Are Really Cool People, and the Rest Remained in the Primordial Ooze".
Please Tell Me Your Brain Does This Too
I'm driving home from yet another road trip. My brain starts in with an oh-so-familiar lie.
"I'd like to lose a few pounds. Starting when I get home, I'm going to eat sensibly--no crash diet, just smaller portions and smarter choices. I'm going to exercise more, too, not just my daily walk but some
cardio and some stretches and maybe some weights."
LIES! It's all LIES, I tell you!!
Why is it that it seems so logical and easy to plan a new lifestyle in theory and so impossible to accomplish those plans in the real world?
I know from past experience: now that I'm home I will eat whatever John cooks and cheat with those darling little Hershey's Gold things. I'll decide I can't exercise today because I've got all that laundry from the trip. In fact, I might not even be able to go for a walk, because it's raining, and I wouldn't want to get wet, for pete's sake. It will all get put off until tomorrow, which, to the brain, never comes. It's perfectly happy to let me put off the plan and live in the present, which is all any of us is really able to do.
The brain is unable to comprehend the future. It can consider it, but it can't "be" there. When we make plans, the brain in all its logic says, "Yup, that's doable. We won't overspend on Christmas this year and we'll put away the money we save for that trip in the spring."
The brain doesn't know it's lying. It understands that we're capable of doing what we plan to do. It just doesn't know how it will feel when temptation steps into its way. Since it only exists in the present, it can't recall that enthusiasm we felt when we promised ourselves we'd act rationally. Nope. The brain can only see what's happening right now and say, "Wow! Chocolate!"
"I'd like to lose a few pounds. Starting when I get home, I'm going to eat sensibly--no crash diet, just smaller portions and smarter choices. I'm going to exercise more, too, not just my daily walk but some
cardio and some stretches and maybe some weights."
LIES! It's all LIES, I tell you!!
Why is it that it seems so logical and easy to plan a new lifestyle in theory and so impossible to accomplish those plans in the real world?
I know from past experience: now that I'm home I will eat whatever John cooks and cheat with those darling little Hershey's Gold things. I'll decide I can't exercise today because I've got all that laundry from the trip. In fact, I might not even be able to go for a walk, because it's raining, and I wouldn't want to get wet, for pete's sake. It will all get put off until tomorrow, which, to the brain, never comes. It's perfectly happy to let me put off the plan and live in the present, which is all any of us is really able to do.
The brain is unable to comprehend the future. It can consider it, but it can't "be" there. When we make plans, the brain in all its logic says, "Yup, that's doable. We won't overspend on Christmas this year and we'll put away the money we save for that trip in the spring."
The brain doesn't know it's lying. It understands that we're capable of doing what we plan to do. It just doesn't know how it will feel when temptation steps into its way. Since it only exists in the present, it can't recall that enthusiasm we felt when we promised ourselves we'd act rationally. Nope. The brain can only see what's happening right now and say, "Wow! Chocolate!"
