The story lays out the case for “the real reason for brains.” They exist, he argues, to produce movement. “You may think we have one to perceive the world or think,” he says. “And that’s completely wrong.” In Wolpert’s view, there is no other explanation. If you don’t believe him, you could consider the humble sea squirt, which is born looking almost like a tadpole, with a brain, a nervous system, and even an eye. Throughout its juvenile life, which is only a few days, it swims around the ocean, siphoning in planktonic food particles from the seawater it ingests. At some point, it decides to
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